Lifestyle

Confluence Collective Oxford brings people together through free monthly events of performing arts.

Where better to hunker down in the autumn than the ultimate snug home? The thatched cottage is romantic, sustainable, has a long, proud tradition – and is now enjoying a revival.

What was once a night down the pub has become an entire weekend away. For some, it's all too much.

Decades before today's homestead look, Welsh lifestyle guru Laura Ashley was selling a rural, nostalgic idyll. Now, her rose-tinted vision of a "simple life" is more popular than ever.

Her larger-than-life persona has led to both admiration and criticism. The author of new book Gwyneth: The Biography, tells the BBC what fascinates her about the star.

The social-media phenomenon has been growing online – part etiquette trend, part relationship aspiration, part fairytale. Is it empowering, a bit of fun, or something more sinister?

From spending time by yourself to making the most of being single, flying solo can be fulfilling – a philosophy championed by a new wave of books.

It's been 10 years since the creation of the first vertical forest, Milan's Bosco Verticale. How has it inspired other buildings – and affected their residents' happiness and health?