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Meet the House & Garden Design Awards winners for 2025
At House & Garden, we are always on the lookout for who is making waves in the design industry. The Design Awards are our way of recognising these leading figures. We are thrilled to reveal this year’s winners – people who are making their mark on the industry, whether through a lifetime of work or a star on the rise.
Sophia Spring1/11INTERIOR DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: RACHEL CHUDLEY
Sponsored by Farrow & Ball
A bespoke, neo-baroque chaise in candy pink velvet, a dining room clad in leopard print wallpaper, a fireplace in the form of a squiggleshaped opening carved into a chimney breast. Prospective clients would be well advised to expect the unexpected when they work with Rachel. The bravest among them might even see choosing her for their project as an opportunity to fully embrace the results of her boundless creativity. In truth, most of us would benefit from being coaxed out of our comfort zones by an interior designer like Rachel – an infectiously positive decorator with the heart of an artist. She combines this with the pragmatic mindset of a woman who runs a studio with an international roster of commissions, while being a very involved mother. Rachel set up her own business in 2015 after studying History of Art at The Courtauld and interior design in Los Angeles, and running an art gallery in Camden with a friend. She also toured with Mumford & Sons, sourcing props and creating costumes and stage sets. Since she won the House & Garden Rising Star award in 2019, her reputation and her powers as a designer have only grown. She is a genuine star of the industry.
Sophia Spring2/11PROJECT OF THE YEAR: A HOUSE BY BEN PENTREATH
Sponsored by Christopher Farr Cloth
Every designer has a project where elements combine unexpectedly. A perfect alignment of site, energy and the combined vision of architect and owner. ‘It doesn’t happen often – maybe once in a lifetime, if you’re lucky,’ says Ben. He is referring to his work on an Oxfordshire house, featured in our October 2024 issue. Built in 1740, it became a rectory and was remodelled in the 1980s by classical architect Quinlan Terry, who added a bravura Mannerist façade. ‘Ben’s genius has been to make this glittering architectural jewel the centrepiece of his own broader composition,’ wrote architectural historian Clive Aslet. Ben contributed two new wings, creating an H-shaped house in a late-Queen Anneearly-Georgian style. Though mostly new, it has a sense of settled rightness and an extraordinary level of detail. As Clive says, ‘It is a masterpiece of restrained Classicism, built with thoughtful and loving attention to materials and craftsmanship.’
Sophia Spring3/11LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: VEERE GRENNEY
Sponsored by WOW!house
To discuss Veere’s journey from 1950s suburban New Zealand to international interior design grandee is to celebrate a life well lived, well travelled and – you might say – well designed. The hippy trail around Asia in the 1970s eventually brought him to the UK, where he sold furniture on Portobello Road, W11, to supplement his income from waiting tables. By the early 1980s, he was training under decorating doyenne Mary Fox Linton, but he soon decided to set up on his own. (He also did a stint as a director at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler where he was, as he puts it, ‘the agent of modernism and change’.) Since 1996, Veere has steered his studio to international acclaim, taking on everything from vast country piles to the most modern of newbuilds. He is revered for his ability to tread that often tricky line between the classic and the contemporary, with his always elegant and controlled interiors being instantly recognisable. Not least among these are the homes he has created for himself in London, Suffolk (a Palladian folly) and Tangier, a city he first visited in the 1970s and where he now spends much time.
Sophia Spring4/11GARDEN DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: SARAH PRICE
Sponsored by Cole & Son
One of the most sought-after garden designers in the UK, Sarah has worked on both private gardens and large-scale public projects, including the 2012 Olympic Park. With a degree in fine art, she spent a year as a gardener at Hampton Court Palace before deciding to retrain at the Oxford College of Garden Design in 2004. She brings her artistic eye to all of her work and is known for her ecologically led designs and painterly planting compositions, which evoke the patterns and colours of nature in a highly atmospheric way. Sarah’s 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden has become one of the most talked-about in the event’s history. Inspired by a Cedric Morris painting, it showcased exquisite Benton irises against a softly textured planting palette, surrounded by straw bale walls rendered in naturally pigmented clay. Since then, she has teamed up with the Garden Museum to work on the renovation of Cedric Morris’s Suffolk house Benton End, after which the irises are named, and its garden, which is due to open to the public in 2026. Sarah’s own beautiful garden near Abergavenny was featured in House & Garden last month.
Sophia Spring5/11OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION: SARAH WATSON
Sponsored by Sofas & Stuff
Ever since Sarah launched Balineum in 2007, we have watched in wonder at how she not only creates some of the most beautiful bathroom products around, but also champions small, family-run companies while doing so. This notched up a level in 2023, when she realised that her main tile supplier in Stoke-on-Trent, Phoenix Tile Studio, would likely cease production in five years when its founders retired. Her solution? To purchase it. In doing so, she helped to save 10 jobs and the last factory in the UK that produces extruded, handcut tiles and specialises in tubeline decoration. She persuaded the company’s founders, Paul Gibson and Geoff Shaw, to stay on for five years. ‘The knowledge is all in their heads, so we’re on a mission to transition this over,’ says Sarah, currently funding the extra investment through Balineum. She is also trying to create an open conversation with other Stoke potteries, so that they can help each other to navigate the challenges of an increasingly squeezed industry. Her pottery team has grown to 15, but Sarah hopes to double this in the next few years: ‘We’d like everyone to have a junior, so the next generation is being trained up.’
Sophia Spring6/11RISING STAR, INTERIORS: OLIVER LYTTELTON
Sponsored by Zoffany
This dynamic designer is keen not to be put in a box. Oliver’s style combines a rich, 1970s-inspired palette with mid-century shapes, contemporary craft and the playfulness of a child’s fantasy. These elements all come together in the sophisticated, luxurious and balanced aesthetic that he has been applying to interiors since 2020. He always approaches his projects with emotion, questioning how a space will make someone feel, and aims to use rich, calming colours to create sanctuaries, with a sprinkling of the unexpected. Oliver stumbled upon his first project while working on the shop floor at The Conran Shop and advising his soon-to-be client on lighting. So charmed was said client that, before long, Oliver had decorated their whole house and he had also established his eponymous studio. He has since decorated a large family home in Highgate, the Popina restaurant on Weighhouse Street, and Cob Gallery in Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1, while also working with ex-classmates from Central Saint Martins on a sofa company due to launch soon. We expect to be seeing and hearing his name a great deal in years to come.
Sophia Spring7/11RISING STAR, GARDENS: TABITHA RIGDEN
Sponsored by Hector Finch
Having started her career as a paintings conservator, Tabitha decided to combine her passion for design and the environment by retraining at the London College of Garden Design in 2019 and has swiftly come to prominence in this world. Earlier this year, she received the New Designer Award from the Society of Garden + Landscape Designers for her Hestia Garden at The Plough Shiplake pub in Oxfordshire, and other gardens created by Tabitha have also been shortlisted for SGD awards. The Hestia Garden is an example of how an unremarkable outdoor space can be completely lifted by imaginative design. On the site of an old car park, she devised a series of different dining areas surrounded by soft, immersive planting schemes, with native trees and hedging to link to the landscape beyond. Tabitha has also built up an impressive portfolio – from tiny courtyards to large country gardens. Many of these gardens are still to be completed, but all demonstrate elegant spatial design and thoughtful, nature-led planting. ‘Sustainability and ecology are central to everything we do and we always work to a right plant, right place philosophy,’ she says.
Sophia Spring8/11THE LIST SPOTLIGHT AWARD: GOLDEN
Sponsored by Lalique
Founded by Ellen Cumber (left) and Alice Bettington, Golden is a vibrant studio located in Dalston, E 8. Having both trained at the Inchbald School of Design, they have a solid background in architectural interior design, allowing them to create spaces that are not only beautiful but also functional. Bright colours, a lively mix of textures and patterns, and the incorporation of natural materials, alongside a combination of Britishmade and antique pieces, are central to the studio’s design philosophy and have become hallmarks of their style. This is evident in their work, such as a striking townhouse in Ladbroke Grove, W11, and, more recently, a Georgian villa in south London. A successful project for Golden is about the relationships, a sentiment that is exemplified by Ellen and Alice’s client-focused approach. They ensure that they capture the vision and lifestyle of the client in each space, offering a comprehensive project management service that helps them stay on schedule and within budget. Golden’s thoughtful design approach, dedication to its clients and use of quality craftsmanship continue to elevate its reputation within the industry. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
Sophia Spring9/11RESPONSIBLE DESIGN, GARDENS: NIGEL DUNNETT
Sponsored by Soil Association
As a leading voice in sustainable planting design, Nigel combines ecology and horticulture in low-input, highimpact landscapes that are dynamic, diverse and tuned to nature. Combining native and non-native plants, his low-maintenance planting schemes are wildlife-friendly and resilient, creating havens of biodiversity often in the most unexpected urban places. Known for public gardens such as the Barbican, EC2, and the Grey to Green project in Sheffield, he also takes on private projects. His aim is educate and inspire through his work, ‘I hope my planting schemes switch people on to a different way of looking at things and, if we can raise the interest in natural plant communities and wildlife habitats, it opens a gateway into a different world.’ A regular at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Nigel designed The Hospitalfield Arts Garden this year – an intriguing sand garden demonstrating the diversity of plants that can be grown in low-nutrient substrates like sand, gravel and rubble. He wants to spark conversations about climate change and ways we can all shift our gardening practices to help the environment.
Sophia Spring10/11RESPONSIBLE DESIGN, INTERIORS: FURNISHING FUTURES
Sponsored by Lapicida
Founded by the social worker-turned-interiors writer and stylist Emily Wheeler, Furnishing Futures is a charity that provides specialist support and a safe and attractive refuge for women fleeing domestic abuse. Addressing the desperate need for basic necessities (less than two per cent of secure social housing comes with furniture, flooring or white goods), the charity accepts donations that are then installed in homes or sold on. Since launching the charity in 2021, Emily has established partnerships with brands and designers, including Soho Home, Anglepoise, House of Hackney, Naturalmat, Rebecca Wakefield, Ruth Milne and Clare Gaskin, who either donate items or dedicate time to help bring homes to life. Last year, Furnishing Futures was the first charity partner at Decorex and it has also hosted talks for Chelsea Design Quarter. There are big plans for the newly acquired sales and events space next to its east London HQ, including an access-to-work programme. The charity is a life-changing resource providing the things that so many of us might take for granted and one that can only continue to grow with the support of the industry.
