Since setting up her own firm in 2017, North London-based garden and landscape designer Alexandra Noble already has a clutch of awards to her name. Her residential gardens and landscapes – noted for their compositions rich in colour and texture – have featured on BBC 2 and Gardener’s World, as well as in British Vogue, the Telegraph, ELLE Decoration and Enki magazine.

Noble originally obtained a degree in Architecture from the University of Bath before changing tack to study Horticulture at Capel Manor in Regent’s Park. A two-year stint at the studio of Luciano Giubbilei followed, as well as work with Jo Thompson, before Alexandra Noble Design was formed. Since then, the practice has completed projects across sites including an installation at London Bridge and a house on the borders of Hampstead Heath ponds, paying special attention to the surrounding natural habitat with schemes that encourage plant pollination and local wildlife to thrive.

CAN was founded in 2016 by Mat Barnes RIBA ARB, who was formerly an Associate at Studio 54. This London-based architectural studio designs characterful – and often colourful – homes, installations and workplaces that respond to their social and physical contexts.

Attention is paid to pattern, line, colour and form to create idiosyncratic and striking projects that reflect their clients’ unique personalities and interests. CAN believe that architecture can – and should – make the city a more joyful, inclusive and inspiring place to be. They provide a fully tailored design service to guide clients through the home-making process, from developing a brief to moving in.

CAN’s work has won multiple awards and has been featured by The Times, *Wallpaper and Dezeen, amongst others.

London-based architectural firm Jonathan Tuckey Design has gained plaudits for its work with existing buildings and structures, creating thoughtful contemporary designs that layer new beautifully with old. This harmonious juxtaposition requires a sympathetic eye; a deep understanding and respect for the provenance of a building, as well as vision – something this architectural studio seems to have in spades, with projects ranging from slick international hotel makeovers to 400-year-old coastal cottage renovations.

For Jonathan Tuckey Design, this contextual underpinning of projects not only creates something beautiful and functional, it offers a sustainable solution to safeguarding heritage sites.

London-based workshop Woodsmith build and install beautiful bespoke kitchens and fitted furniture using sustainably sourced materials and high quality fixtures and fittings. Established by Duncan Crockford, the company are committed to the responsible use and management of wood resources, and support the World Land Trust by planting a tree for every completed project.

Woodsmith designs are pleasingly functional, responsive to the spaces they occupy and the usage needs of the client. Each is totally bespoke, making the best use of space whilst never compromising on good design.

A considered collection of materials is employed to realise the Woodsmith standard. For example, the Gospel Oak project (designed and lived in by Neave Brown) combined birch plywood with bespoke beechwood handles and frames, as well as reeded glass for the drinks cabinet, a concrete-look Caesarstone quartz worktop, and Fenix NTM laminate for the lower cupboard doors. (Images one to three below)

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Sisters Sarah and Caroline founded London-based Interior Design Studio & Unique Homeware Shop, SASCAL STUDIO, in early 2020. The duo take a fresh approach to interiors, creating unique spaces that are highly personalised to their clients’ requirements. Each project is filled with one-of-a-kind pieces – be them vintage finds, bespoke builds or fine art – thanks to the pair’s long-standing relationships with trusted suppliers from across Europe.

Sarah and Caroline trained at KLC Design School in Chelsea Harbour before both working for high-end design firms, where they gleaned plenty of perspective on running residential projects in their entirety. Since founding SASCAL STUDIO, they have carved out their own distinctive aesthetic; relaxed and layered interiors that reflect the individuality of the owners.

This multi-award-winning architecture practice is based in Central London and is made up of a small, friendly team that put focus on places and the activities that occur in and around them. IBLA’s buildings are expertly crafted to meet the needs of their clients, whilst adapting seamlessly to existing contexts. Undeniably contemporary in style, the old and the new are brought together harmoniously, providing an aesthetic that balances respect for the past with a vision for the future.

IBLA’s portfolio includes housing projects, private homes, public spaces and work places. Their most recent awards include finalising for the 2019 AJ Retrofit Award (Dukes Avenue), and winning the Grand Design Self Build on a Shoestring Award in 2018.

Founded in 2001 by designer and academic Ilse Crawford, Studioilse is a multi-disciplinary London-based design studio that places human emotion front and centre of everything it does, be it furniture and product design, or interior-scaping for private and commercial clients.

Crawford’s illustrious design credentials include the editorship of Elle Decoration – a title she founded in 1989 – and a stint as Vice President of Donna Karan Home. She set up her own firm to create spaces for clients that include Soho House, Electric Cinema and Aesop, as well as product collaborations with IKEA and Bolon. Crawford is also the founder of the Man and Wellbeing department at the Design Academy Eindhoven in Holland, and has written several books: Sensual Home (1997), Home is Where the Heart is? (2005) and more recently A Frame for Life (2014) – all exploring the idea of interior design rooted in one’s experience of a space, rather than simply what looks good in a room together.

Founded in 2013, the South London-based Darren Oldfield Architects designs and delivers bespoke, carefully crafted buildings that are responsive to the needs and budget of their clients, whilst also remaining considerate to the project’s environment and context. This award-winning Practice works with a spectrum of clients, from private homeowners and small businesses to large-scale developers.

Darren Oldfield Architects hold three key design principles at their core – natural light, volume and space – and are committed to keeping quality of life and wellbeing in focus throughout their designs, even in the most constricted of conditions. Sustainability is also a primary pillar for the Practice, from their choice of construction materials to the long-term energy efficiency of the final building itself.

For Darren Oldfield Architects, good architecture is a collaborative process, shaped by the positive relationships between clients, consultants and contractors.

All images by Guy Lockwood Photography.

A childhood spent in rural Lithuania inspired Ula Maria‘s deep connection with nature, and led to an award-winning career in garden and landscape design. Prior to this, Maria attended the School of Fine Arts in Lithuania before moving permanently to the UK in 2008. While studying for both a BA and MA in Landscape Architecture at Birmingham City University, Maria won the Landscape Institute’s John Knight award for both her undergraduate and postgraduate submissions.

She then went on to scoop the RHS Young Designer of the Year in 2017. After that, Maria gained experience working for a number of landscape practices, including Tom Stuart-Smith, and then established her own firm – with an aim to create emotive spaces that foster a deeper connection with nature through sensory experience. Maria has since returned to Birmingham City University where she is a visiting tutor, and in 2020 published a book, Green, celebrating the merits of the smaller urban garden.

David Nossiter is known for his authentic yet spatially complex contemporary architecture, working from an approach that incorporates the needs of the client, the topography of the landscape and the orientation of the site as equal and foremost considerations. David’s work ranges from rural barn conversions to urban new builds – all designed in his London studio.

David Nossiter Architects’ portfolio includes the award-winning Church Hill Barn – a listed, dilapidated barn complex that was transformed into a strikingly unique home, making dramatic use of the building’s original features and proving that “cathedral like spaces can be made liveable” (The Sunday Times).

All images by Steve Lancefield for David Nossiter Architects.

Founded by architect Alex Nikjoo, London-based architecture practice and interior consultancy Nikjoo prides itself on creating adaptable design solutions that flex with the demands of everyday living. With a roster of both private and commercial clients that includes a school, private homes and a world-famous department store, the firm is as adept at conjuring up a temporary installation as it is in transforming an ex-mission-house-turned-home-studio.

User experience is paramount, as is the idea of future-proofing a space, and Nikjoo always has the long game in mind. ‘We do this by creating buildings and spaces that can adapt over their lifetime to the changing needs of their current and future occupiers. Feeding into our commitment to improving the environmental and social fabric, through a circular economy approach for each project we undertake.’

Hackney based landscape and garden designer Miria Harris is making strides with her informal, contemporary and naturalistic approach to design. Prior to setting up her own practice in 2011, Harris worked as a design assistant at a leading British landscape design practice. Before that, she worked for 10 years as a contemporary art curator and producer – something that continues to inform her work to this day.

Her portfolio boasts a clutch of interesting residential and commercial projects under her belt, and collaborations with architects and interior designers including Studioilse, P-Joseph, Sergison Bates, Julian Harrap and Surman Weston. She has also been commissioned for bespoke floristry design and installations in venues that include Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel and the award-winning pub The Marksman. Harris has also collaborated with artist photographer Ali Mobasser on a series of photographic artworks entitled Flowers.