Houses belonging to interesting people

When her family rescued an ailing Scottish textile factory, Brora founder Victoria Stapleton was inspired to make quality cashmere clothing with an independent spirit, which has since acquired a loyal following

At her farm in the Cotswolds Amanda Brooks and her husband Christopher have used reclaimed materials and furniture from a past life to turn a former piggery into a charming guest cottage. Here is how she decorates it for Christmas.

The food writer and tableware designer usually spends Christmas in her apartment in a 17th-century palazzo in Venice, where we visited her for a special festive edition of Design Notes

Richard E Grant's house in Richmond is filled with an abundance of treasures that the actor acquired with his late wife Joan - antiques, artefacts, paintings, books, dolls and the odd souvenir from his film career. And, at Christmas, the colourful interiors are given a maximalist boost with lavish decorations

Deep in the Mendip Hills, garden designer Sean Pritchard has turned a labourer's dwelling into a charming home

When approached by director Guy Ritchie to decorate a farmhouse on his estate, Edward Hurst instantly knew what he wanted to do with it and the result is a wonderful meeting of minds

Looking for a country retreat as an antidote to city life, Penelope Chilvers found this charming house in the Cotswolds, and set about making it the perfect place for working and entertaining

Narrative is everything for stylist and colour consultant Fiona de Lys, whose atmospheric 18th-century cottage in north London has been intuitively decorated with evocative hues, art and antiques that transport her to places from her past

It is no surprise that art dominates the west London house of photographer and curator Steve Lazarides. But this is no austere, gallery like space: it is a characterful, comfortable family home thanks to Maria Speake of Retrouvius and her skilful use of bold colours and salvaged materials

In an extract from a new book charting the world of Atelier Vime's founders, we take a tour through their idiosyncratic Paris flat in one of the city's most covetable neighbourhoods

Together, Jean-Baptiste Martin and Vincent Farelly of paper company Antoinette Poisson have sensitively restored this historic house in a French seaside town to its former glory

The Kent home of artist Robert Montgomery and poet and actress Greta Bellamacina is a jewel box of candy colours, distinctive antiques and original artworks. The effect is irreverent and original, and provides the perfect setting for their family life and work

Marin Montagut has something of a cult following for his signature designs, and the Normandy house where he creates them all is testament to his aesthetic

Impressive in size and location, this house on the south-west coast of France is the holiday home of hotelier Cristina Lozano who, together with her long-time collaborator Lorenzo Castillo, has transformed the large, lofty rooms into tactile, characterful spaces

Having moved back to Malta, where she spent much of her childhood, Sophie Edwards took over the island’s oldest pottery, which produces the hand-painted ceramic pieces that feature in many of the colourful, light-filled rooms of her townhouse

Textile artist Pauline Caulfield's home and studio, decorated in the 1980s with her former husband – artist and printmaker Patrick Caulfield – is a layered, timeless interior that bears testament to a creative life well lived.

Dave and Jen Dawson are founders of a lighting company known for collections that blend form with function, modern with classic. The same can be said of their 1950s waterside ranch house in South Carolina, which has been sensitively renovated for a much brighter, more comfortable and yet entirely authentic Charleston feel

Moving from an Irish castle to an ordinary 1930s house in a Worcestershire village posed some challenges for Farrow & Ball Brand Ambassador Patrick O'Donnell, but a judicious use of colour and a considered arrangement of art and furniture has produced an immensely appealing interior

Not even a resident ghost could dissuade artist Sergio Roger and his partner Fernando Ansorena from creating a heavenly home in this hilltop apartment overlooking Barcelona