House and Garden

SIMON BROWN / PHOTOGRAPHER ‘The idea of becoming a photographer seems to have always been there,’ says Simon, who was given his first camera when he was eight. Wanderlust later led him to travel through much of Europe and the Middle East with a camera. Back in London, he started working as a photographer’s assistant in 1980 and took pictures for the first edition of i-D. ‘That introduced me to the world of magazines, while my love of interiors led me to House & Garden,’ says Simon, whose photographs have also been featured in The World of Interiors and Vanity Fair. For this issue, he shot the ‘beautiful timbered country house’ in Kent decorated by Sarah Vanrenen and Louisa Greville Williams (from page 182). What do you consider to be your major…

This June issue marks 25 years since the launch of House & Garden’s Top 100 Interior Designers and this year’s list (from page 31) includes nine design studios that have been on it since its inception and are still at the top of their game. The Top 100 – now published annually and, in this case, out only seven months after the last one as we return to our pre-Covid rhythm – is something we are extremely proud of. It is, to be frank, exhausting to create. Each year there has to be change. This means that, as well as the additional research and new imagery and write-ups, we have to make some agonising choices. A hundred people or practices, now including architects, is not very many in an ever-growing…

- IN ASSOCIATION WITH - TOP 100 INTERIOR DESIGNERS & ARCHITECTS TOP 50 GARDEN DESIGNERS + 25 RISING STARS House & Garden was launched more than three quarters of a century ago and, since its inception, the magazine has been more than simply a resource for those looking for design inspiration. To look back through the archives is to see how House & Garden has always sought to champion the best of interiors and garden talent that this country has to offer. Countless designers got their big break in the pages of this magazine, which in many ways can be seen as a record of the contemporary tastes of the nation. This was formalised in 1998, when the first list of 100 leading interior designers was published in the magazine – and when…

HOUSE & GARDEN Fran Hickman franhickman.com ‘I love the simplicity of Japanese design,’ explains Fran Hickman, and you can see those characteristic clean lines and minimal styling in her work. But there is also a real sense of soul and energy – she creates cool spaces. Before setting up her own studio in 2014, Fran worked as part of the design team at Soho House and at Waldo Works, so it is no surprise that the homes she creates err on the liveable, usable side of modern. The studio’s HQ is in London but there is a New York office, too, thanks to the number of projects she is landing in the US – most recently a brownstone on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. TURNER POCOCK turnerpocock.co.uk The studio founded by Bunny Turner and Emma Pocock has…

HOUSE & GARDEN Tom Massey tommassey.co.uk NEW ENTRY Having started his business in 2015, Tom Massey has swiftly become one of the most interesting young designers in the country, with a number of masterly London gardens under his belt and recent commissions in the US and France. He designed the Gold Medal-winning Yeo Valley Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2021 and is back this year with a garden for the Royal Entomological Society. Tuned into the current interest in maximum biodiversity, Tom shows how a huge range of insect-friendly plants can be grown by varying the topography and substrate, and how important it is to provide not only the right plants but also the habitats for these invertebrates. His first book, Resilient Garden (Dorling Kindersley, £27), has just been published. CHRIS BEARDSHAW chrisbeardshaw.com A…

HOUSE & GARDEN BARD Craft Gallery In Leith, this Edinburgh gallery aims to change the narrative around Scottish craft. It was set up last year by architect James Stevens (left) and his husband, writer and curator Hugo Macdonald, who want to give Scottish makers a showcase for their work. ‘We want people to come in and touch things, to feel their weight,’ says Hugo. Many of the creators make innovative and ecological use of materials such as seaweed and bioplastic. bard-scotland.com | @bard.scotland STUDIO SHAN Interior Design ‘I always try to create “modern” design in a way that is still homely and inviting,’ explains Lishan Tham. Having honed her craft working for House & Garden Top 100 Interior Designer Sophie Ashby, she draws on her upbringing in Malaysia and 16 years living in London…