The history of interior design

As the V&A opens its landmark exhibition on the French Queen's style, we take a look at how we can emulate it at home

The privacy of London’s clubs has always been part of their mystique, but their influence is anything but hidden. From Annabel’s to Soho House, the club look has become one of the most powerful forces in decoration today.

The English language has never been short of names for one of life’s simplest necessities

Ros Byam Shaw, owner of a 16th-century house in Devon, speaks to her fellow restorers about the process of bringing these history-filled houses into the modern world

In the Dutch Golden Age, wealthy women commissioned extraordinary miniature houses, lavishly furnished with art, porcelain, and fine furniture — and often as costly as a real home.

Fiona McKenzie Johnston explores the humble history of ticking fabric - originally used for covering mattresses - and the glorious variety of stripes you can buy now

Now a fixture of everyday life, the coffee table has its roots in a far more formal past, shaped by global trade, changing rituals and evolving ideas of comfort at home.

In 1927, Grete Schütte-Lihotzky designed the Frankfurt kitchen. Nearly 100 years later, it’s still the definitive layout for a small, compact cooking space

In a piece written in 2001, and reproduced in Lucy Moore’s vivid new biography Christopher Gibbs: His World, the late collector and aesthete Christopher Gibbs discusses how to go about furnishing a historic country house, from choosing carpets to approaching dealers and salerooms

These fascinating time capsules are a mere car or train journey away

As the 90s and 00s trends take over the fashion world again, can the same be said for interiors?

From embracing imperfection to prioritising craft, these are the lessons we can learn from some of the UK's most well-known houses.

The Italian limestone has always been the favourite of artists, architects and designers, and has been quarried since the days of ancient Rome. We investigate what makes it so special - and how you can incorporate it into your house