Elizabeth Metcalfe
Elizabeth Metcalfe’s interest in beautiful things took an academic turn while she was studying English at university. ‘I wrote my dissertation on the relationship between art and literature in works by William Morris,’ she explains. ‘I then went on to do a Masters at the Courtauld Institute of Art, focusing on British art in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.’ Elizabeth now turns her aesthetic eye to the pages of House & Garden. When it comes to her own house, she names mugs and bowls by the ceramicist Jacob Bodilly as among her favourite possessions: ‘They have a wonderful cracked celadon glaze and a pleasing, generous shape.’ Follow her on Instagram at @elizabethjmetcalfe.
An interior designer's warm and layered San Francisco terraced house
Having set her heart on buying within a small area in the smart Cow Hollow neighbourhood of San Francisco, interior designer Lauren Weiss was delighted to find the perfect house and set about using a warm palette to make the most of the California light in this three-storey terrace
Why designers and makers are going wild for rhubarb
Rhubarb has come to the fore in all forms this spring
Two interior designers on their beautifully calm and pared-back Wiltshire farmhouse
Involving an ambitious restoration project and a reconfiguring of the layout, James Thurstan Waterworth and Scarlett Supple’s transformation of a Wiltshire farmhouse has resulted in a calm, pared-back interior defined by James’s eclectic antique finds
An earl's pleasingly domestic country house in the Scottish Borders
Eildon Hall, a 19th-century house belonging to the Buccleuch family, has long been cherished for its relaxed conviviality. Now, current custodians Walter and Elizabeth Dalkeith, with designer Olivia Emery, have retained its charmingly domestic feel, but with a considered contemporary twist
An imaginatively eclectic yet eminently practical London house by Rachel Chudley
This east London terrace is the perfect illustration of interior designer Rachel Chudley’s ability to create a narrative that carries through every room. Here, this is inspired by the owner’s rich heritage, with Austrian finds and family heirlooms setting the tone for imaginatively eclectic yet eminently practical interiors
An interior designer conjures up a fresh and colourful London house for her first solo project
When Honor Devereux was asked by a longtime friend to overhaul her Victorian house in south London, a dream collaboration was born. The result is a comfortable, layered family home admirably laid out for modern life
At home with the founder of Honest Burgers in a lochside cabin on Scotland's west coast
A lochside cabin on Scotland’s west coast offers a welcome retreat for Tom and Connie Barton, whose life in London is dominated by his sustainably minded Honest Burgers restaurants and her graphic design business
An elegant house in Chelsea layered with soft colour and thoughtfully curated art
Having moved back to London from Bahrain, stylist Annabel Bevan set about thoughtfully renovating a Victorian townhouse, filling it with characterful layers of colour while respecting the heritage of the house
Design Ideas
30 reasons why wall panelling is the easiest way to add character to a room
From traditional wooden panels to cabin-style cladding, as well as quirkier options featuring trompe l'oeil, here are the best wall panelling ideas from the House & Garden archive
A light-filled Victorian cottage in south London with a beautiful oasis of a garden
With its airy, light-filled extension, lush jungle garden and gently decorated rooms, Tom and Connie Barton's London house feels like the ideal city home
A 16th-century Herefordshire cottage filled with collected treasures
Phoebe Clive’s love of homespun crafts is evident in every corner of her historic Herefordshire cottage, where friends and visiting artists admire her fascinating market finds and collected treasures, showcased alongside a selection of some of the beautiful pieces she sells in her Ledbury shop, Tinsmiths
How Anna Haines transformed a run-down stable into a bijou guest wing
While working on the statelier interiors of a 19th-century former vicarage on the edge of Bath, designer Anna Haines also took on the renovation of this small stable in the grounds, which is now a delightful place to accommodate guests
Anna Haines brings harmony to a former vicarage outside Bath
The sense of peacefulness that so enticed 19th-century city dwellers is perfectly embodied at this former vicarage in Combe Down This was the feeling that Anna Haines wanted to evoke when she revitalised the Grade II-listed former rectory on the outskirts of Bath. From the predominantly pale palette of natural hues to the layering of antique textiles, her choices have brought harmonious charm to its interiors.
Gardens
The 50 best gardening accounts to follow on Instagram
The most green-fingered grids to grace Instagram
A classic Victorian house in Oxford revitalised by Charlotte Boundy
Taking inspiration from the Victorian period of the house, designer Charlotte Boundy has created a beautiful interior filled with sophisticated colours and Arts & Crafts patterns
A snug 17th-century farmhouse in the Lake District gets ready for Christmas
Since arriving just in time for Christmas two years ago, Jeremy Langmead and Simon Rayner have transformed their 17th-century Cumbrian farmhouse into an inviting rural bolthole, which strikes the perfect balance between artful restraint and festive cheer
An interior designer's peaceful Christmas retreat on the Stockholm archipelago
Marie-Louise Sjögren’s historic house on the Stockholm archipelago was built as a summer retreat, but her family now enjoy the tranquil location in comfort all year round–especially at Christmas
A Victorian terrace in London with the layered, comfortable feel of a country house
Interior designer Charlotte Boundy has brought warmth and colour (courtesy of a few dream moodboards) to her house in Shepherds Bush
A 17th-century house with interiors that appear largely unchanged over centuries
Though over 300 years old, this Northamptonshire house had lost much of its character until its owners enlisted the help of trusted decorator Robert Young, who restored a sense of its past with a mix of antiques, folk art and rich distemper walls
Inside the founder of edit58's charming converted barn in a quiet Cotswold hamlet
Lisa Mehydene, founder of online homeware platform edit58, was looking for a weekend house in the Cotswolds when she found this loftily proportioned converted barn on the site of a former spiritual retreat