While we're always happy to show the newest, latest, greatest ideas and innovations, Country Life has always believed that the best ideas are those that will still look good in 10 years, not 10 months. It's not surprising, then, to find that a number of our most-viewed interiors articles of 2020 were actually published in 2019, or even earlier.
The best interior designers and decorators in Britain
Credit: VSP Interiors
Our revised and updated list of the best of the best for those looking to decorate a country house — or a town house in country style.
How to do your own French polishing or restoration – and when to leave it to the pros
Credit: Quest
Alex Webster, an antique restorer and French polisher, explained five techniques to save damaged furniture.
Open fires v wood-burning stoves: The grate debate
Credit: Alamy
Arabella Youens examined the pros and cons.
Nine absolutely beautiful shepherd’s huts for dreamers, writers and those who just want a bolt hole at the end of the garden
Credit: Blackdown Shepherd's huts
Amelia Thorpe's look at the best shepherd's huts is enduringly popular.
An elegant living space showing perfectly how to get the mismatched furniture look right
Credit: Astrid Templier / Guy Goodfellow
A look at how interior designer Guy Goodfellow created an elegant apartment above his Chelsea premises.
Bathtub in the bedroom: Should you try it at home?
Credit: Foxhill Manor
Is the recent fashion for open-plan bedrooms and bathrooms a step too far? Arabella Youens took a look.
The unbeatable cosiness of the Eiderdown
Credit: Getty
A duck-feather-filled eiderdown is the height of bedtime luxury, said Tessa Waugh.
Six ways to upcycle old homeware, creating stunning original pieces and safeguarding the environment
Credit: BHF / Martyna Kramarczyk
Sustainable interior designer, upcycler and self-proclaimed ‘warrior on waste’ Lynne Lambourne offered her expert tips on how to upcycle.
How to create the right colour scheme for a Georgian home
Credit: Farrow & Ball
Joa Studholme of Farrow & Ball explained more.
Why the classic kitchen look will always trump the latest trends
Credit: Plain English
Forget minimalism for you kitchen — designs inspired by the past are the ones which will stand the test of time.
-
The real name of a 'ghost' rainbow, the first ever omnishambles, and golf on the moon: Country Life Quiz of the Day 20 February 2025Some real brainteasers for you in our Quiz of the Day. Good luck!
-
Tom Parker Bowles's favourite recipe: French onion soupThis dish is no mere Gallic broth, rather pure bonhomie in a bowl — a boozy, beefy, allium-scented masterpiece that cries out for the chill depths of winter
-
The art of glass: Is this the ultimate greenhouse for family entertaining?This versatile greenhouse, designed for a family in Kent, and our round-up of the best orangeries, garden rooms and glasshouses is the only indoor-outdoor space inspiration you need.
-
The Country Life Top 100 architects, interior designers, craftsmen, builders and garden designers in BritainIt's now six years since the original Country Life Top 100 was published, but the aim hasn't changed: we name the very best architects, interior designers, craftsmen, builders and garden designers in Britain.
-
A fireplace, a painting and a free-standing showerThe restoration of a bathroom at Ven House in Somerset is sympathetic to its historic roots
-
Country kitchens, period house insulation and open fires: Country Life's best interiors stories of 2023We take a look back on the most popular interiors articles in Country Life over the past year.
-
Country Life's top 10 interiors stories of 2022Magnificent kitchens, effortlessly charming living spaces, clever ideas and warnings from those who've been through it all make our list.
-
10 things I wish I'd known about doing up old houses before I started, by Country Life's interiors guru Giles KimeCountry Life’s executive editor and resident interiors expert Giles Kime shares the lessons he’s learnt from the experience of dragging a succession of houses into the 21st-century.
-
Country Life's 10 best interiors stories of 2021From quirky kitchen cupboards to foolproof shades of paint, here are our best interiors stories of 2021.
-
Best joiners, plasterers, kitchen designers and craftspeople in Britain, in the Country Life Bespoke BibleCountry Life names Britain's top bespoke craftspeople, extraordinary practitioners from joiners and stonemasons to furniture-makers and metalworkers.
