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Giles Kime and Amelia Thorpe ask some of Britain's top designers, architects, builders, craftspeople and landscapers to name the specialists who they themselves trust to do work on their own homes. Anyone planning to create a house or garden, credible word-of-mouth recommendation is worth its weight in gold. That’s the reason Country Life asked architects, designers and specialists on our Top 100 list to share the names of people who have had a transformative impact on their projects — everyone from stonemasons, blacksmiths and dry-stone wallers to restorers, art dealers and textile designers whom you’re unlikely to find at the end of a Google search.

They are people whose knowledge, skill and years of experience creates highly distinctive work. We hope this project will throw some light on those who sometimes don’t get the recognition they deserve. Craftspeople Phidias ( www.



phidiasneoclassical.co.uk ) are fantastic stonemasons, based in Bristol.

The company is run by Trevor Dring, who knows more about stone, particularly English stone, than anyone we have worked with. Furniture Andrew Crace ( www.andrewcrace.

com ) is still the best designer to go to for garden benches. Antique dealer Paul Michael Farnham ( @paul_michael_farnham ) in Bridport, Dorset, for very special things not found anywhere else. Art dealer Gilbert Bannerman (Instagram @gilbert.

bannerman ) for unusual pictures with charm, such as those he finds for the private members’ club 5 Hertford Street, Lo.

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