Country Living UK

Whether you live in the town or countryside, in Country Living you’ll find a wealth of ideas for your home and garden, learn about traditional crafts, keep informed of rural issues, enjoy irresistible dishes using seasonal produce and, above all, escape the stress and strain of modern-day life.

Country Living

A note from the editor

February

BEAUTIFUL BRAEMAR COUNTRY LIVING AT TAPI

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ON SALE 3 FEB

“My new friendships have taken me by surprise” • In her new column on village life, Paula Sutton recalls the loneliness she felt after swapping London for rural Norfolk, and how new friendships were more rewarding than she ever imagined

SHE’D LIKE TO TEACH the WORLD to CLEAN • Ten years after her Bake Off win, Nancy Birtwhistle wants us to embrace sustainable cleaning products. Maggie Alderson, a devotee, learns how we can turn our kitchens into DIY planet-saving cleaning labs

MAKE THIS THE YEAR YOU UPSKILL • Always wanted to scythe a meadow, milk a goat, whittle a spoon or lay a hedge? We show you how to make it happen in 2026 with our edit of the best country-craft courses

10 QUESTIONS WITH… LYDIA MILLEN • The countryside has a powerful new advocate in social media star Lydia Millen, who shares the joys of rural life with her millions of followers

“We’d never heard of TIKTOK – then it saved our VILLAGE PUB” • Faced with a huge asking price and no buyer, a group of Dorset villagers thought their pub was gone for good. Then they started a campaign to save it

FABULOUS FERNE & DAISY BAREFOOT X COUNTRY LIVING

POT LUCK • Once a marine biologist, Leela Chakravarti took a gamble on ceramics as a new career and way of life – and won

CLASSIC HOME STYLE FROM COUNTRY LIVING AT DFS

The QUEEN of collage • From her seaside studio in East Sussex, Jackie Parsons pieces together everything from antique maps to maths textbooks to create her much-sought-after pictures and portraits

Reinvent, refresh, reorder • Embrace early spring with satisfying jobs and smart updates to rejuvenate your home

the CABIN at the EDGE of the WORLD • In a secluded Scottish cove, sculptor Jill Watson and architect Ben Tindall have transformed a fisherman’s cabin into a richly coloured retreat that sits confidently in its wild coastal setting

THE ART OF STYLING • Expert advice on how to accessorise your bookcase, mantelpiece or peg rail for a chic and considered look

Styling a BOOKCASE • Adopt a librarian’s methodology and a curator’s eye for showcasing literary or design titles by subject, author, size or spine colour. Set the tone with painted shelves, creating a striking backdrop with wallpaper. Volumes piled horizontally at intervals add extra space and serve as plinths for storied installations.

Styling a MANTELPIECE • A considered display elevates what’s already a focal point, with a salvaged wood shelf as versatile as a traditional mantel. Strive for balanced layering, guided by what hangs or leans above. Accentuate pottery and cloches against propped-up pictures and frames, choosing interesting groupings and varying heights.

Styling a PEG RAIL • Clever positioning and a tight edit maximise the space-saving and decorative virtues of this Shaker classic. Mount in multiple rows or wrap around corners or entire kitchens and home offices. Colour drench or paint in contrasting or tonal shades to integrate rails. Hang the practical beside the pretty, festooning with herb bundles or fairy lights for extra charm.

The barns that came BACK TO LIFE • Turning a derelict cowshed into a print workshop and the abandoned barn next door into a contemporary family home, this creative couple have rewritten the rules of farmhouse life

MATERIAL GIRL • For Carolyn Denham,...