More from the Country Life Top 100:
Alidad
Known only by his first name professionally, Alidad Mahloudji is an expert in sumptuous and grand country-house style. His Legend Room for last year’s WOW!house at the Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, London SW10, in collaboration with Watts 1874, attracted attention for its richly layered and inviting style.
020-7384 0121; www.alidad.com
The Legend Room at the 2024 WOW!house at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, London SW10, was conceived by Alidad for Watts 1874
Eadie & Crole
Sophie Eadie and Fi Crole joined forces in 2019 to create quietly elegant interiors, teaming subtle hues and natural textures with antiques and contemporary art to create distinctive designs that may be tranquil, but never dull. They also offer a small and growing collection of timeless furniture, plus fabrics and wallpapers, which are now available to view at the Line|Up showroom in Chelsea.
01264 738768; www.eadieandcrole.com
Edward Bulmer
Edward Bulmer is an interior designer and architectural historian specialising in the restoration of heritage buildings. As the founder of Edward Bulmer Natural Paint, he is also an exponent of environmental sustainability. His own Queen Anne home in Herefordshire (‘A house of many colours’, April 3, 2019) is a fine example of his sensitive approach, as are his award-winning work at Pitshill, West Sussex, and ongoing projects at Althorp, Northamptonshire, and Goodwood House, West Sussex.
01544 388535; www.edwardbulmerinteriordesign.co.uk
Eyre Interiors
Nels Crosthwaite Eyre is admired for bringing a light, bright touch to English country-house style that appeals to a new generation. She expertly combines a skill in creating interiors geared to the practicalities of family life with her eye for unique vintage textiles, art and antique furniture, mixed with joyful detail and sumptuous colour, as evidenced in her own home in Hampshire (‘A light touch’, October 11, 2023).
07725 818077; www.eyreinteriors.co.uk
Guy Goodfellow
For more than two decades, Guy Goodfellow has been designing classic interiors with flair and imagination, combining his knowledge of heritage architecture and antiques with an expert eye for colour and comfort. He has recently been joined in his practice by creative director Steven Rodel, who shares Mr Goodfellow’s deep understanding of English country-house style. The Guy Goodfellow Collection of fabrics and wallpapers, based on historic textiles reinterpreted in inspired colourways, is available from his shop in Chelsea, London SW10.
020-7349 0728; www.guygoodfellow.com
Isabella Worsley
London-based Isabella Worsley runs an architectural and interior-design studio, founded in 2018 and going from strength to strength. Well known for the confident use of colour and pattern, the studio creates original interiors that often celebrate the work of British artists and craftspeople. Miss Worsley undertakes both residential and commercial projects, including Wildhive Callow Hall hotel in the Peak District (‘If you go down to the woods today…’, April 12, 2023) and offers a range of fabrics and wallpapers, inspired by antique textiles and Italianate block printing. She is currently working on the design of Country Life's stand at RHS Chelsea in May.
020-8075 5232; www.isabellaworsley.com
Janine Stone & Co
Janine and Gideon Stone’s design studio is renowned for creating private residences that embody timeless designs tailored to their clients’ lifestyles and tastes. For more than 35 years, the firm has integrated architecture, interior design, construction and project management into a highly bespoke service — undertaking projects from interior updates to full renovations, extensions and entire new-build country homes. Clarity, its pre-purchase service, is designed to offer guidance on planning, layouts and construction costs to allow clients to make informed decisions.
020-7627 5300; www.janinestone.com
Kit Kemp
Kit Kemp, co-founder and creative director of Firmdale Hotels, has long been admired for her colourful, comfortable and inviting interiors. ‘I believe the best rooms never want us to leave,’ she says. Her hotels now include 11 in London and New York; the latter celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Now head of her eponymous design studio, which she runs with daughters Minnie and Willow Kemp, Mrs Kemp brings her magic touch to residential projects, including homes in London and the country, villas in the South of France and expansive properties in Barbados and the US. ‘Reappraising surroundings artistically and colourfully is not work; it is a way of life that I embrace,’ she notes.
As a respected champion of British art, craft and sculpture, she has collaborated with design brands, such as Wedgwood, Spode, G. P. & J. Baker, Andrew Martin, Christopher Farr, Chelsea Textiles, Fine Cell Work, Porta Romana, Annie Selke and more, on tableware, fabric and wallpaper collections, with new ceramic, lighting and rug designs due to be launched this year.
020-7907 4040; www.kitkemp.com
A colourful dining room created by Kit Kemp’s design studio for the Kips Bay decorator showhouse in New York
Lonika Chande
An appealing approach to multi-faceted interiors rich with colour, texture and pattern ensures Lonika Chande stands out from the crowd. Known for her spirited designs, which are backed up by plenty of practicality and technical know-how, she creates warm, inviting interiors that combine a distinctive mix of antiques and art with a modern edge.
Specialising in residential projects in London and the South-East, the studio is a favourite with young families. ‘I enjoy the energy that comes with these projects,’ she explains. As a mother of three, Mrs Chande understands the demands of family life and the changing requirements as children grow, so many projects include clever layout and storage solutions.
Currently engaged on period houses in London and the country, the studio takes on no more than five projects at a time to ensure a personal service. ‘I like to work closely with clients to develop the design and create a layered and individual result,’ she says.
020-7627 0472; www.lonikachande.com
The London home of interior designer Lonika Chande, who creates layered interiors rich in colour and texture
Lucy Cunningham Interiors
Breathing new life into classic English country-house style, Lucy Cunningham operates a growing studio from a new base in London. She weaves pattern and colour to create rooms rich with character and relaxed charm. Layers of interesting textiles, wallpapers, playful hues and antiques mix with contemporary pieces to produce inviting rooms that are far from stuffy, making her a favourite for substantial projects across the UK.
07740 463306; www.lucycunningham.com
Lucy Elworthy
Lucy Elworthy combines her experience as a former decoration editor of House & Garden with an imaginative eye for colour and texture. Adept at designing timeless rooms that appear to have evolved over years, she lives in Wiltshire with her husband, the Tisbury-based architect John Comparelli, with whom she often collaborates, and takes on notable residential projects across London and the South-West.
07957 693246; www.lucyelworthy.co.uk
Max Rollitt
Max Rollitt is an interior designer, furniture-maker and antiques dealer whose sought-after style is developed from an impressive knowledge of historical architecture. He enjoys acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, each project furnished with a distinctive combination of antique originals and his own growing collection of bespoke furniture designs.
01962 791124; www.maxrollitt.com
Nina Campbell
In February 2025, Nina Campbell received an OBE for services to the British interior-design industry and to philanthropy. Current ventures include the design of the elegant KYN Hurlingham care home, London SW6, and a pub in Hampshire, as well as private residences, plus her first collaboration with Luke Irwin on a collection of rugs due to be launched in September, more tiles for Fired Earth, a new collection of fabrics, Farnaz, and a growing range of Nina Campbell furniture and homewares for Next. Her bright-blue-fronted eponymous shop on the Pimlico Road, London SW1, offers an inspiring collection of chic tableware, accessories and furniture; her son, Max, and her daughter, Alice Deen, work with her.
020-7591 5797; https://shop.ninacampbell.com
Oliver Laws
With the highly experienced Guy Oliver at the helm, this Mayfair-based atelier specialises in elegant and timeless interiors that celebrate the beauty of bespoke craftsmanship. Discreet about his work on some of the grandest properties in the land, among his few publicised projects is the recent renovation of London’s Connaught hotel, including the richly decorated suite The King’s Lodge, produced in collaboration with more than 100 artisans (London Life, February 21, 2024).
020-7437 8487; www.oliverlaws.com
Osborn Interiors
Bee Osborn heads an interior architectural-design practice based in London and the Cotswolds, tackling both residential and commercial projects, including hotels. The practice is known for restful interiors that celebrate the timeless beauty of natural materials, such as stone, reclaimed wood, rattan and linen. A sense of ‘organic luxury’ in elegant designs with soft hues is the firm’s signature style, evidenced in Ms Osborn’s own cottage in the Cotswolds (‘The secret of the super cottage’, October 11, 2023).
Pippa Paton Design
Admired for her quiet and elegant style, Pippa Paton heads an interior-design, architecture and project-management studio known for transforming manor houses, estates, barns and cottages in the Cotswolds. Expert at uncovering and highlighting the character of a historic property and making it inviting for modern life, Mrs Paton’s ability to combine a deep understanding of spatial planning with layers of texture and natural beauty has earnt her many plaudits.
01865 595470; www.pippapatondesign.co.uk
This interior and exterior of the Cotswolds house was transformed by Pippa Paton Design
Rita Konig
A remarkable ability to combine traditional decoration with fresh, modern verve makes Rita Konig a much sought-after designer in both the UK and the US, where she now has a satellite office. Recent projects include the early 18th-century Argyll House in Chelsea, her own home in west London, a coastal property in Maine and a beach house in the Hamptons. She offers two interior-design courses with Create Academy, has worked on collaborations with The Lacquer Company and Oficina Inglesa and, most recently, launched her first fabric and wallpaper collection with Schumacher, inspired by a keen appreciation for antique textiles.
020-3735 7280; www.ritakonig.com
Robert Kime
Founded by the late Robert Kime, the great interior decorator whose clients included the then Prince of Wales, the practice creates traditional — but not stuffy — interiors, full of judiciously chosen antiques and colourful textiles. Today, the company is headed by Orlando Atty, who worked closely with Kime for more than a decade and carries forward his distinctive sensibility. Current projects include a 16th-century estate in the Cotswolds and a large residence in central London. The eponymous shop is one of the jewels of London’s Pimlico, displaying antiques and the company’s ever-evolving collection of fabrics, wallpaper, lamps and furniture.
020-7831 6066; www.robertkime.com
Sean Symington
As the designer of the drawing room of a house in Bath, Somerset, which last year graced the cover of Country Life on December 4, 2024, Sean Symington is a young designer fast earning plaudits. After starting his interior-design career in his native Canada, Mr Symington worked with leading design firms in North America and the UK on residential, hospitality and commercial projects, before establishing his own studio in Bath in 2019.
He recently relocated to Tetbury, Gloucestershire, taking on houses across the UK and abroad, from a charming country bolthole to a substantial Georgian rectory in Kent. Adept at preserving a building’s character at the same time as infusing it with elegant style, Mr Symington describes his design approach as ‘classic with a fresh whimsy’. He says: ‘I love layered interiors that are collected over time and feel personal, collecting lots of antiques and mixing them with more modern pieces, creating a traditional undertone with a more youthful edge.’
07918 080355; www.seansymington.com
Pedimented cabinetry in the kitchen of the Bath home belonging to former Sims Hilditch interior designer Sean Symington
Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler
Founded in the 1930s, Britain’s most venerable interior-decorating firm has always been known for quintessentially English style. Today, the firm of six director-decorators, headed by Emma Burns and Philip Hooper, undertakes a diverse range of projects worldwide. The shop on London’s Pimlico Road showcases a growing range of hand-printed fabrics and wallpapers, carpets, classic lighting and furniture, including the revival of several beloved pieces from the archive.
020-7493 2231; www.sibylcolefax.com
Sims Hilditch
Admired for her fresh take on English country-house style, Emma Sims-Hilditch directs a studio now becoming known for its work in London, including the recently unveiled show apartment at the former War Office, The OWO in Whitehall, SW1. Other current ventures include a substantial Georgian-style property on a shooting estate in Perthshire, a room at this year’s WOW!house at the Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, a new home-accessories collection in collaboration with Chelsea Textiles and a bedroom furniture range for George Smith. Mrs Sims-Hilditch’s second book with Country Life's Giles Kime will be published by Rizzoli in autumn 2025.
020-3701 9578; www.simshilditch.com
The reinvention of a 1980s house on the Cornish coast by Sims Hilditch included a kitchen that enjoys breathtaking views
Spencer-Churchill Designs
An international lecturer and author, Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill specialises in grand English country-house style and runs her interior-design company, Woodstock Designs, close to her ancestral home at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. At present, she is working on several projects in Oxfordshire and one in the US. Her latest book, Blenheim: 300 Years of Life in a Palace (Rizzoli), celebrates the history and restoration of one of Britain’s most renowned estates — a book (and topic) which she discussed during her recent appearance on The Country Life Podcast.
01993 811887; www.spencerchurchilldesigns.com
Studio Atkinson
Specialising in private houses and boutique hotels, Susie Atkinson creates contemporary interiors that radiate a sense of personal character and understated luxury. Recent projects include a penthouse at Chelsea Barracks in London’s Belgravia, a fisherman’s cottage on the south coast, villas in Greece and Barbados and a substantial townhouse in London’s Holland Park. She also creates furniture, lighting and fabric collections, most recently including Kiss Cross, a woollen fabric woven in a British mill that has been operating for more than a century.
020-7384 0700; www.studio-atkinson.com
Thorp
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, this practice is headed by founder Philippa Thorp. It specialises in smart, classic style, offering full architecture, interior-design, art curation, project-management services and landscaping, geared towards an international clientele. Projects are varied as a result, currently ranging from a fully bespoke horsebox with living accommodation to a luxurious villa on Lake Como in Italy.
020-7235 7808; www.thorp.co.uk
A tranquil bedroom scheme by Thorp Design, based in London, for a client in Italy
Thurstan
The former European design director of Soho House, James Thurstan Waterworth now heads his 20-strong interior-design studio, which is based in London’s ancient Charter-house Square. He is particularly adept at bringing history to life, celebrating the beauty of antique finds and the patina of aged materials, to create atmospheric interiors with a pared-back style and modern edge. In June, he will unveil a room at WOW!house at the Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, London SW10, with leading lighting brand Hector Finch.
The Thurstan studio’s unfussy style is evident in the transformation of several properties on the Wiltshire estate of the Duke of Somerset, including the charming renovation of a 19th-century coaching inn, The Bradley Hare. Currently working on the family home and ducal seat, Bradley House, as well as The Zetter hotel in Bloomsbury, London WC1, an estate in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, a Georgian house in Dorset and a ranch in Wyoming, US, Mr Thurstan Water-worth expects to open a Wiltshire outpost of his studio later this year, as well as a capsule furniture collection. ‘The pieces will be inspired by my favourite antiques, sourced over the years, each with a subtle, modern twist,’ he reveals.
020-8129 5855; www.thurstan.co
A proposed scheme for the new Zetter hotel in Bloomsbury by Thurstan
Todhunter Earle Interiors
Expert at balancing the demands of contemporary living with the challenges presented by historic houses, Emily Todhunter and Kate Earle are highly regarded for their imaginative designs. The practice, which was founded in 1988, is currently working on houses in London and the country, a yacht and a villa in the South of France. Recent collaborations include a collection of fireplaces with Thornhill Galleries, upholstered furniture with Lorfords Contemporary and carpets with Peter Page.
020-7349 9999; www.todhunterearle.com
A reception room created by London-based interior-design practice Todhunter Earle and brought to life by Marianne Topham
Turner Pocock
Bunny Turner and Emma Pocock lead an interior-design studio, founded in 2007, that is admired for its outstanding creativity and confident use of colour and pattern. With offices in London and Geneva, projects include elegant, yet relaxed family homes in the capital, the UK and beyond. Turner Pocock products include a range of chic furniture created in collaboration with Julian Chichester and the founders also run TP Caring Spaces, a charity that creates relaxation spaces for patients, key workers and the displaced.
020-3463 2390; www.turnerpocock.co.uk
Veere Grenney Associates
Interiors by the distinguished Veere Grenney are rooted in the classical tradition. The designer is currently working on projects in the UK and Switzerland, Italy and the Middle East. His recent book Seeking Beauty (Vendome) takes readers on an in-depth tour of his homes in Tangier and Suffolk, as well as his new London apartment.
020-7351 7170; www.veeregrenney.com
VSP Interiors
Known for designing large country properties, from a Jacobean house in Dorset and a Georgian property in Jersey, to dreamy houses in California, Denmark and Germany, Dorset-based Henriette von Stockhausen has a classic, colourfully eclectic style that successfully combines antiques and fine art with a sense of comfort and personality (‘The art of layering’, April 10, 2024).
01305 265892; www.vspinteriors.com
Country Life Top 100 picture credits: Jack Badworth; Jo Thompson; Yiangou; Max Rolle; Research by Amelia Thorpe; Adrian Lambert; Jason Ingran; Tom Mannion 2018 Andy Manshalt Claire Takach Photography Simon Brown Chris Walteld Photography, Clive Rose, Oukar Proctor; Kally Marshall, Marry Crowder, Paul Manuey; Helen Cathcart; Martin Monelt Marianne Majerus Garden Images; Eva Nemeth/Country Life Picture Library Future Pie; Simon Uptor; Harlet Chalis; Richard Bloom, Rachel Warne: Nick Smith, Jake Easthan;
-
This elegant Greek villa offers would-be buyers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live in the shadow of the AcropolisAthenian Legacy consists of two houses in walking —and almost touching — distance of one of the world’s most famous and precious landmarks.
-
Go Dutch: Understanding the Duke of Wellington’s passion for Dutch art and how to view his collectionArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington was a terrible Prime Minister, but made up for it by being a sophisticated collector.
-
In search of the perfect comfy armchairWhat makes the ideal cosy, comfortable armchair? Arabella Youens asks some of Britain's top furniture experts to find out.
-
All the new entries in the Country Life Top 100 for 2025Each year, our Country Life Top 100 is completely revised and updated — and several new names appear.
-
The timeless elegance of English country house style, with Guy Goodfellow and Steven RodelTwo of Britain's top interior designers share their wisdom with James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast.
-
Dawn Chorus: Meet Farrow & Ball’s new paint colours, shop the must-have hotel merchandise and find out what Tom Parker Bowles likes to order from GreggsIt’s time to redecorate because paint connoisseurs Farrow & Ball have added 12 new colours to their palette.
-
Why size doesn't matter if you've got some decorating derring-doA small space can be just as appealing as a large one — as long as you decorate with confidence, says a new book.
-
What this bathroom says about the return of the shiny surface -
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, garden designers, landscape designers and country house specialists 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.
