Living National Treasure

Cricket-bat maker

My Favourite Painting Xavier Bray

Le Petit Parc

In Fine Feather

Although most of us now swear by sleeping under a Continental duvet, a duck-feather-filled eiderdown is the height of bedtime luxury.

The Future's Bright

Period houses are being treated to a jauntier palette of colours

Angel Of Mercy

Caroline Bugler is intrigued by an exhibition that reveals the shadier side of women’s lives in Georgian England

The Price Of Perfection

Pippa Cuckson reveals the massive investment often required to match a musician with the stringed instrument they deserve.

No Rival For Maastricht?

The TEFAF New York Fall fair reports strong sales and Dutch flower power blooms anew

They're All Greek To Me

IN June 1969—I was at university and most of you were still unborn—I bought a bag of cyclamen corms in Woolworths.

Living National Treasure

Trombone maker

Old-Fashioned Modernist

Modigliani was a mass of contradictions

Fun On The Floor

The interiors visionary Kit Kemp has launched a collection of carpets.

Birds Of An Unusual Feather

The pelicans of St James’s Park might not be as famous as the ravens at the Tower but, as former diplomat Alistair Kerr reports, their tale is no less curious

To The Manor Born

What does the future hold for the English country squire? Adrian Leak finds out and gets to know some of history and literature’s most affable examples.

When a holiday isn't a holiday

IT is strongly rumoured in the neighbourhood that we have now entered a new year, and I need a holiday. A Highland Hogmanay calls for grit and grim determination. Toe to toe, you slug it out with the season until, inevitably, you keel over. Hogmanay always wins. You totter back to your corner with no idea whether it’s Christmas or Easter.

The Future Is Georgian

The chairman of the Georgian Group on why the 18th century was best.

In Praise Of The Revolving Revolution

A NATION of gardeners is bound to be eternally on the search for something more exciting in the view from the kitchen window.

Made In Britain

Janus Cooper, upholstered furniture maker

Where The Land Meets The Sea

North Norfolk’s skies and empty beaches blend seamlessly with bustle and crying seabirds

How To Make An Impression

The impressionist on Jeremy Corbyn, Michael Gove and why current politics are beyond satire.

Thinking Outside The Box

The actor on avoiding Shakespeare, being Siegfried’s brother and keeping working

Design Dilemmas

An interior design project presents a maze of head-scratching conundrums, from choices between plain and patterned fabrics to whether you really need a club fender. Arabella Youens tackles the 10 most challenging dilemmas

A Licence To Snoop

Two forthcoming events offer an opportunity to explore rooms designed by some of Europe’s most inspiring interior designers

Paradise Regained

Palácio Tangará, São Paulo

Upping His Game

The Holkham owner on learning to love shooting and hopes for the countryside post-Brexit

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

When it comes to bagging birds–whether it be grouse, pheasant, partridge, woodcock, snipe or duck–your choice of cartridge and load is key.

Still Lives with A Soul

Alison Cole previews the first major exhibition devoted entirely to portraits by the father of Modern art.

A Glorious Legacy Of Plants

Reinvigorated planting and a continuation of the spirit of the great age of the planthunters inspires George Plumptre on a visit to a famous Sussex garden

What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks?

Eleanor Doughty examines the tangible value of a room (or, indeed, house) with a view and how our love of open space taps into a need for privacy

My Favourite Painting George Carter

Lamer House, Hertfordshire by Humphry Repton

Guardians Of The Establishment

Handing a tarantula to The Duke of Cambridge or winching Macbeth into costume is all in a day’s work for people working at 10 of this country’s best-loved institutions. Emma Hughes meets them