Homes · lighting, security and audiovisual crea-ture comforts, all programmed via iPads, and now these features are turn-ing up in mid-market homes, too: kitch-ens come with boiling-water

Gold standard

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Homes&Property

Wednesday 23 October 2013

First-class livingMy St Pancras penthouse: Page 26

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2 WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2013 EVENING STANDARD

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news: The phones billionaire and his 50,000sq ft super-mansion

Read Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk

Join our luxury homes search at homesandproperty.co.uk

Or buy the Cooks Professional classic in our shop for £129.99

For sale: the pick of London’s most luxurious homes

A MOBILE phone billionaire wants to create a London super-mansion the size of Westminster Cathedral.

John Caudwell, co-founder of Phones4U, plans to link two neighbouring Mayfair mansions with a subterranean leisure complex to give him 50,000 square feet of space, including a ballroom and his own multi-storey car park.

Westminster council planners have been asked for permission to combine the two listed buildings in Chester-field Gardens and Chesterfield Street — a Georgian town-house and a former members club. The finished single building would have a 13,519sq ft two-storey basement big enough to hold 27 typical one-bedroom flats.

Win a retro-style food mixerWITH its powerful 650-watt motor, this retro-style stand mixer from Cooks Professional makes a versatile addition to any kitchen.

It has a range of attachments, including one for mincing, a flat beater, whisk, dough hook and pasta discs, plus a litre-capacity blending jug to create smoothies, marinades and sauces with ease. It even crushes ice.

The 5.5-litre bowl can handle generous quantities and the six speed and pulse settings make mixing, whipping, whisk-ing and kneading a breeze.

This kitchen classic is available to buy in our online shop for £129.99 in a choice of silver, cream or black. Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/shop.

We also have one to give away. See side panel for your chance to win.

£1 million: leave the city behind and head for Somerset and dreamy Willow Brook in the village of South Petherton. A glorious indoor pool complex with relaxation zones, a gym area, changing rooms and a conservatory would make a lovely spa retreat for paying guests. In the five-bedroom home the flagstone floors, exposed beams, Hamstone fireplaces, mullion windows and bags of living space are bound to impress, as are the two acres of grounds, with a pond, a paddock and a meandering stream. On the market with John D Wood.

homesandproperty.co.uk/lifechangerwillow

£1 million: behind its Victorian façade, this architect-designed house just off Commercial Road in Whitechapel has had a luxurious makeover. The double reception room leads to an extended side return housing a 27ft kitchen/dining room with bespoke units, high-spec appliances and doors to the decked garden. There are three bedrooms, a sleek bathroom and roof terrace upstairs, plus a glamorous master suite on the floor above. Through Hamptons.

LONDON is home to more multimillionaires than any other city in the world. Its prime property market is a playground for wealthy buyers and overseas investors seeking showpiece homes that are the last word in luxury and packed with state-of-the-art technology.

Tour magnificent homes with us, including hi-tech Bond-style lairs with indoor pools that convert into dance floors; riverside penthouses, and multi-storey basement extensions with home cinemas, gyms and spas.

TO ENTER For a chance to win a Cooks Professional stand mixer in your choice of three colours, visit homesand property.co.uk/offers before the end of November 3.

The usual rules apply. Visit homes andproperty.co.uk/rules for full details.

London buy of the week high-spec heaven in E1

Out of town buy of the week soak up a beach view from the tub

Life changer run a luxury spa from your village home

£950,000: Malibu meets East Sussex at this cool coastal home in Normans Bay, Pevensey. Luxury comes from its prime spot on the beach, with each main living space designed as a viewing platform to the sea. There are two bedrooms at ground level, a plush bathroom, a high-spec kitchen, dining room, family room and a sun room enclosed by glass doors opening to a

huge, decked terrace. A further guest bedroom and bathroom are upstairs, along with an impressive master suite where you can soak up the views from the central raised bathtub and balcony. Two large boat stores and an integral garage seal the deal. Through Freeman Forman.

homesandproperty.co.uk/swappev

£49 million: an eight-bedroom house with indoor and outdoor pools in Hampstead.

Visit homesand property.co.uk/lyndhurst

Homes & Property Online homesandproperty.co.uk with

homesandproperty.co.uk/buyoftheweekwhitechapel

Big ideas: the basement alone of John Caudwell’s planned mega-mansion could hold 27 one-bedroom flats

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VICTORIA PARK • E3CANALSIDE LIVINGBY A2DOMINION NEW HOMES

Sales & Marketing Suite, Gunmakers Wharf Old Ford Road, London E3 5QB

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A stylish collection of studio, 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments on Victoria Park’s canalside and just minutes from buzzing East London and the City.

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EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2013 3

£10.4m for a slice of rock history

Got some gossip? Tweet @amiranews

STARS are snapping up homes with interior design by Philippe Starck. Actress Jennifer Aniston, right, is a big fan, as is Chace Crawford of Gossip Girl — his Wall Street penthouse was styled by the Frenchman. The Old Vic’s artistic director Kevin Spacey was looking at a plot at The Lakes by Yoo, the Cotswolds estate with Starck interiors, and now there’s a chance to buy one of the designer’s London penthouses, with two bedrooms and a funky, warehouse feel on the fifth and sixth floors of the Yoo Building in St John’s Wood, for £2.75 million.

SAM FAIERS, right, star of Bafta-winning The Only Way is Essex, has been spotted at local estate agents with her new boyfriend Elliot Wright. He is thought to be seeking premises for a restaurant and Faiers, who runs Minnies boutique in Brentford with sister Billie, is helping him. Who says you can’t mix business with pleasure?

SOME of Britain’s best-known entertainers have recorded hits at Lansdowne Studios. Dame Shirley Bassey, below, the Sex Pistols, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Bryan Ferry and Rod Stewart are among those who made music at the Holland Park property. More than 300 silver, gold and platinum discs were recorded there from the Fifties to the early Noughties.

The 5,035sq ft space has since been converted to a four-storey family home set over the lower floors of the Grade II-listed Arts & Crafts building.

For sale at £10.4 million with VanHan, it is a stunning residence with fabulous features including a wine cellar and gym. A home fit for a rock star.

Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/lansdowneTowie Sam’s on the trail of a tasty venture

Stars just can’t get enough of Starck

RUSSELL BRAND has bought Laurence Olivier’s first Los Angeles home. The comedian paid £1.3 million for the five-bedroom, five-bathroom property, which was built by architect Roy Selden Price in 1926. The interiors of

Brand’s new bachelor pad are a vibrant mix of modern and traditional — it has a cinema, beautifully arched ceilings and a roof terrace, above, with incredible views.

However, the flamboyant British funnyman may not have much time to enjoy it for a few months. He is on his Messiah Complex world tour until April next year.

Russell makes Olivier’s LA home his own

By Amira Hashish

Homes & PropertyNewshomesandproperty.co.uk with

Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/starck G

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Homes & Property New homes homesandproperty.co.uk with

These new homes set the gold standard for LondonStingray-skin tables, exquisite gold-leaf ceilings, champagne cellars and iPad controls — there are no limits to luxury, says David Spittles

BUILDERS are competing to to offer ever more opulent and exotic finishes and d e s i g n s s o u rc e d f ro m faraway places, pushing

luxury in the home to new levels. At The Lansbury development in Knightsbridge, stingray skin from Indonesia is used to clad a desk in the master bedroom, while The Walpole in Mayfair — neighbouring The Ritz — has walls covered in gem-like seashells from the coastal waters of the Filipino province of Capiz.

Developer Candy & Candy provided a super-bling form of luxury for a certain kind of wealthy buyer, often from over-seas, its vastly expensive beige palaces setting a benchmark for absentee own-ers with stables of sports cars.

Technology is the driving force behind modern luxury. Home cinemas are required, as are home-automation sys-tems giving total control of heating and lighting, security and audiovisual crea-ture comforts, all programmed via iPads, and now these features are turn-ing up in mid-market homes, too: kitch-ens come with boiling-water taps, steam ovens, wine and champagne fridges,

while bathrooms have flat-screen water-resistant TVs on the wall and an endless variety of mood lighting.

However, Richard Cutt, partner at estate agent Knight Frank, says: “Luxury is an overused term, which is evolving as we become more accustomed to what is genuinely luxurious. Luxury is an aesthetic — a look and a feel, as well as the provision of amenity and comfort.

MORE CRAFT, LESS BLING“We are seeing a backlash against any-thing-money-can-buy bling and a move towards craftsmanship, restoration, and thoughtful architecture,”adds Cutt. “Buyers appreciate homes that offer the subtle and essential designs that allow them to live in the city — and to enjoy their London life. Basic needs such as peace, space, light, landscape, energy-saving utilities, clean-air filters, and space that caters for families as well as fashion-seeking singles, are paramount.”

Genuinely bespoke design and indi-vidually crafted pieces, whether an architectural creation or a commis-sioned item of furniture, provide a true sense of luxury. At a townhouse project in St James’s, interior designer Oliver

Burns used a bespoke waterfall chandelier as an arresting focal point in the entrance hall. Elsewhere, tradi-tional Chesterfield sofas are uphol-stered in sumptuous Kediri silk, while a bathroom is enclosed in glass that goes opaque at the touch of a button.

TAKE DESIGN TO THE LIMITWhen redesigning a listed Mayfair house, architect Squire and Partners came up with the idea of cladding a roof terrace pavilion in 4,080 indi-vidual metallic leaves in varying tones of bronze, to mirror the organic growth of a Virginia creeper on a facing build-ing. The concept was designed over a three-year period and won plaudits from Westminster planners for “raising the bar for design within the borough”. The same architect is the creative force

behind Berkeley’s Ebury Square development in Belgravia. Prices from £3.5 million. Call 020 7118 9111.

Berkeley has made a conscious deci-sion to use British design talent at all of its London schemes and has opened a “luxury collection” showroom in Mayfair, allowing buyers to view spec-ification details and room layouts, and choose homes from across the devel-oper’s London portfolio.

Computer software simulates exact views from high-rise apartments such as the 5,266sq ft penthouse at the devel-oper’s Fulham Reach scheme. The penthouse has a “terrace lounge”, an extension of the living space, while inside is a temperature-controlled wine cellar that stores up to 1,000 bottles

For many, space is perhaps the ulti-mate luxury. If you can afford a home

with double-height voids, you can take a less-is-more approach by leaving the interior modestly designed and instead luxuriate in the voluminous space around you. This is the joy of authentic factory lofts and warehouse conver-sions.

“There are two types of luxury — the tangible and the intangible,” says Alan Waxman of developer Landmass. “We like to stir an emotional reaction in buyers and appeal to their subcon-scious. Often buyers don’t realise what they want until it is offered to them.”

The firm’s latest project involved transforming a traditional Belgravia mews house into a spectacular but spare contemporary space with roof terrace. “The feedback from buyers is that they love the use of colour, yet ironically, all the walls are white,” says

From gym to concierge: The Corniche by St James, launching soon on Albert Embankment, will offer lifestyle services on tap to cash-rich, time-poor residents

From £3.5 million: for homes in Ebury Square, Belgravia, by architect Squire and Partners. Through Berkeley, which has a “luxury collection” Mayfair showroom

£7.5 million: for a spectacular Belgrave mews house, by developer Landmass


Homes & PropertyNew homes

Inspired by nature: Squire and Partners “raised the bar” in Westminster with its redesign of this Mayfair house, said borough planners. The roof terrace pavilion, left, was clad in bronze leaves to mirror Virginia creeper on a facing building

Waxman. “Simplicity and subtlety creates a sense of luxury as much as ultra-expensive accessories.” The house is on the market for £7.5 million. Call 020 7235 8345.

LIVE THE LIFESTYLEYet luxury is not just about space plan-ning and design, says Sean Ellis, man-aging director of developer St James. “Lifestyle services” are now an essen-tial part of his company’s luxury pack-age. “Many buyers are cash-rich and time-poor so the amenities and serv-ices have to be on tap — gym, spa, pri-vate cinema, club-lounge, 24-hour concierge — and delivered to a high standard.” So St James came up with a

“Designed for Life” brand at two upscale London developments, The Corniche and Merano Residences on Albert Embankment, which are launching soon. Call 020 7870 9620.

Commuter-belt developers are also combining practical design and luxury. The highlight of a house on the Moor Park private estate in Farnham, Sur-rey, is a spiral staircase of steel, glass and walnut with a curve that matches the glass dome above, in the double-height entrance hall. This provides a spectacular sense of arrival but the house is a functional, family-friendly space too, with a laundry chute on the upper floors, a “servery” between kitchen and dining room, a boot room

and garden toilet, even an outside “dog shower”. The price is £3 million. Call Lusso Homes on 01932 858580.

Yoo, the London developer with projects from Miami to Moscow, has trademarked the term “Human Luxury”, which founder John Hitchcox says is “about creating a space that delivers whimsical desires and meets the practi-calities of the real world, like the very best boutique hotels do.” Yoo has sought to bring The Hamptons to Gloucester-shire with a development called The Lakes, backed by Philippe Starck and Jade Jagger. Individually designed homes are sprinkled around the 650-acre estate. A-list owners include Liz Hurley, Kate Winslet and Elle Macpherson. One of the Australian supermodel’s whims was for walls covered with timber from disman-tled Amish barns in the US.

Focal points: a gold-leaf ceiling panel in a lateral apartment, left, and a crystal waterfall chandelier at a St James’s townhouse, both by interior designer Oliver Burns


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Bling us a rural pile with chic city style New country houses must look traditional yet offer all the luxury mod cons, says Ruth Bloomfield

WITH its creeper-clad exterior, gabled roof and verdant setting among six acres, The Dene looks like it

might have been built a century or two ago. In fact, the six-bedroom house is barely 10 years old and comes with distinctly 21st-century mod cons, including a steam room and gym.

The Dene, in Westcott, near Dorking, Surrey, is an example of a growing trend in country house living — one-off new homes that look as though they are from a bygone era, but which have none of the inconveniences of a draughty old pile.

It is on the market for £4.95 million with Savills (savills.co.uk). Paul Finnegan, a director in the estate agent’s country department, estimates that homes built after 2000 now make up as much as 25 per cent of the prime rural market.

And don’t get sniffy about all that faux-Georgian detailing. The market has changed. Damian Gray, a partner at Knight Frank, says: “Forty per cent of our buyers are from London and 25 per cent from overseas. They have probably refurbished their London home in a very smart, contemporary way and they want the same in the country, but with a very lovely view.”

David Smith, of Octagon Develop-ments, which specialises in one-off houses in the home counties, says most of his clients are disenchanted by period homes with their small rooms, steep staircases, lack of bathrooms and often general state of disrepair.

They want contemporary indoors but neoclassical on the outside, he adds.

Francis Terry, a partner at Quinlan and Francis Terry Architects, one of Britain’s leading classical specialists, sees no problem with harking back a couple of hundred years.

“The biggest praise for me is if some-one says a house looks like it has always been there,” he says, pointing out that “revival” architecture led to the creation

country clients want integrated car parking, a self-contained staff annexe, plus laundry chutes and dumb waiters to save on legwork.

Whether these modern country houses will stand the test of time is a moot point. Terry sees no reason why not. “A house built of stone and brick backing will last as long as you want it to,” he points out.

But while the building itself may hold up, Paul Finnegan has doubts about some of the interior design choices made by developers trying to snare rich buyers. “If there is a lot of gold around,

or a lot of bright colours, I’m not sure that will last,” he said. Other common attempts to increase the wow factor of modern country homes include col-umns which would not shame the Acropolis, vast entrance lobbies filled with faux Grecian statues, over-elabo-rate cornicing and acres of marble.

Terry, known for a far more restrained style, nonetheless admits a level of fond-ness for such naked displays of wealth. “I don’t think the desire to make a house look impressive is anything new,” he said. “Chatsworth House is rather blingy when you think about it.”

of great buildings including the Houses of Parliament. “A country house is a personal escape into an idyllic world. If you like the peace and charm of 18th-century houses, then why not?”

Terry says his clients generally want large kitchen/living rooms while many will forgo a big formal dining room in favour of a media room. En suite bath-rooms and dressing rooms are almost inevitably required.

Jo Morris, a director of Duggan Morris architects, whose projects include add-ing a modern extension to a 200-year-old oast house in East Sussex, says

OUT Large formal dining rooms and libraries.IN Home cinema rooms and gyms.

OUT Servants’ quarters. IN Offices for running a home business.

OUT Chilly bathrooms. IN Underfloor heating.

OUT Ornamental lakes. IN Basement swimming pools.

OUT Pantries and sculleries.

IN Sub-zero fridge freezer and catering kitchens.

OUT Running up and down stairs.IN Laundry chutes and dumb waiters.

OUT Five-bar gates.IN Electric gates

£4.95 million: The Dene, in Surrey, looks a century old but was built barely 10 years ago (homesandproperty.co.uk/dene)

COUNTRY HOUSE LIVING WHAT’S IN, WHAT’S OUT

£2 million: for an Oxfordshire estate with permission to build St John’s House, above. Through Knight Frank

£6 million: newly built Thakeham Manor in Horsham, West Sussex, set in 16 acres with a pool, tennis court and helipad (homesandproperty.co.uk/thakeham)


Homes & PropertyAffordable homeshomesandproperty.co.uk with

Conran-designed homes for first timers

EVEN first-time buyers can now afford own a home created by one of the giants of British design — Terence Conran. The first shared-

ownership homes at the £136 million Green Man Lane Estate regeneration scheme in West Ealing, masterplanned and designed by Sir Terence’s architec-ture practice Conran and Partners, go on sale later this month.

The 39 flats are in the Novus building, a curved brick block set beside a landscaped piazza, and are being developed by regeneration specialist builder A2Dominion New Homes (a2dominion.co.uk/newhomes) with designer-builder Rydon. Prices start at

£100,000 for a 40 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat with a market value of £250,000. Buyers also need to factor in monthly rent of £343.75 on the portion of the property they will not own, plus a monthly £132.97 service charge fee.

A 40 per cent share of a two-bedroom flat will cost £225,000 (full market value, £375,000). For these larger

properties the monthly rent comes in at £515.63 and the monthly service charge is £148.13.

Priority will be given to people who live or work within the borough of Ealing.

The homes are a short walk from West Ealing railway station, with services to Paddington in just 13 minutes. The area will benefit hugely from the arrival of

Crossrail in 2018, giving direct rail links to Heathrow, the West End and the City.

Rosie Nesbitt, sales and marketing director for A2Dominion New Homes, says: “West Ealing is becoming an increasingly popular area for home-hunt-ers, offering good value, convenience and investment potential, especially with the advent of Crossrail.” The finished

scheme will involve the demolition of the existing crumbling Seventies council estate and a rebuild to provide more than 700 new homes with a mixture of tenure types, along with community facilities including a gym, cafés, three landscaped piazzas and a public park on a five-hectare site.

The first homes at Novus will be ready to move into shortly and the entire project will be completed by 2020. As later phases are developed more shared-ownership homes will come on stream.

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTHLee Davies, a director at Conran and Partners and the architect of the Green Man Lane Estate project, says the key to the design of the apartments has been to take advantage of the south-facing front façade of the building with generous-size balconies and large windows. “We wanted to get natural light flooding the living space,” he explains.

While the living rooms take advantage of daylight, the bedrooms overlook the development’s private courtyards to ensure peace and quiet, and the size of the homes is generous, with plenty of storage space built in.

This means that the one-bedroom flats at Novus range from 533sq ft to 539sq ft, two-bedroom apartments are from 696 to 1,010sq ft, and three-bed-room homes are 941 to 1,087sq ft.

THE old estate was plagued by antisocial behaviour and drug dealing. Davies has tried to open up the area by removing i ts complex

pattern of raised walkways and dark passages, with open streets to create safe routes through. “Hopefully people will feel inclined to walk through the area and it will not feel like an estate any more,” he said. “It will feel more like part of the neighbourhood.”

For more information about the shared-ownership homes contact A2Dominion New Homes by calling 0800 783 2159, emailing [email protected] or visiting a2dominion.co.uk/newhomes.

Design giant Terence Conran’s practice brings his sleek styling to shared-ownership flats in Ealing, discovers Ruth Bloomfield

£100,000: for 40 per cent of a one-bedroom flat at Novus, above left, West Ealing. The borough’s conveniently placed, above right

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A palazzo in Florence and the very best of the rest Find the spot that says ‘five-star break’ to you in Italy, Spain or the Balkans, says Cathy Hawker

Homes & Property Homes abroad homesandproperty.co.uk with

WHAT makes a holiday home luxurious? It doesn’t have to be a showy mansion in the South of France,

or on a desert island. For many it is a more thoughtful concept: somewhere special, spoiling and exclusive.

LUXURY WITH CULTURE FLORENCE Exquisite, restored Palazzo Tornabuoni in Via Tornabuoni, Florence’s best shopping street, offers 15th-century frescoes, cashmere-covered sofas, a full concierge management by the five-star Four Seasons Hotel and the world’s finest architecture and Renaissance art on its doorstep.

Rupert Fawcett of agent Knight Frank, says: “The concierge service will deliver food or bring in a private chef and can arrange exclusive visits to museums and exhibitions not normally open to the public.”

There are 38 apartments in total: 27 whole ownership and 11 in the Club Membership. The whole-ownership flats start from £720,440 for a studio on the Piano Nobile.

Club membership starts from £377,170 with only 10 per cent left for sale. Apartments range from studios of 527sq ft to three-bedroom units of 2,486sq ft. There are 21 apartments left for sale overall.

Where to stay as you house hunt: the four hotels in central Florence owned by the Ferragamo family range from the design-centric Continentale to the elegant Hotel Lungarno. From £145 a night.

Lungarnocollection.com Knightfrank.com (020 7629 8171)

LUXURY IN THE FAST LANETHE BALKANSMontenegro, below Croatia on the crisply clear Adriatic coastline, is upping its game. Kotor Bay is a Unesco Heritage Site of eye-popping natural beauty where small stone villages hug the waterside, and the resort of Porto Montenegro, with a sleek modern marina including 250 berths, buzzes with small boutiques, intimate restaurants and a cool Balearic-style PuroBeach Club.

More than 100 Porto Montenegro apartments are occupied with another 500 to be built over the next decade. Early buyers have seen prices double in three years. From £261,740 for a studio and £398,500

for a two-bedroom apartment. Other projects include Lustica Bay, with plans for an 18-hole golf course. Flats and villas start from £143,500.

Two- and three-bedroom villas overlooking the sea at Sea Breeze in Kavac start at £336,880 while Montenegro’s newest project comes from billionaire Sol Kerzner, who has announced plans for Europe’s first One & Only resort, with super-yacht marina, tennis academy, hotel and properties for sale.

Portomontenegro.com Seabreeze.me Lusticabay.com

LUXURY BY DESIGNBARCELONAAn airy apartment with high ceilings, classical mouldings and herringbone wooden floors in Eixample, central Barcelona, would provide a sleek living space in a city that’s a design classic.

This Art Deco district of wide boulevards and elegant modernist buildings is also family-friendly, with easy access to the mountains and beaches. The international airport is a short drive away, there’s a high-speed train network along the Costa Brava and on into France, and you are right on Passeig de Gràcia, one of Spain’s premier shopping streets.

Two-bedroom flats in Eixample cost from £354,610. A newly renovated, 1,076sq ft three-bedroom flat close to Passeig de Gràcia with existing licence allowing it to be rented costs £371,500. A similar-size duplex penthouse next to Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família cathedral is £414,500, both through Lucas Fox.Where to stay as you house hunt: the Mandarin Oriental on Passeig de Gràcia, from £366 a night B&B.

Lucasfox.com (00 34 933 562 989)Mandarinoriental.com/barcelona

From £720,440: for an apartment in restored 15th-century Palazzo Tornabuoni, close to the Ponte Vecchio in the heart of Florence and fully serviced by the five-star Four Seasons Hotel. Through Knight Frank.

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS IN A FLORENTINE PALAZZO

From £261,740: for a studio at buzzing Porto Montenegro resort with its Balearic-style beach club

£698,000: a three-bedroom flat with original features in Art Deco Eixample, Barcelona. Through Lucas Fox

‘Buy a flat and the concierge arranges a chef and visits to Florence’s museums and private exhibitions’Caribbean &

Latin American Property Exhibition

33 Margaret Street, London W1G OJD

2pm – 6pm 31 October

10am – 6pm 1 November

RSVP – [email protected]

+44 (0)20 7016 3742

savills.com/caribbean-expo


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gold

As the British Museum launches its show, El Dorado, London’s designers discover a love of gold, says Barbara Chandler

A NEW show at the British Museum highlights the legend of El Dorado, an imagined city of gold in South America, and lays

out its reality — with a wondrous array of ancient Colombian gold art and crafts.

London’s decorators, designers and makers are joining the gold trail for autumn, using the precious metal to lift interiors and artefacts to levels of über-luxury. Walls sport gold-leaf motifs. Opened cabinets flash gold linings. Gold-covered ceramics are protected by hi-tech glazes, mosaics trap gold under glass, and fabrics and tassels drip with gold thread.

On furniture, gilding is surprisingly durable and baths, basins and curtain poles are lathered with gold leaf. Even humble hinges can be gold-plated.

Gold was prized with good reason by ancient craftsmen for its depth of colour and the way it reflects the light. It doesn’t dim or fade. It is dense, durable — yet easily worked.

Frederick Wimsett, based in north-west London (frederickwimsett.com), hand paints detailed Chinoiserie murals with backdrops of gold paint, then adds accents and highlights in 24-carat gold leaf. He says: “Nothing glows quite like real gold — it makes the details really pop.” His customers have included fashion designer Alice Temperley, who sells his screens in her Bruton Street shop and commissioned his murals for her Somerset home.

Also with a celebrity clientele, artist Helen Lloyd-Elliott, who fittingly

does leaf designs in gold leaf for panels, furniture linings and walls, has adorned Victoria Beckham’s French château and Kit Kemp’s hotels. Prices start from about £250 a square metre (01300 320 657; velvet-dash.com).

WARM TO GOLD’S GLOWMaterials Council (materialscouncil.com) is a new London consultancy advising architects and designers. Director Brad Turner loves gold for its “extravagant aura of luxury”, but also reveals its hidden applications. “Gold is an excellent conductor used

in hi-tech devices and computers.There’s more gold in a tonne of discarded mobiles than in a similar weight of gold ore — but we go on throwing phones away.” Gold is non-reactive and antibacterial — “think implants and teeth”.

This metal reflects heat and doesn’t easily melt — “so it’s used in the engines of super-cars and for astronauts’ helmets”.

London-based Sherry Roberts launched thelongeststay.com last month, an online sourcebook where everything is for sale, including OTT golden furniture. “Gold brightens

autumn with natural sunset hues — mix it with orange and sepia for a winter-warming glow,” she says.

Designer-makers love to contrast gold with other materials. RCA graduate Ndidi Ekubia (ndidiekubia.com) working at Cockpit Arts in Deptford, lines silver goblets with gold. Ceramic artist Lisa Ellul takes four days to apply gold leaf to the cluster of intricate clay circles of her glazed stoneware bowls (madebyhandonline.com).

London glass master Adam Aaronson (now at World’s End Studios, SW10; adamaaronson.com)

traps gold leaf within glass for bespoke door knobs.

Stitching with gold thread dates back to medieval times. The Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court, a leading exponent of gold work, holds popular metal threadwork courses. The next is over two days in January (£140; royal-needlework.org.uk; 020 3166 6938).

Beyond El Dorado: power and gold in ancient Colombia runs until March 23 next year at the British Museum, WC1 (britishmuseum.org). Tickets cost £10 — call 020 7323 8181 to book.

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1 DOORKNOBS AND HANDLES Handmade blown glass doorknob with gold leaf from Aaronson Noon, Worlds End Studios, Lots Road, SW10 (020 3005 4602; aaronsonnoon.com).

2 SIDEBOARDCoated in gold leaf with royal blue satin interior, £15,130 from the Longest Stay (thelongeststay.com).

3 MUSEUM PIECE Gold alloy mask, 500 BC — AD 1600, from the British Museum’s Beyond El Dorado exhibition.

4 STORAGE CABINETElysée gold-leaf cabinet from Burgbad; £16,222 (burgbad.com).

5 APPLE-SCENTED CANDLECandle in an enamelled apple, £70 from the Longest Stay (as before).

6 FREE-STANDING BATHTUBTamar bath from Drummonds, Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, SW3 and Chepstow Place, Notting Hill, W2. (01483 237202; drummonds-uk.com).

7 MEDALLION SOFABy Sally Sirkin Lewis for J Robert Scott, £14,235 from Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, SW10 (jrobertscott.com).

8 FOLDING SCREENThree-panelled appliqué screen from Bisazza, Sloane Ave, SW3 (020 7584 8837; bisazza.com).

9 OTTOMANQuilted leather ottoman by Bisazza Home, available at Bisazza (as above).

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IT TAKES AN ORGINIAL TO MAKE AN ORIGINAL PRICES FROM: SWAN™ CHAIR £2,516 ANT™ CHAIR £316KAISER idell™ LAMP £370 TABLE SERIES £1,308

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With a £12 billion UK market at stake, makers of the world’s finest homeware have moved into modern luxury, creating a powerful mix of desire and design, says Kate Burnett

Simply the best: a sterling silver and 24-carat gold Quantum candlestick, £3,700 from Grant Macdonald, left, and a Waterford desktop bar, £11,000, above

LUXURY is a £12 billion busi-ness in Britain, with almost every website and publica-tion alert to the opportunity to offer top-quality merchan-

dise to customers with an insatiable appetite for the very best. But what is the very best? Life has changed since the grandmasters of porcelain, glass and gilded furniture filled the drawing rooms of Europe with their wares. Relaxed meals and kitchen suppers have taken the place of formal dinners and the need to serve the soup with a silver ladle.

THE REBIRTH OF CONTEMPORARY CLASSICSWedgwood, Waterford and Rosenthal slept through dramatic social and life-style changes, and woke up broke. The solution for survival is to keep the DNA of the brand and acknowledge that while this generation might not be in the mood — or have room — for a Meissen figurine, they do adore the extraordinary capabilities of the com-pany’s craftsmen. The combination of ancient skill and a young designer can produce music. Germany’s most famous porcelain manufacturer not only made music but moved on to create a global lifestyle brand, including tableware suitable for sushi and pasta.

This refreshing innovation glitters in Villa Meissen, the firm’s gloriously renovated Italian mansion in Milan, where it shows hand-crafted contem-porary furniture, a new fabric range and fine jewellery all created by selected specialists around Europe. Meissen’s new UK managing director Fiona Milne is happy to have Harrods as its key European location.

Lladró, the Spanish equivalent of Royal Crown Derby, has taken artistic licence to a fun and sugary level of delight with its 24-light Belle de Nuit chandelier, with drops of pastel porce-lain you feel you could almost pluck and eat. With all this striking innova-tion to delight us it would be shame not to have a showcase. And Harrods has stepped up to the plate, creating a spacious, sparkling home for these brands — and many more besides.

WORLD-BEATING DISPLAYThe Knightsbridge department store is famed for its luxury labels but this week it reaffirms its place in the home-ware market with the launch of six impressive new rooms on its second floor to display these classic, innovative brands. It wants to be taken seriously, not as a emporium for the newly rich to indulge a taste for kitsch £100,000 gold palm trees and £40,000 crystal baths, but as a store to show the world’s largest collection of the finest homeware. The aim is to create a display for custom-ers who desire something beautiful, rather than an outrageous show of prodigious luxury.

PARTNERS IN QUALITYNew twists and partnerships are encouraged. Thanks to collaborations between Aston Martin and London silversmith Grant Macdonald, British work here holds its own against classic international brands. Aston Martin chose Macdonald because of his com-mitment to quality and his track record as a designer. Together they have pro-duced a range including cutlery, china and dishes edged with the charcoal pattern of carbon fibre, along with glasses. “I’m so proud of what I’ve been able to do with Aston Martin,” says Macdonald (grantmacdonald.com).

“The champagne bucket, for exam-ple, takes 60 hours to make and seven hours to polish. It’s lined with the car-bon fibre that is used in the cars. I’d like people to think, ‘How on earth do they do that?’ We’ve pulled out the stops to create pieces that really stand out.”

The reborn Waterford has formed a

The world’s largest collection of homeware luxury

Super-light: a seven-piece dining set from Grant Macdonald, in sterling silver and black ruthenium, a rare and super-lightweight metal, £5,440


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Super-cool: bottle cooler, below, £17,750, by Aston Martin and Grant Macdonald

International shopping magnet: Harrods in Knightsbridge, far left

Simple elegance: table lamp by Meissen, left

Golden glow: four-light candelabra by Christofle, right, £4,950

partnership with Jo Sampson Studios to create three contemporary collec-tions including a desktop bar (prices start at £11,000) part of the crystal giant’s London Collection. Designer Sampson has combined classic crystal with other precious materials including marble, wood and leather for a series of limited edition pieces inspired by London’s skyline.

Lalique almost lost its way but just in time, in 2008, passionate Swiss busi-ness collector Silvio Denz acquired the French crystal maker and hasn’t stopped innovating since. He has even encased a sound system in Lalique. See the house’s crystal in all its sexy glory at Harrods, along with beautiful pieces from Baccarat and Saint-Louis crystal, Murano glass from Italy, and Hermès homeware from France, as creativity bursts on to a new stage in the luxury game.

IT MAKES SCENTSHome fragrance has a big space in the store and is rising to such challenges as how to recreate the smell inside a new Maserati — apparently this sensuous aroma is mourned as it fades from the car. Now you can revive your vehicle with a perfume respray. And wonder no longer what the inside of a classic Maybach car smells like — you can try Linbach’s specially created perfume, one of dozens of options.

Rather than trying to cram each con-cession, Harrods is focusing on show-ing the best of each company’s luxury expertise. In some cases the store is the only UK stockist, so many collectors head for Knightsbridge to track down these items.

Light up your life: Belle de Nuit chandelier by Spanish porcelain maker Lladró, £10,000

Top tableware: Meissen tea service pieces with milk/cream jug, £183, and matching covered sugar pot, £179


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STORE your footwear stylishly in this sleek shoe cabinet. Made in Germany, this well-crafted unit has the strength and durability that you’d expect and measures a roomy W115cm x H90cm x D26cm. White-fronted drawers and a Canadian oak surround make for a subtle and contemporary finish and the cabinet can hold up to 24 pairs of shoes. Also available in a Wenge/white finish. Readers receive 10 per cent off, reducing the price from £140 to £126.

To claim, visit tszuji.co.uk/german or call 0845 2246 506 and use the code ESG10 before November 13.

IF YOU want a beautiful bathroom with a designer edge, Bathrooms.com has the answer. The company is passionate about delivering great design and craftsmanship, at prices far lower than you’d believe.

RRP for the Maderno freestanding bath, above, is £2,000, but you can buy it at Bathroom.com for only £499 by using the

10 per cent discount available to Homes & Property readers across the Maderno range. All products, including baths, showers, toilets, basins, taps and accessories, have a 10-year guarantee. See the full range at bathrooms.com/ranges/maderno. Call 0845 450 6127 quoting code ES5P16 before November 30 to claim your offer.

Go mad for the Maderno designer bath

Sink back in your bespoke sofa

WILLOW AND HALL sofas and sofabeds, hand-made in the West Country, offer quality, comfort and style. Everything is hand-picked from feet to cushion fillings and there are more than 70 fabrics and leathers to choose from.

The sofabeds come with a 14cm deep sprung mattress as standard and a five-year wood frame guarantee.

Free delivery for most parts of the mainland within four weeks. Free return and 100 per cent refund policy included. Readers get a further five per cent off all sale items, giving discounts up to 35 per cent. For free fabric samples or to order, call 0845 468 0577 or visit willowandhall.co.uk and use code H&PDISCOUNT2011 before November 20.

YOU’LL savour every sip of your morning coffee out of this stunning bone china mug from Aria. This collectible piece features an intricately detailed Turquoise Floral motif in brilliant colour, and is part of the Archive selection of mugs inspired by the Wedgwood design archive. Usually £24, readers get a 20 per cent discount, reducing it to £19.20. To claim, visit ariashop.co.uk or call 020 7704 6222 and use code HP20OCT before November 5.

Best foot forward

Stylish sipping

Alison Cork

THIS elegant French-style armchair and matching footstool are now available in a wonderfully luxurious mink-coloured velvet, as well as pale putty and dove-grey cotton.

Similar chairs and footstools in high-end interiors shops often cost much more, but Alison at Home’s Rochelle armchair in mink velvet is only £325 and the Filou footstool is only £185.

Exquisitely hand-carved from solid, sustainably sourced mango wood, both are top quality and as sturdy as they are sophisticated. The armchair measures d70cm by w72cm by h87cm. The footstool dimensions are w65cm by d45cm by h45cm.

To order, visit alisonathome.com or call 0800 011 4793. Delivery end of December.

A French fancy in marvellous mink

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FIRST-CLASS LIVINGAt Arran Patel’s fabulous St Pancras Chambers home modern-luxe meets gorgeous Gothic, says Nicole Swengley

TRANSFORMING part of a historic London landmark into a luxurious, contempo-rary home is not a challenge for the faint-hearted. Yet the

opportunity to create a quietly opulent interior at his three-bedroom triplex apartment in the famous Grade I-listed St Pancras Chambers proved irresistible for investment banker Arran Patel.

“I wanted to create a home with elegant, modern, open-plan living areas that would sit comfortably within the bones of the original Victorian Gothic building,” he says.

As one of three penthouses in Manhat-tan Loft Corporation’s 52-apartment development, the property already had serious bragging rights when Arran bought it in 2010. Located bang next to the Eurostar terminal, it sits above the five-star St Pancras Renaissance hotel with access to Marcus Wareing’s brasserie and bar The Gilbert Scott, and the hotel’s spa and gym. Its views, mean-while, take in most of the capital’s major sights including St Paul’s Cathedral, the BT Tower and the London Eye.

Still, Arran felt the apartment’s interior needed “luxe-ing up” so he turned to designer Thomas Griem of London-based TG Studio (tg-studio.com).

“Essentially, I wanted to capture the grandeur of the building at its initial opening in 1873 while giving it a modern-day context,” says Arran. Spending about £300 a square foot on a sumptu-ous renovation has, he says, “also resulted in significant value creation”.

Says Griem: “It was a big challenge to work on such a famous building. We wanted to change the apartment’s

ripple-fold curtain are all controlled by iPad and can be adjusted remotely by Arran as he makes his way home.

The middle floor accommodates a comfortable seating area with a chic Giorgetti sofa, library and “play” zone where Arran’s pool table takes pride of place. Furniture by Poltrona Frau, Knoll and Lema was chosen by Griem to add a contemporary feel.

The open-plan lower level, meanwhile, accommodates a Gemini kitchen with beautiful marble worktops and Gaggenau appliances, a relaxed dining area and TV-watching zone.

Clever use of joinery is a TG Studio hallmark and the TV area’s wooden cabinets were custom-built to house Arran’s audiovisual equipment, while high-quality oak flooring used throughout the penthouse is from Schotten & Hansen. Also on the lower level are two bedrooms with dressing areas, their en suite bath-rooms located in two of the building’s Gothic towers. This means they have triple-height ceilings and offer wonderful views of the London skyline. Finished in Arrabascato marble, each bathroom features a low-hanging, 10-light chande-lier made by the Italian Lighting Company, as a counterpoint to the unusual ceiling height.

Which part of the project has proved most successful? For Griem, it’s all about creating a sleek, urban space. “The timber trusses originally made it feel a bit barn-like but adding contemporary elements has made it look much more urban,” he says. For Arran, it’s zoning the space into homely living areas. Given its immense volume and 44ft-high ceil-ings, that’s truly some achievement.

staircase, bathrooms, kitchen and master bedroom but the building’s Grade I-listing meant nothing could be touched without permission from English Heritage.” Though obtaining planning permission proved fairly straightforward, the refur-bishment took two years to complete because the apartment’s position on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors meant it could only be accessed internally. “Everything was carried up manually to the top floors,” sighs Griem.

Working with consultant engineers, Arup, Griem removed a circular staircase between the middle and lower floors and replaced it with a cantilevered design, the supporting structure hidden by a bookcase. “We turned a functional stair-case into a design feature,” he says. Made from oak veneer, it has reinforced clear-glass balustrades that usher light through the various levels. Similarly, reinforced clear-glass panels used for security on the open-plan, cantilevered middle and upper floors visually connect the three levels. The apartment’s entrance is vis-ible from the top floor while the original oak beams and rose window can be seen from all three levels.

The master suite, with its handsome, blue velvet Meridiani bed, occupies the entire top floor. Its open-plan, walk-in wardrobe was custom-built in oak and leather, while specially chosen Portu-guese travertine stone cladding gives a cave-like feel to the en suite, with its extra-large walk-in shower. Privacy is preserved by an electrically operated, wraparound curtain made by Aspraes, which closes off the open-plan bedroom from the triple-height living area. The lights, audiovisual system, blinds and

Triplex triumph: the penthouse, on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of Grade I-listed St Pancras Chambers, was transformed by designer Thomas Griem

Design feature: a cantilevered staircase with clear-glass balustrades ushers light through the flat’s levelsChallenge: banker Arran Patel merged open-plan living with Victorian splendour

High style: an en suite bathroom with triple-height ceiling and modern chandelier is one of two located in Gothic towers

Photographs:Philip Vile

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Victorian splendour: Sir George Gilbert Scott’s 19th-century masterpiece is now home to 52 apartments above St Pancras Renaissance hotel and the Eurostar terminal

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Old meets new: timber trusses can give a barn-like feel, but with the addition of contemporary elements, Arran’s home has taken on a much more urban feel


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Stash it in style

By Kate Burnett

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1 SPIRAL CELLARSA Spiral Cellar wine room with a retractable glass door added considerable space to this kitchen, allowing up to 1,900 bottles to be stored in the correct environment, with moisture and temperature controls. The range starts at £12,268 plus VAT (spiralcellars.co.uk; 0845 241 2768).

2 KATHARINE POOLEYInterior designer Katharine Pooley’s brief was to create a dramatic and contemporary dressing room. The whole room including bespoke fitted wardrobe joinery, lacquer island and vault heated to 7-10C (with humidity level of 50 per cent for preserving fur items) would cost in the region of £18,500 (katharine pooley.com; 020 7584 3223).

3 DAVID GILL GALLERIES: GOLDA self-described “troublemaker turned traditionalist”, Swiss-born designer Mattia Bonetti trained as a textile designer before turning his attention to furniture. His gold Monolith chest of drawers has the irresistible touchability of fabric. Price on application (davidgill galleries.com).

4 DAVID GILL GALLERIES: SILVERCelebrated for inventing a new romanticism, the Paris-based design duo Garouste & Bonetti became recognised as international players in the art/design market from the Eighties. Their silver-coloured Novogrov chest of drawers has their trademarks of fancifulness, surrealism and eccentricity. David Gill Galleries (as before).

5 JUSTIN VAN BREDAJustin van Breda’s new Campaign collection is a series of pieces based on military furniture design. This handsome chest is made in mahogany with brass detailing and indigo blue-lined drawers. It costs £2,520 from Justin van Breda’s Worlds End Studios shop in Lots Road, SW10 ( 020 7349 7089; j-v-b.com).

6 LINLEYA custom-made kitchen can be designed to accommodate the smallest details. Knives remain sharp and pristine in this Linley-designed tailor-made drawer. Price on application (davidlinley.com; 020 7730 7300).

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Gardening problems? Email our RHS expert at: gardenproblems @standard.co.uk

Pattie Barron

A pick-your-own paradise — just out on the patio

Delicious fruits from apples and cherries to figs and apricots can all thrive in containers Y

OU may not have room in your garden for the luxury of an orchard, but a small outside space — a patio, courtyard or balcony — can

prove a fruitful place for an apple, pear, plum or cherry tree. If you can provide a warm, sunny wall in a sheltered spot, you could even grow peaches, apricots, greengages and certainly a fig tree.

The key is to choose a dwarfing rootstock — fruit trees are grafted into different graded rootstocks — that will keep the tree compact through the years, never outgrowing its welcome. You also, three cheers, won’t have to wait for years before reaping the harvest.

Many fruit trees need a pollinating partner to enable them to crop well, so the other essential factor for growing them in small spaces is to choose self-fertile varieties that don’t need neighbouring trees, such as dessert apple Falstaff, fig Brown Turkey and apricot Tomcot.

All fruit trees can thrive in containers, but if space is truly limited, try colum-nar or cordon fruit trees — plums, sweet cherries, apples, pears — in which blossom and fruit grow close to the 4ft-5ft stem, so making full use of vertical space. Despite the lack of branches, they crop surprisingly well. These cordon fruit trees are also ideal to plant against a fence or wall, taking up barely any space, but keep a pair of secateurs handy to stop them reverting to a more normal pattern.

Apples and pears look sensational both at blossom and fruit time when grown as espaliers, their branches trained horizontally on wires against a

wall. If growing them into this form sounds daunting and time-consuming, never fear, because you can buy them ready-trained. You just need to install vine eyes and wires on your wall or fence so you can tie in the branches as they grow, to keep them on the straight and narrow. Grown in this way, it’s a breeze to reach and pick the fruit.

Imagine the delight of picking a sun-warmed fig for breakfast in summer. Panache is the gorgeous, striped French variety, but Brown Turkey, raised to suit our English climate, is also delicious. Fig trees will provide a bountiful crop provided they are given the shelter and warmth of a wall facing south or west;

grow them flat against the wall, or free-standing. They also need to have their roots restricted so that they don’t pro-duce foliage at the expense of fruit, which makes them ideal contenders for large pots on sunny patios.

Not all fruit trees demand sunshine — apples will grow in semi-shade, but if you have a north-facing wall that has little light, you can grow the self-fertile Morello cherry. Bought ready-trained in a fan shape, it will give you a pretty ornamental tree as well as dark, sour cherries that are wonderful for jams, pies and preserves.

Stepovers are highly decorative and should be more widely grown. These baby espaliered apple and pear trees of just one or two tiers make a perfect and productive edging for a kitchen garden, allotment, raised bed or bor-der: a low, openwork fence providing leaf, flower and fruit that looks delight-ful even when bare in winter.

PICK OF THE FRUIT NURSERIESYou can buy fruit trees in pots for planting this autumn from garden centres, but for the best choice, order bare-rooted fruit trees now from specialist nurseries for planting while dormant this winter.

Pomona Fruits: 0845 676 0607 (pomonafruits.co.uk)

Blackmoor Nurseries: 01420 477978 (blackmoor.co.uk)

Deacon’s Nursery: 01983 840750 (deaconsnurseryfruits.co.uk)

Ken Muir: 01255 830181 (kenmuir.co.uk)

One for the pot: given a sunny patio, a fig tree will thrive in a large container, cropping well

Golden beauty: Apricot Tomcot has been bred to suit our cooler climate

Bountiful boundary: low-level espaliered apples make a productive edging

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To find a home in Greenwich, visithomesandproperty.co.uk/greenwich

£375,000A TWO-BEDROOM house in Farmdale Road, near Westcombe Park station Through Felicity J Lord.

homesandproperty.co.uk/farmdale

£1,275,000A FIVE-BEDROOM Edwardian terrace house in Glenluce Road, SE3, in the Westcombe Park conservation area. Through Humphreys Skitt & Co.

homesandproperty.co.uk/glenluce

£725,000A TOWNHOUSE in Burgos Grove with two bedrooms and a courtyard garden. Through Jones Lang LaSalle.

homesandproperty.co.uk/burgos

£1.55 MILLIONA FIVE-STOREY house in Point Hill, SE10, with four bedrooms, a garden and great views. Through John Payne.

homesandproperty.co.uk/point

Greenwich

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ANYONE seeing Greenwich for the first time from the spot in Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs where Canaletto painted the view

across the Thames could be forgiven for thinking that here is a royal palace to rival Versailles. The baroque gran-deur, the vistas, the classical arrange-ment of courtyards — surely these glorious riverside buildings are fit only for royalty?

But no, this was the far more humble Royal Hospital for Seamen. From 1606 to 1869, these buildings, designed by Sir Christopher Wren and his pupil Nicholas Hawksmoor, were home to a succession of wounded and retired sailors, their widows and children. Then, between 1873 and 1998, they housed the Royal Naval College.

Greenwich, made a royal borough by the Queen last year for her Diamond Jubilee, has been a World Heritage Site

since 1997, and the Wren and Hawks-moor buildings, together with the 17th-century Inigo Jones-designed Queen’s House, are all listed Grade I. While Greenwich can boast history’s grandest retirement home, its links with royalty — and its location between the royal dockyards at Deptford and Woolwich — made it the site of London’s greatest collection of baroque architecture.

The 15th-century Palace of Placentia was built here, seemingly Henry VIII’s favourite residence and the birthplace of his daughters, queens Mary and Elizabeth. Less favoured by subsequent Stuart kings, the palace was finally demolished. King William III and Queen Mary II commissioned the hospital after Mary witnessed wounded sailors return-ing from the Battle of La Hogue. Today, the buildings house the National Maritime Museum, the University of Greenwich, and the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

WHAT THERE IS TO BUYIn the 18th century Greenwich was a popular rural retreat, which left a legacy of fine Georgian houses, ter-races and smaller cottages in central west Greenwich, in the area running up the hill parallel to Greenwich Park. Typical of the era is a fine double-fronted, eight-bedroom Georgian house with a bow-front middle section

and a walled garden on Crooms Hill overlooking the park. It is being sold (homesandproperty.co.uk/croomshill) for a sum which is undisclosed, but estimated to be about £3.5 million. In King George Street nearby there is a two-bedroom double-fronted Georgian cottage for £800,000 (homesandprop-erty.co.uk/kinggeorge).

The popular Ashburnham conserva-tion area in the triangle between Black-heath Road, Greenwich High Road and Greenwich South Street has later Vic-torian houses. A five-bedroom, four-storey house with a top-floor nanny flat is on the market there at £1.5 million (homesandproperty.co.uk/langdale). Up and coming: East Greenwich, east of the park, is cheaper than the west of the royal borough and has some

A baroque beauty cheek by jowl with a rock concert venueFast links to the City, handsome homes, great museums — and Jessie J at the O2. The royal borough’s a gem, says Anthea Masey

The pleasure of leisure: browse for bric-a-brac in Greenwich Market, see ships’ figureheads at the National Maritime Museum, or take in the view to Canary Wharf from Greenwich Park near the Royal Observatory

Classical beauty: a colonnade at the Inigo Jones-designed Queen’s House


CHECK THE STATS

Where to find a good school in Greenwich

The best local shops and restaurants

The latest housing developments

The local renting scene

Where to find some open space in Greenwich

The lowdown on the best — and the most expensive — streets

GO ONLINE FOR MORE

For all this and more, visit homesand property.co.uk/ spotlightgreenwich

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■WHAT HOMES COST:BUYING IN GREENWICH SE10 (Average prices)One-bedroom flat £283,000Two-bedroom flat £494,000Two-bedroom house £620,000Three-bedroom house £708,000Four-bedroom house £1.23 million

Source: Zoopla.co.uk

RENTING IN GREENWICH SE10 (Average rates)One-bedroom flat £1,285 a monthTwo-bedroom flat £1,667 a month Two-bedroom house £1,723 a month Three-bedroom house £2,034 a monthFour-bedroom house £3,340 a month

Source: Zoopla.co.uk

What do you like about Greenwich? Have your say atESHomesAndProperty

Homes & PropertyProperty searchinghomesandproperty.co.uk with

catching up to do. It offers a mix of two-bedroom workers’ cottages and three- and four-bedroom Victorian terrace houses. Jones Lang LaSalle (020 8858 9986) is selling a small two-bed-room cottage in Colomb Street for £495,000. Three- and four-bedroom houses go for about £650,000. Leisure and the arts: the four great Royal Museums of Greenwich are the National Maritime Museum, the Queen’s House, the Royal Observatory — including the Peter Harrison digital laser planetarium — and the Cutty Sark, the last surviving tea clipper.

Greenwich is culturally well-served. The Millennium Dome on the peninsula has been resurrected as the O2 arena, one of Britain’s most successful enter-tainment venues, with concerts sched-uled from singer Jessie J and rappers Will.i.am and Tinie Tempah. The Green-wich Theatre nurtures young talent and there are three cinemas — the Green-wich Picturehouse in the town centre, the 11-screen Cineworld multiplex at the O2, and an Odeon multiplex on Bugsby Way. The Arches Leisure Centre on Trafalgar Road has the nearest council-owned swimming pool, and Waterfront

Leisure Centre in nearby Woolwich has two pools and slides. Travel: the Docklands Light Railway and its swift journeys to Canary Wharf from Greenwich and Cutty Sark stations — it takes just 10 minutes from Cutty Sark — changed the make-up of Greenwich residents. North Greenwich Tube station is on the Jubilee line, while there are regular trains from Green-wich and Maze Hill stations to Cannon Street. The journey from Maze Hill, which serves East Greenwich, is 17 minutes. The river bus goes from Greenwich and North Greenwich Piers and a cable car runs from North Green-wich to East India Dock. Greenwich and Cutty Sark are in Zone 2 (annual travel card, £1,216); Maze Hill is in Zone 3 (annual travelcard to Zone 1, £1,424.Council: Greenwich borough council is Labour controlled, and the current Band D council tax is £1,405.95.

Who answered the demand: “Give us gold,” with the answer: “The gold I give you is the word of God”? It didn’t save him.

Craftsmanship: the 300-year-old St Alfege church was designed by Hawksmoor

Sole survivor: Cutty Sark, the last remaining tea clipper, is a fascinating museum

Photographs: Graham Hussey

Beyond your expectations

2 BEDROOMAPARTMENTS FROM

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WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?IF YOU have a question for Fiona McNulty, please email [email protected] or write to Legal Solutions, Homes & Property, London Evening Standard, 2 Derry Street, W8 5EE.We regret that questions cannot be answered individually but we will try to feature them here. Fiona McNulty is a partner in the residential property, farms and estates team at Withy King LLP (withyking.co.uk).

These answers can only be a very brief commentary on the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor.

More legal Q&As Visit: homesand property.co.uk

Well, well, well — a manhole in our kitchen

Q MY PARTNER wants to extend our house but there is a manhole in the way. He says that it’s no

problem because he can build over it, so the cover will end up in our new, bigger kitchen. I’m not happy about it. Can we do that? And will the water company, whose cover it is, pay for any of the work ?

A THE building control department of your local council is actually responsible for the control of

building over sewers but must consult with your local water authority.

You and your partner must obtain the agreement of the local water authority if you intend to carry out any building works either over or within three metres of a public sewer.

It is not permissible at all to build directly over a manhole or a pressurised pumping main.

You should consider changing the plans for the extension so that it will be at least three metres away from the

public sewer or manhole cover, or you could have the sewer diverted. The local water authority could do this. However, it would be at your expense. You should contact the water authority to see if diversion is possible, and to ask for a quote for the works.

“Build over” agreements and strict control of such works are necessary

because the extra weight of a new building over a sewer could cause the sewer to collapse — which could result not only in structural damage to the new building, but also in drainage problems for neighbouring properties.

Additionally, access to manholes must not be hindered in case repair works or maintenance is required.

Q WE BOUGHT a house three years ago, carried out a kitchen and rear room single-storey extension, paid a fee and informed the local council building department. However we

didn’t inform building control about a small toilet/shower fitted under the stairs. Should we have obtained permission? If so, what can we do now to fulfil our obligations?

A IF YOU just carried out a refit of the loo and shower by replacing existing fittings or units, building regulation approval would not generally be necessary. However, you appear to have

installed a shower and a loo where there was neither before, so building regulation approval is likely to be necessary to ensure that the drainage and ventilation are adequate, and that structural, electrical and fire and safety standards have been met.

You have contravened rules which could have health and safety implications, and there could be repercussions if you try to sell your property. You should try to obtain building regulation approval retrospectively by applying for a regularisation certificate. Complete an application form, pay the fee and provide any drawings or other technical information you have which shows the work was done properly. A building control officer will inspect the work, notify you of any defects or further work needed, re-inspect if necessary and, once the officer is satisfied, a regularisation certificate will be issued. Then all will be well and you can safely use the facilities.

Fiona McNultyOUR LAWYER ANSWERSYOUR QUESTIONS

Homes & Property Ask the expert


MONDAYAs autumn takes hold it’s a pleasure getting into the warmth and dryness of the office on a Monday morning, but a busy week ahead means I’ll be out and about a lot over the next few days. The first job of the week is to value a lovely duplex one-bedroom flat overlooking Leicester Square. They don’t come more central than this, and would be ideal for a film buff — you can see the red carpet from the window. The view from the apartment is great for people watching, as Leicester Square is always buzzing. I think this property will be snapped up quickly, so I get back to the office, and get it on to our website immediately.

TUESDAYI spend the morning meeting up with a buyer who is considering selling her three-bedroom flat, which she bought through us at EA Shaw more than four years ago. She is surprised how much the market has risen over the years, so

is even more pleased that she bought in the area in the first place. People are often wary about whether they’ll make money putting their property back on the market quite quickly, but I always say that fortune favours the brave.

I love the fact that I deal with a great diversity of people and buildings. This afternoon I am looking after a French couple interested in a small studio in Russell Square. It is their dream to own a pied-à-terre in central London and I’m responsible for making it happen. At the same time, I’m speaking about the benefits of Crossrail and journey times to Heathrow to a buyer in Kuala Lumpur. I think they will end up buying a three-

bedroom property overlooking the river at a luxurious new development on the South Bank which is due to due to complete in 2017, and will transform the London skyline.

WEDNESDAYI’m out today with a buyer who is look-ing at a flat for the third time. Estate

agents often feel the third viewing is the one where buyers are looking more at the negatives rather than the posi-tives. Ever the optimist, I get a good feeling when this one gives me his solicitor’s details and shows me proof of funds, but the offer is elusive. I spend the rest of the day on paperwork, hop-ing tomorrow brings better results.

THURSDAY We have just been instructed on a fabulously redeveloped mews house in the heart of Soho, which has the most beautiful living space. This type of property very rarely comes to the market in this location and I have many buyers who would snap it up, so I embark on a big call-out. This location has become incredibly popular over the past five years. Soho has been trans-formed into the buzzing heart of the metropolis, so I line up several view-ings for next week.

We’ve got a number of new develop-ments coming up for sale in Soho over the next year or so, so all interest is recorded on our database ready for an exclusive preview as new properties become available.

FRIDAYLots of loose ends get tied up this morn-ing. Much to my surprise, it’s third time lucky as the offer comes in from Wednesday’s viewing, which is a great result.

In the late afternoon, I quickly pre-view an off-market penthouse over-looking Covent Garden Piazza with one of my favourite search agents. The terrace is a no-go area as the heavens open and it pours with rain, but it’s obvious what a fabulous space it would make in the summer.

I call that another busy and satisfying week in central London.

Diary of an estate agent

Film buff heaven — the flat with a front-row view of the red carpet

Craig Simpson is a senior sales negotiator at EA Shaw in Covent Garden (020 7420 3050)

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The accidental landlord

The truth is out there . . . in cyberspace

Victoria Whitlock finds Google a useful tool to assess a would-be tenant. However, online reports of her own death are greatly exaggerated

GOOGLE YOUR own name and, unless you’re so vain you do it all the time, you might be shocked at how much you can find out

about yourself online. I did it, and I was surprised to discover that anyone could easily find out the month and year of my birth, my nationality, my profession, where I live and with whom. For a split second I was unnerved also to read of my death — until I realised that was someone else with the same name.

There’s a ton of information about us out there in cyberspace, which is why Google is one of the greatest tools for landlords to use to check out prospective tenants. In fact, a quick online search will probably tell you way more about them than any credit

Mother-of-two Victoria Whitlock lets three properties in south London. To contact Victoria with your ideas and views, tweet @vicwhitlock.

Homes & PropertyLetting on

check, especially if they are under the age of 30 and regular users of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Employers often snoop around job applicants’ Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to make sure they haven’t posted anything inappropriate, so I don’t see why landlords shouldn’t do the same.

You can spy on people with complete anonymity, zooming in on their personal life and probing their business activities until you know enough to satisfy yourself that they’re the sort of person you want living in your property.

I found a prospective tenant I really liked but when I ran a credit check it came back with an alarming “high risk” warning and I was advised by the company that carried out the referencing to reject them on account of their low income. However, I realised that while the report verified name, address, date of birth and annual income, it didn’t tell me what the person was really like. So I got Googling — and this is what I found.

On Facebook, even though my would-be tenant had privacy settings in place, I could see they went to a top private school, earned a degree from a decent university, belonged to several social groups and had several hundred “friends”, some of whom didn’t pull silly faces at the camera and seemed to have decent jobs.

Of course, that Facebook page could have been a total fabrication, or they could have told a few fibs — like my 14-year-old niece who claims on her page to have a degree in astrophysics — but it would have been quite an elaborate lie.

On LinkedIn, the business networking site, I could see this person had held a few jobs since graduating, one for more than a year, was well-qualified (though poorly paid) for their current position and

had many business contacts. In fact, weirdly, we had a third-degree connection to each other.

I also found a current address, which was listed to let on Rightmove. Assuming the photos of the property interior were taken while my prospective tenant lived there, I could see they kept the place clean and tidy.

So what do I deduce from all of this espionage? Well, I think it shows that I’m dealing with a well-educated, hardworking, sociable and tidy young person. If they lose their job I’ve no doubt they will walk into another one and I don’t think they are the sort to trash my flat, squat or do a runner without paying the rent.

It’s a two-way thing, of course, and tenants can easily find out about me online. As I’ve already mentioned, there’s plenty of information out there. I don’t really mind if it reassures them... although they might be alarmed to read of my death.

£795 a week: in Arlington Road, Camden, John D Wood has a two bedroom, loft-style flat available to rent in a landmark setting (homesandproperty.co.uk/rentcamden)

Launching 26 October1, 2 and 3 bedroom luxury apartments and penthouses

Secure gated development 24 hour concierge Residents gym Spectacular views

Prices from £196,000

Contact 020 7738 6839www.islandcroydon.com

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1 Newgate Croydon CR0 2FB


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The word from the street David Spittles

Art of living by the waterside

Aldgate: a smart new station stop

VENICE I it ain’t — but City Road Basin in Angel is the setting for Canaletto, a head-turning, 31-storey tower which rises above

the water and is designed by celebrated Dutch architects, UNStudio. Homes go on sale this week, ahead of the scheduled completion in 2015.

The building has 190 apartments and three storeys of amenity space including a spa and private cinema, plus a Manhattan-style “club lounge” and garden terrace, right, higher up the building. Prices from £650,000. Call 020 7608 1825.

Smart mmSmart mmSmarSmart mmWHEN Docklands was born in the Eighties, bankers moved from the City to Canary Wharf, leapfrogging Aldgate, but today it is emerging from the shadows as an extension of the Square Mile financial quarter, rather than a fringe address.

Big office developments and a raft of new homes are in the pipeline. Only a 10-minute walk from the Bank of England, Aldgate is popular with City staff who want to be near trendy Spitalfields and Shoreditch.

One Commercial Street is a glass-clad 21-storey tower (above and right) with 207 flats being built above Aldgate East station. The lower floors are office and retail space. Residents enter via a smart entrance lobby with 24-hour concierge. Prices from £720,000. Call DTZ on 020 3302 3315.

Spectacular views: the One Commercial Street tower will offer 207 homes


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CROSSRAIL’S COOL LINK IS A HUGE BOOST FOR EALING

IF YOU bought into Ealing — which will have five Crossrail stations — when the east-west London link was approved five years ago, you will be very happy with your property profit. Transport upgrades drive up the market, but homebuyers often wake up too late to the bonus of better Tube and train links.

Yet with Crossrail still five years from completion, investors are queuing to buy in previously unexciting areas such as Hayes and West Drayton, as well as central London hotspots.

Ealing is in the spotlight because of a town-centre building boom, both retail and residential. Crossrail will slash journey times into central London to 15 minutes and give a 20 per cent boost to house prices in this west London suburb, according to property consultant GVA.

Developers believe fashionable apartment living will attract urbanites who previously shunned this leafy suburb, and Dickens Yard, right, is already making a difference. This scheme of 698 new flats is set around new public squares and pedestrianised lanes which are being brought to life with shops, markets, restaurants and street theatre.

Homes come with hotel-type extras — impressive entrance foyer, 24-hour concierge, underground parking and gym. From £694,950. Call developer St George on 020 8568 1100.

Documents

Homes · lighting, security and audiovisual crea-ture comforts, all programmed via iPads, and now these features are turn-ing up in mid-market homes, too: kitch-ens come with boiling-water