Wednesday 19 February 2014 Love Homes& letters

Design trends Property Page 14

THE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS: NEW HOMES P4 FLOOD DEFENCES P28 SMALL GARDENS P29 SPOTLIGHT ON MUSWELL HILL P34

Our beautiful basement Interiors: Page 26 DAVID BUTLER DAVID London’s best property search website: homesandproperty.co.uk 2 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Online homesandproperty.co.uk with This week: homesandproperty.co.uk Click and sold: secured by mobile phone app, this semi in Property Mitcham is now part of property search buying history London buy of the week news: super-smart Chiswick revamp Now you can buy a house £425,000: here’s a great little London home, perfect as a pied-à-terre or even a permanent base, set within a private with a phone app — scary gated development in Chiswick, W4. A smart new revamp to its 455sq ft of space has created a luxurious bathroom IN WHAT is thought to be a world first, a buyer has with flat-screen TV to catch up on your favourite soaps snapped up a London house for sale with a simple swipe while you soak. There are fitted wardrobes in the bedroom of his mobile phone. and solid wood floors to an open-plan reception room, plus In seconds, the house hunter was able to pay a £23,000 a sleek, white kitchen and French windows that lead to a deposit this month on the three-bedroom property in pleasant, private balcony. Through KFH. Mitcham using the Barclays Pingit phone app. The app was used to read a QR — quick response — code supplied O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/buyoftheweekchis by Savills Auctions on the property’s details. Once the property was recognised by the app, one “Okay” click from the buyer was all that was needed to secure the house, with the deposit paid from his bank account instantaneously. Out of town buy of the week O Read Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk move to the Sunny side of the street

hot homes: A search for the £325,000: look forward to a brighter and an inglenook fireplace with wood future at Sunny Cottages in the burning stove. The rooms are set baronial and the plain bonkers charming village of Naunton in the over three floors and include a Cotswolds. Ideal for Londoners kitchen/diner and two bedrooms £2.3 million: a looking to downsize — or just to bag a with a dreamy outlook over a walled, Gaudi-inspired place for quiet weekends away — well-stocked country garden. seven-bedroom there’s a Grade II-listed home here Trains from nearby Kingham will home in Hurst, that is a real find. There are lovely reach London in about 80 minutes. Berkshire stone floors, mullion windows, beams Through RA Bennett. O Visit homesand Life changer a Georgian property.co.uk/ gaudi for details beauty with a capital B&B IF YOU don’t do ordinary, why not join us on a property £450,000: start making cash from the moment you buy O Visit homesand tour of the extraordinary — from magnificent historic this thriving B&B in Thorpe-Le-Soken, North Essex. Its property.co.uk/ homes for sale to the plain bonkers. We take a look at an Georgian good looks and prime position at the centre outsunny ambitious five-storey water tower conversion in of the pretty village are sure to attract a steady stream Leicester, a distinctive twin-roundel oast house in Kent, of guests, who can be accommodated in six bedrooms, this Gaudi-inspired modernist home, above, with turrets three of which are en suite. and elaborate ironwork in Berkshire, and we discover a There are three reception rooms and a vaulted sun room, patch of land in Cornwall that hides a 3,000sq ft Cold too, plus a lovely garden with a pond — just the spot to War bunker complete with blast-proof doors and that serve summer teas. Through John D Wood. must-have feature — a handy decontamination room. By O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/lifechangerlesoken Faye Greenslade O Join our tour of quirky homes at homesandproperty.co.uk

Editor: YOU can be the judge Janice Morley Join our New Homes Awards readers’ panel

VISIT homesandproperty.co. WE ARE looking for 20 people with a uk/rules for details of our passion for property who are avid usual promotion rules. When readers of Homes & Property and you respond to promotions, would like to be on the judging panel offers or competitions, the for the 2014 Evening Standard New London Evening Standard and Homes Awards. its sister companies may You will join industry experts to contact you with relevant choose the very best homes and offers and services that may developments in London and the be of interest. Please give South-East, and will be a VIP guest at your mobile number and/or a glittering awards ceremony at The email address if you would Dorchester hotel in May. A shortlist like to receive such offers by of schemes will be prepared by the text or email. team of experts and the reader therefore applicants should have no judges will choose all the winners. direct links with house builders or Editorial: 020 3615 2524 You don’t need any professional have been on our panel before. Advertisement manager: qualifications to be a reader judge — Mark Wood just bags of enthusiasm for good HOW TO APPLY: simply tell us in no Advertising: 020 3615 0527 architecture and interior design. more than 150 words why you would Homes & Property, Northcliffe The awards cover all sectors of the like to take part and detail any House, 2 Derry Street, industry from starter homes to swish relevant experience. For more Kensington, London W8 5TT. penthouses and luxurious mansions. information and judging dates, visit Judging is completely independent — homesandproperty.co.uk/judges EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 3 homesandproperty.co.uk with News Homes & Property He’s not short of a few quid

É LOUIS VUITTON chairman and chief executive Michael Burke just splashed out £7 million on a Miami Beach mansion — the most paid for a home in the area to date. There’s 200sq ft of water frontage, right, with private dock, a pool, guesthouse and tennis court. But the fashion boss, pictured left with actress Uma Thurman, is knocking down the existing house to build a new one. Should he need a London base, a four- bedroom flat is for sale for £10 million in Mayfair, five minutes’ walk from the Vuitton store in New Bond Street.

GETTY IMAGES O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/may GETTY IMAGES Will newly single Where was the Kelly come home Bafta beefcake? for a fresh start? É WHICH prime location hosted the biggest clutch of Bafta A-list É KELLY OSBOURNE split from guests this week? Leonardo fiancé Matthew Mosshart last month DiCaprio, right, Cate Blanchett, and it appears she is keen to make a Tom Hanks, Bradley Cooper and fresh start. The Fashion Police host, By Amira Hashish Oprah Winfrey could all be found at 29, above, has put her one-bedroom, Grosvenor House. two-bathroom West Hollywood Got some gossip? Tweet @amiranews The hotel, in Park Lane, hosted home on the market for £811,000. the official party for this year’s The 1,250sq ft apartment, below, awards which attracted its most has spectacular views and private Strewth! Media dynasty’s mansion set to glittering crowd to date. Hollywood gardens. megastars dined on smoked The London-born daughter of break Aussie records with a £54m sale salmon, fine Aberdeen Angus beef rocker Ozzy and former X Factor and chocolate mousse in the judge Sharon loves coming back to É
A VICTORIAN mansion with views dazzling Great Room. her roots and has been in town for across Sydney Harbour is set to break The drink was in full flow, with Fashion Week. With some of her pals Australian property price records. 200 magnums of champagne and based here, including One Direction Owned by the Fairfax media 1,200 bottles of wine consumed on singer Harry Styles and model Daisy dynasty, whose publications include the night. Lowe, it might make sense for her to the Sydney Morning Herald, it is And if all the starry detail has cross the Pond and invest in London. expected to sell for between given you the taste for a glamorous £43million and £54 million. The staycation, book a deluxe room current record for a luxury from £350 a night — or treat residential sale in Oz is £28 million, yourself to the premium park view so it is a hefty leap. suites, favoured by celebs, a snip The magnificent estate, right, at £1,600 a night. named Elaine, has been in the Fairfax Two new royal suites are being family since 1891. designed, so by the time the next It is on the market with Christie’s, Bafta ceremony comes to town it and seven bedrooms, seven will be a battle for the best room bathrooms, a ballroom, stables and a (marriott.co.uk). grass tennis court are included in the

eye-watering asking price. PA

BATHROOM SALE/C.P. HART ENDS 28/02/14

 
   
    
             
 
  
 

      4 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property New homes homesandproperty.co.uk with

OUNG career professionals shape London’s property market more than any other population group. The Young professionals capital is an employment magnetY and its share of graduate jobs is rising, especially in law, financial serv- set the pace for ices, advertising, IT and marketing. In boroughs ringing the main employ- property prices in the ment centres of the West End, the City and Canary Wharf, more than 50 per cent of residents are aged between 20 six inner boroughs and 44, while graduates make up 60 per cent of the workforce, twice the UK average. Not only do young professionals set the tone of a neighbourhood by bringing Graduates between 20 and 44 have colonised with them a cappuccino culture and hastening gentrification, they set the central London so where will the culture-and- pace of the housing market by pushing up prices and rents. This sparks a famil- cappuccino set go next? Southwark and iar property pattern: once-affordable areas quickly become out of reach for Camberwell are tipped, says David Spittles the next aspiring generation who must search for “undiscovered” better-value areas. Increasingly, that means travel- ling well into Zone 2 and beyond. In the six inner boroughs with the highest concentration of young profes- sionals — Hackney, Lambeth, Islington, Hammersmith & Fulham, Wandsworth and Tower Hamlets — property values have raced ahead of the London aver- age over the past decade, according to the Office for National Statistics. Back in 2004, Hammersmith & Fulham

Land Registry says average prices in southern boroughs are more than £80,000 less than in north London

prices were 25 per cent above the Lon- than the London average. There is also which has transformed commuting by From £455,000: Prices from £379,950. Call estate agent don average. Today, they are 65 per Acton in Ealing borough, where prices providing much quicker hops to Dock- flats and mews Caddington Blue on 020 7117 6985. cent higher. In Islington, prices were are six per cent below the average. lands, Victoria, London Bridge and houses at The Acton is already on the rise, attracting 12 per cent higher, now it’s 40 per cent. Camberwell’s leafy slopes are the first Blackfriars. Denmark Hill also has direct Lexington, close buyers priced out of Shepherd’s Bush Hackney homes were six per cent high point reached when travelling trains to Farringdon, poised to become to Golders Green. and Hammersmith. The area will be one higher and are now 22 per cent more. south from central London. Up from the a mega transport hub once Crossrail is Visit homesand of the biggest Crossrail winners, as jour- Lambeth was seven per cent below the bustling Green, the land rises gently to up and running in 2018. property.co. ney times to the West End will be London average and is now eight per reveal quiet, tree-lined streets with A scheme of eight duplex and triplex uk/lex slashed by up to 30 minutes, while cent above. So which areas will the next handsome period houses and the apartments in Windsor Walk seeks house prices will get a 20 per cent-plus tranche of trendsetting graduates and delightful Grove Park conservation area, to raise the bar for new builds in the boost, say property consultants CBRE. professionals colonise? which has a hilltop square and unex- area. The project is the debut develop- Liberty Quarter is part of an ambi- pected views, a sweeping east-west vista ment of City Square, refurbishment tious regeneration project transform- WHERE TO NEXT? from the London Eye to Canary Wharf. specialists whose back catalogue ing former South Acton council estate. It’s a pleasant inner suburb, barely four includes impressive fit-outs for A new phase of 60 flats and town- CAMBERWELL, SOUTHWARK miles from Charing Cross. Manhattan Loft Corporation and the houses is launching next month. Prices AND ACTON The absence of a Tube station kept the Michelin-starred restaurateur Tom from £350,000 to £750,000. To regis- Estate agent Winkworth, which has a area under the radar but with the arrival Aikens. Understated and modern, the ter, visit actongardens.co.uk. capital-wide branch network, tips of the Overground the secret is out. thoughtfully designed homes have a Camberwell and Southwark, both Denmark Hill train station is one of the Scandinavian quality — light-filled T Napier Square in West south of the river. Prices in these two stops on the Surrey Quays to Clapham spaces with patio gardens and green Acton (visit homesand- areas are already 12 per cent higher Junction spur of the East London line, roof terraces to maximise the views. property.co.uk/napier), multi-storey townhouses have private parking, Aterraces and back gardens. Prices from £950,000. Call Berkeley Homes on 020 8811 2336. IT’S A MAN THING IS THERE A TUBE? “Proximity to a Tube station is the single most important factor — a must for almost every buyer and renter through our doors,” says Winkworth chief executive Dominic Agace. Young men, in particular, like to be near a station, with their day-to-day needs of pub, café, restaurant, deli and dry cleaners on the way to or from work. From £350,000: flats and houses ZONE 2’S LAST launch at Liberty REMAINING SECRETS Quarter, South Acton, next FROM DEPTFORD TO CANNING month. Register TOWN AND KILBURN at actongardens. Worth investigating are Whitechapel, co.uk Rotherhithe, Deptford, Stockwell, EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 5 New homes Homes & Property   #      
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From £300,000: one- to -three-bedroom flats at Chester Balmore in Camden’s Dartmouth Park conservation area, above and below. Call 020 3320 8220

Oval, New Cross, Brockley, Brixton, Ladywell, Lewisham, Finsbury Park, Holloway, Canning Town and Kilburn. Land Registry figures show that the average price for south London boroughs is £343,878 — that’s £80,200 less than north London boroughs. Research company Lonres, which collates data from estate agents, says square foot values in inner south London average £650, compared with £956 in north London and £1,075 in west London. SE postcodes away from the buzzing Southwark waterfront remain among the cheapest in the capital but are ris- ing faster than many other parts of London. This swathe stretches from Blipp Woolwich — another Crossrail benefici- the advert to ary — via Catford and Dulwich to watch our Shared Walworth and Kennington. Ownership video NORTH STAR CAMDEN    #  !   # While the extended East London line From £950,000: Napier Square, West Acton (homesandproperty.co.uk/napier) through Hackney and south to Croydon has opened up areas previously out of 8220. Other buyers simply move fur- Notting Hill Gate, where prices are     #        
bounds to commuter-conscious home ther along the line to get better value more like those in Balham, points out   
         
buyers, “most people working in the for money. “What may look a longer estate agent Marsh & Parsons. City and West End want to live in more way out on the map is just 10 minutes A new-build scheme, 330 Ladbroke      "  !  #    commuter-friendly north London”, more on the train,” adds Dominic Grove is under way, with completion    
  
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  #  says Iain Currie of Holborn estate agent Agace. Winkworth’s price data shows due next year. Prices from £425,000.    
 
        Thomson Currie. Haringey, Hendon, Tottenham, Edg- Call Taylor Wimpey on 020 3053 0740. Of the 275 Tube stations in London, ware and Wembley as among the Flow, a new apartment scheme close only 30 are south of the river. Arguably, cheapest places north of the river. In to Balham Tube station, has flats priced 
   north London has more housing the east, Barking and Walthamstow, from £390,995 to £725,995. Call Bell- variety too, with trendy City-fringe both Tube-connected, stand out as way on 0845 548 3007. www.lqgroup.co.uk/pricedin districts, handsome Georgian squares, good value, as does Isle of Dogs beyond The Lexington (visit homesand- canalside lofts and smart Victorian the Canary Wharf business district. property.co.uk/lex) in NW11 close to terraces. Golders Green Tube station, comprises Industrial and Provident Society 30441R exempt charity. Details correct at time of going However, affordable homes are for a modern mansion block, courtyard to print 2/14. Your home is at risk if you fail to keep up repayments on a mortgage, rent or FORGOTTEN HOT TIP other loan secured on it. Please make sure you can afford the repayments before you take sale. New apartments at a scheme flats and mews houses around land- out a mortgage. *The fi gure quoted is based on a 35% share for a £200,000, 1 bedroom property at Capworth Court, E10. This fi gure may vary according to individual incomes called Chester Balmore in Camden’s NORTH KENSINGTON scaped communal space, plus there is and circumstances. £80,000 income is the maximum income allowable to purchase a Dartmouth Park conservation area The cheapest part of the Royal Borough a concierge and underground parking. 3 bedroom Shared Ownership property. FOR FULL TERMS & CONDITIONS please see near Archway Tube station cost from of Kensington and Chelsea is North Prices from £455,000. Call Glentree www.lqgroup.org.uk/pricedin for details. CGI is representative of an L&Q development. £300,000. Call Savills on 020 3320 Kensington, a 15-minute walk from Estates on 0845 6060765. 6 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Area focus homesandproperty.co.uk with De Beauvoir Town impressed the New York Times as a boho-chic, buzzing Hackney village. But it offers privacy and peace too, discovers Liz Hoggard Going Dutch: gables and mullion windows are part of the character of De Beauvoir Square, above left and right. Harry Davies, centre, at his popular De Beauvoir Deli You needn’t leave the city to escape it E BEAUVOIR TOWN is a shoot.” On the corner of Southgate village, says restaurateur Road, the Hunter S pub, named after US Harry Davies. “Many counterculture writer Hunter S Thomp- people who grew up here son, has the air of a Fifties speakeasy. stayed and opened busi- Microbrewery Duke’s Brew and Que is nesses.D Lots of old warehouses and run by rocker Robert Plant’s son Lino. industrial buildings have been turned The St Peter’s church crypt hosts exhibi- into artists’ studios. There’s a nice tions and the annual Hackney Debate, energy, with lots of young families.” while the De Beauvoir Association puts Davies grew up in De Beauvoir. Now out a free monthly newsletter and holds 31, he has two businesses on Southgate a July Party in the Park. Annual flower Road — the De Beauvoir Deli, selling and dog shows are hotly contested. locally produced jam, cheese and Sip- Haggerston Overground station offers smith gin, and Sweet Thursday pizza access to the Victoria line at Highbury restaurant and wine shop, opened with & Islington and Canary Wharf via childhood friend Rosie Wesemann. Canada Water, and buses to the City Located between Dalston and Isling- are frequent. ton, De Beauvoir Town forms part of a conservation area in Hackney borough. WHAT YOU CAN BUY Local residents include artists Rebecca You won’t see change from £1.5million Warren and Cedric Christie, and singer for the four-bedroom houses in De Beth Orton. The quiet, tree-lined Beauvoir Square. In Englefield Road, streets feature semi-detached Victorian Victorian family houses fetch £1.2 mil- houses. Those around De Beauvoir lion. However, the Reliance Wharf Square, with distinctive Dutch gables scheme at Kingsland Basin has flats

and mullion windows, are particularly GRAHAM HUSSEY ALL PICTURES BY from £400,000 to £600,000. The tall and elegant. Benyon Estate has rental properties Southgate Road, with its artisan Distinctive: elegant four-bedroom Rosemary Branch pub theatre in Shep- chi-chi. All the cars are super-expen- from £300 a week. shops, has a touch of Primrose Hill. A homes in De Beauvoir Square, N1, perton Road is much loved, and the sive.” Light industrial buildings along There are good local nurseries and corner newsagent has been turned into command prices up to £1.5 million Royal Court staged Circle Mirror Trans- the Kingsland Basin and Regent’s Canal state primary Our Lady and St Joseph the 52A Coffee House, while the Flower formation, with Toby Jones and Imelda have become studios and cafés, includ- RC is well-regarded. Hackney New Appreciation Society florist has created class, residential enclave, says Julia Staunton, at the Rose Lipman commu- ing the Towpath café, which the New School, a free school, opened in Sep- arrangements for fashion houses Roger Porter-Pryce, vicar of St Peter De Beau- nity hall in De Beauvoir Road. The Mil- York Times praised for its boho-chic. tember and the new Open School East Vivier and Marc Jacobs. voir church. “But the neighbourhood linery Works gallery in Southgate Road Meanwhile, the fashion pack are mov- art school is in the Rose Lipman Build- De Beauvoir offers peace and privacy has been socially and culturally mixed stocks Arts & Crafts furniture and con- ing in. “Simone Rocha has a studio ing. Arty eccentricity flourishes in N1. with the benefits of city living. Roads for over 150 years.” The Benyon Estate, temporary craftwork, while 2 & 4 Gal- opposite my flat,” blogs Hayley Davies, When he lived there, chef Mark Hix are wider than in Islington, and there’s descendants of the De Beauvoir family lery is a retro furniture shop and café. 29 (mydebeauvoirdiaries.com). “And smoked his salmon in his garden. “Now no through traffic on some. The “town” who first developed the land, still man- Davies has seen the area change in local designer/maker Rob Goodwin Selfridges sells his De Beauvoir smoked was created in the 1820s as a middle- ages more than 300 properties. The the last few years. “It has become very made a leather cape for a Madonna salmon,” laughs Davies. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 7 homesandproperty.co.uk with Affordable homes Homes & Property

Shared-ownership homes are on Military spectacle: the 1st Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles marching in offer at an ex-Gurkha base in the Fleet, closest town to their former base at Queen Elizabeth Barracks in home counties spot voted happiest Church Crookham, which is now being in Britain, says Ruth Bloomfield developed with 900 new homes

PPORTUNITIES to buy Moor School — for seniors — in Fleet, shared-ownership prop- the nearest town, is considered “good” erty in the home counties by the government schools watch- are rare but the redevelop- dog. ment of Queen Elizabeth As well as a senior school, Fleet has BarracksO — former home of the Gurkhas plenty of high street shops, cafés, res- — in the pretty Hampshire village of taurants and a leisure centre. Its train Church Crookham means those on a station, about two and a half miles from tight budget aren’t excluded from a Church Crookham, has services to highly sought-after area. Waterloo from 40 minutes. An annual This top-notch commuter destination season ticket costs £4,420 and a dedi- is part of the district of Hart, one of the cated bus service from Church Crook- most affluent areas of the country and ham is planned. named Britain’s best place to live three Kush Rawal, assistant marketing and years running in the Halifax quality of sales director of Thames Valley Hous- life survey. The study criteria range from ing, said the lack of affordable homes crime rates, to levels of attainment at in the home counties is an unfortunate local schools, to “happiness” ratings. side effect of the recession. The barracks, decommissioned in “Developers scaled right back on 2000, is being turned into nearly 900 their operations and have focused on

new houses and flats by developer HOLLINGSBEE LOUIS small-scale but high-value develop- ments. These were often too small to require any affordable housing on the site, or they only offered a very small number of affordable homes,” he Quick march to top quality of life explains. Which is why the Queen Elizabeth Local amenities: Taylor Wimpey. So far, in the region of houses with a full market value of about Canal which runs through the village. Top-notch Barracks scheme, which will feature the High Street in 200 properties have been built and £300,000. Buying a 40 per cent share The schooling situation is a little mixed. commuter spot: more affordable homes in later phases, Fleet. The town work is due to complete on this vast of one of these houses will therefore There are plans to build a new infant affordable is such an unusual opportunity. has a senior project around 2020. cost some £120,000. school on the site and expand and homes are part “The location is one of the best places school rated Thames Valley Housing (tvhsales. There are also four one-bedroom invest in local junior schools. At present of the plan for to live in the UK, you are in a great “good” by co.uk) in association with Bracknell flats, six two-bedroom flats and four Church Crookham Junior School decommissioned commuter spot, and you will be Ofsted, shops, Forest Homes has an initial tranche of two-bedroom houses on offer. Prices requires improvement according to its Queen Elizabeth surrounded by greenery,” says Rawal. restaurants and 30 shared-ownership properties that for these properties will be announced latest Ofsted report. On the other hand Barracks, Church “For people who are looking for a leisure centre will be move-in ready by about May. closer to the official launch next nearby Tweseldown Infant School is Crookham, family-size accommodation it is going More than half are three-bedroom month. rated as “outstanding”, and Court Hampshire to tick a lot of boxes.” A key reason people move out of Lon- don is the search for more open space. This development is being built on 68 acres of a 324-acre site, which means the homes will be surrounded by wood- land and open spaces threaded with footpaths and cycle routes. The com- pleted scheme will also have a commu- nity centre, allotments, playgrounds, shops and an athletics track. Until then Church Crookham has a handful of shops and two pubs. The garden of the Fox and Hounds is par- ticularly popular in summer as a place

ALAMY to enjoy a pint beside the Basingstoke 8 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Homes abroad homesandproperty.co.uk with

HE Winter Olympics may have inspired you to perfect your mountain sports technique — but forget the controversies of Sochi in TRussia and go instead to France. It is where more than a third of all British skiers head each year and its appeal — for both holidaymakers and home buyers — is compelling. The French Alps are easy to reach from London by air, car and high-speed rail and offer 200 exceptionally varied resorts ranging from small villages with a cluster of wooden chalets up to some of Europe’s most illustrious destina- From £241,800: one- to four-bedroom flats at Le Cristal de tions. That includes some large pur- Jade, MGM’s five-star Chamonix residence (020 7494 0706) pose-built resorts, not the prettiest places perhaps. But what they lack in historic charm is often compensated for by the convenience of ski-in-and- out accommodation. Forget Sochi. “Location is most important for our buyers who look for a hassle-free holi- day home providing an active moun- tain lifestyle,” says Laurent Hallez of French developer MGM. “They want a There are home where they can ski from their front door, or one that is centrally located with a regular bus service to the ski lifts.” games all

CHAMONIX — THE SPORTY CHOICE Chamonix is a true year-round resort, year in the packed with climbers in summer and snow fiends in winter, all mesmerised by the allure of two towering peaks — Mont Blanc and the Aiguille du Midi. Le Cristal de Jade, a five-star residence French Alps with 51 one- to four-bedroom flats, two pools, a gym, sauna and reception, is being built at the foot of Aiguille du Midi, which is served by Europe’s highest Cathy Hawker finds homes in cable car. Prices with parking start from £241,800 excluding VAT. family-friendly resorts with great “Chamonix is very popular with Brit- ish buyers,” says David Giraud, MGM winter and summer sports — all president, who has lived in the town 15 years. “It has a newly pedestrianised a swift journey from London Year-round thrills: the Thomas family from Bath visit their flat in Briançon summer and winter centre with designer and outdoor sports shops, and skiing for all levels. Geneva but attracts more British skiers HASSLE-FREE HOLIDAY HOME IS EASY TO LET It’s a proper town with a year-round than anywhere else in the French Alps. population of 13,000, a good choice of Prices are high, both for hotels and SKIING has been the main leaseback flat in Briançon, festivals in summer.” The restaurants and bars, and it’s less than homes, but the property on offer is holiday for Nigel and Caroline bought through Erna Low, family aims to visit summer one hour from Geneva airport.” aimed at some of the world’s wealthiest Thomas, from Bath, since their helped them to discover the and winter, with the flat rented buyers. Jean-Charles Covarel has been children Lucy, Henry and joy of the Alps in the summer. out when they are not there. VAL D’ISÈRE – renovating and building beautiful Flossie, now aged 24, 22 and “We tried mountain biking “We get a fixed quarterly rental THE ELITE CHOICE chalets in the Alps since 1991, employ- 17, were small. and were so keen we took up from the management Val d’Isère and the mighty Espace Killy ing skilled local artisans and using old The family always chose road biking, entering the company,” says Nigel. “It works ski area is almost three hours from wood and local stone. France so when they bought a London Duathlon last year,” out smoothly, with them taking His latest project is Le Petit Alaska, home in the Alps in 2011 the says Nigel. “There are small care of all maintenance.” eight chalets in the heart of the resort. location was an easy decision. family restaurants on the O Erna Low: ernalowproperty. The final two for sale are four-bedroom Their three-bedroom mountains and medieval co.uk (020 7590 1624) Silveretta 5 for £2,155,000, and Chalet 

 
Husky with seven bedrooms, an indoor pool and spa, archery lane and indoor the place to head for. A pretty village From £414,670: building Residence Léana, a four-star 
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" climbing wall for £9,952,000. The of wooden chalets with a good selec- ski-in-and-out leaseback property with 55 one- to latter, one of the largest in the Alps, tion of restaurants and a family-friendly Cygnaski, Val four-bedroom flats of 485sq ft to generates an astonishing £248,750 reputation, it links directly into Flaine’s d’Isère, newly 1,076sq ft priced from £190,700 fully 

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rental for the winter season alone, says large ski area. Geneva airport is less refurbished flats furnished, including VAT. The wooden  &

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selling agent Athena Advisors. than an hour away and a free bus serv- with one to five and stone Savoyarde chalet-style resi-   

 
 The same agent is selling Cygnaski, 15 ice runs all day, every day. Property bedrooms, dence beside a nursery slope will have 
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   ski-in-and-out flats priced from £414,670 prices are at least 25 per cent below below. Through an indoor pool and reception. near the main lifts. The one- to five-bed- Chamonix and Val d’Isère. MGM is Under MGM’s leaseback rules owners 
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Athena Advisors  
  


room, newly refurbished freehold do not pay VAT (saving 20 per cent) and " #
 

homes have traditional wood interiors can use their flats for up to 10 weeks a 

 


and vaulted ceilings, with views over year, including Christmas and new year 
 

 
Solaise and La Daille valley. weeks. The homes will be let out for  '"


the remainder of the year with a 

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LES CARROZ — guaranteed return of around 1.5 per " 


 


 
  
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"$ THE FAMILY CHOICE cent. Flaine, built in the Sixties and Seventies Completion is expected in winter with too many grey concrete apart- next year and since the launch last  

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 ment blocks, can’t claim any beauty month, 10 apartments have sold to  
   prizes but offers exceptional skiing British, French and Swiss buyers. 

   over 164 miles of slopes in a big, snowy bowl at the edge of Mont Blanc. Begin- CONTACTS ners, families and intermediates will O MGM: mgmfrenchproperties.com love it, while off-piste fans can access (020 7494 0706) some of France’s finest back-country O Athena Advisors: athenaadvisors. skiing. Les Carroz, 10 minutes away, is co.uk (020 7471 4500) 10 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Design homesandproperty.co.uk with

PRAGUE is the location for Serena, one of this year’s most hotly anticipated movies. It stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer PLawrence, noted for fizzing on-screen chemistry in Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, for which Lawrence won the best supporting actress Bafta at the weekend. Set in Depression-era North Carolina, Serena was shot over three months in the Czech Republic capital by director Susanne Bier, who was lured by its filming facilities and streetcapes. With an unrivalled mix of Gothic, Renaissance, baroque, rococo, cubist and ultra-modern buildings, it’s no wonder the city has become a hotbed of cutting-edge design. Architects Dum a Mesto are behind Showcase for a city: Mandarin Oriental, Prague, on an ancient monastery site two of the most glamorous buildings in the city — the Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons hotels. Here, the practice shares the design secrets behind each project... StealStealtheStSteteaeaalthesl tthehe s

Prague By Amira Hashish

MANDARIN ORIENTAL Built on the site of a 14th-century former monastery, the hotel is in the cobbled streets of Malá Strana, or the Little Quarter, a smart, quiet area of the compact city. “The most difficult part of the project was figuring out how to fit a new hotel around the existing buildings of a baroque monastery,” say the architects, who chose materials carefully. Windows and doors are oak, there are parquet and polished limestone floors from southern Europe and paving slabs outside are Czech sandstone. The old chapter room and refectory Dream team on became a ballroom, lounge and screen: Jennifer restaurant, while in the hotel spa the Lawrence and walls of a former Gothic church were Bradley Cooper uncovered. The remains of the nave rekindled the are now visible beneath a glass floor cinematic fizz in in the lobby. Prague for the The hotel room interiors are film Serena, out designed by London-based KCA

GETTY IMAGES later this year International. Principal designer EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 11 homesandproperty.co.uk with Design Homes & Property

Be inspired: the Get the look: Oliver Bonas has velvet Barego bar, left, tub chairs in a wide variety of colours at the Mandarin (£445, oliverbonas.com) and larger Oriental is a “love tubs” for £565. Graham and statement in Green’s Deep Dream armchair smart contrasts. (£1,062.50, grahamandgreen.co.uk) Find red leather in vintage green velvet is a bestseller. bar stools at Ikea Go for velvet scatter cushions, such for £50 each as the Phipps Cobalt in pure velvet from Designers Guild (£39.50, designersguild.com); Bhs’s duck egg Style at a snip: and ivory cushions (£8, bhs.co.uk); the Plantation the Christian Lacroix Paseo Doble Rug Company’s Jais (£95, amara.com) or Homebase’s Nomadic style, Home of Style Velveteen (£5.99, right, from £100 homebase.co.uk). at plantation For chic storage and seating, splash rug.co.uk out on the Langley ottoman from The White Company (£700, thewhitecompany.com) or the Decker bench from made.com (£199). Cloistered in Khuan Chew reflected the eclectic bargain patterned rug at £15 Liven up the floor with Oka’s Vasili luxury: the nature of the city in the fabric motifs, (laredoute.co.uk). Keep storage rug (£1,150) or the Bishkek Turkish Mandarin furniture and lighting, and no two masculine using Ikea’s Besta design (£1,385) at okadirect.com. Oriental harks rooms are the same. The Moser combination, with doors in black- For a less costly version, pick up back to the site’s Crystal Suites, showcasing the brown (£185, ikea.com) or Oliver Plantation Rug Company’s excellent monastic history Bohemian crystal manufactured by Bonas’s Herbert Wood Chest (£495, value Nomadic rug (from £100, in this stunning the Czech Republic’s premier luxury oliverbonas.com). plantationrug.co.uk). Head to Ikea for lounge, left crystal maker, are dazzling. bargains from the Hemnes range, O mandarinoriental.com/prague including a black-brown chest of Get the look: paint walls in Dulux’s drawers, £90, and bedside table, £40 calming Blue Lagoon (£24.49 for 2.5l). FOUR SEASONS (both ikea.co.uk). Match curtains and Hang Francesco Iacobelli’s Charles bedding. John Lewis’s Aspen pencil Bridge print alongside a retro Praha Architectural styles are married in pleat curtains (£60-£130) in blue or canvas and The Streets of Prague III the combination of three historic putty go well with Monsoon Home’s print by Laura Denardo (from £23.99, properties and one modern light blue paisley bed linen (£12-£80, £84 and £44.99 respectively at structure — the Neo-Renaissance, debenhams.com). Go for Soho Stripe allposters.co.uk). Take inspiration Neoclassical and Baroque Houses, Hues: for a similar Four Seasons feel, team blue curtains and wallpaper (£65 per roll, from the hotel’s Barego bar and cover and the Main Building — to create a paisley linen from Monsoon Home (£12-£80) at Debenhams fabricsandpapers.com). Or keep walls a section of a wall in patchwork tiles — characterful venue. The Neo- plain and add artwork from art.co.uk try the La Dolce Vita Patchwork Black Renaissance and Neoclassical — we like the View of Prague (£36.99) option (£10.99 per box of four at sections were originally built as 19th- or Old Town Square (£23.99). toppstiles.co.uk). century homes and shops. The Accessorise with an Amy table or Moser stockists include Selfridges, baroque property dates back to the floor lamp (£59-£129) and Wireform Harrods and Lucie Rydlova Home in late 16th century. Original cross- table lamp (£39) from isme.com and Chelsea. If the lighting is beyond your vaulting, stone architraves and the Lloytron touch table lamp from budget, add a touch of bling for less masonry vaults, wooden doors and Tesco (£17.40, tesco.com). A Tarbert with a vase directly from the moser- hand-forged ironmongery have been Windowpane throw (£125) or an glass.com site for £95 or the Moser restored. The Main Building cleverly Arbriachan Jacquard throw (£225), Four Seasons vase set for £350 from ties the three different looks with both at johnstonscashmere.com £349: the Juke luxdeco.com. Then evoke drama ochre sandstone sourced from a adds the finishing touch. armchair in with Julien Macdonald’s black Czech quarry, and pale plaster wheat sack chandelier table lamp (£90, façades with dark roofing. O fourseasons.com/prague hessian, from debenhams.com) and Laurence American interior design practice made.com; the Llewelyn-Bowen’s Glamdelier floor Frank Nicholson, which specialises in O Flights from London Luton to Amy floor lamp, lamp (£68, isme.com). high-end makeovers, and Pierre-Yves Prague, from £29.99 at wizzair.com left, £129, from Team a Days Forum leather and Rochon, the designer behind The (0907 292 0102). Prague History Trips isme.com walnut sofa (£1,360) with the red Savoy revamp, are responsible for (from £36) by vintage car are a great Chester chair (£770, both habitat.co. the furniture and fabrics, which are way to learn about the architecture — uk) and a Juke armchair (£349 at sumptuous, warm and welcoming, ask for Mat (+ 420 776 829 897; made.com). Head to La Redoute for a with deep-pile carpeting. Mix of architectural styles: Four Seasons hotel, Prague historytrip.cz).

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1 2 3

1 Wordplay: A to Z Scrabble cushions, 40cm square, in unbleached organic trends cotton, £19.95 each including cushion pad, from theletteroom.com.

2 Danish design: make slogans/names with impeccable design cred using Design Letters. The typography was Love letters originally hand-drawn by Danish By architect Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) Barbara Chandler for Aarhus City Hall in Denmark in 5 and 6 Catchphrases: Ben de Lisi’s 1937, and lay undiscovered in 5 Amazing cushion, 33cm x 48cm, £28, Denmark’s royal library — until 4 and a You’ve Got Mail rack, £15, from now (designletters.dk). London Debenhams (debenhams.com; 08445 stockists include Heal’s, W1, and 61 61 61). The Conran Shop, SW3. Or shop online at skandivis.co.uk (0845 7 Cotton tea towel: by RCA graduate 226 3104). Porcelain plates cost Karin Akesson, £15 at karinakesson. £20. Other tableware is com (07766 476 569). available in porcelain and melamine, together with a bed linen range.

3 Eat sign: this Christopher Griffith bespoke wall mural is from the Surface View Trunk Archive Collection, £60 a square metre at surfaceview. co.uk (0118 922 1327).

4 Road sign ironing boards: printed on heat-resistant, fireproof cotton, 147cm x 57cm, 6 with adjustable drawstring; £20, available soon at rudelimited.com.

Spell it out: letters are coming off 7 the catwalk — as with DKNY’s spring/summer collection, left —

REX FEATURES and on to homeware EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 15 homesandproperty.co.uk with Architecture Homes & Property

OST architectural exhibi- tions are a worthy parade of models, plans and photographs. While these may show visitors architecture,M they don’t help them to experience it. Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined at the Royal Academy is all about how architecture, or rather what architects design, makes us feel. “I wanted visitors to be able to expe- rience different uses of spatial relation- ships, proportions, volumes, materials, light and shade, textures, sounds and smells in the galleries of the Royal Academy,” explains the exhibition’s curator Kate Goodwin. To achieve this, she asked seven very different internationally recognised architects to create multi-sensory envi- ronments, in a show that encourages visitors to touch, feel, smell and hear, as well as look at, exhibits. Goodwin hopes visitors will find ideas

that they can adapt to use in their own HARRIS JAMES homes. At first sight that might seem unlikely, given the enormous scale of Stairway to heaven: architect partners Mauricio Pezo and Sofia von some of the exhibits. But key to the show Ellrichshausen, left, inside their installation for the Sensing Spaces: is the way it helps people change the Architecture Reimagined exhibition at the Royal Academy. The pair, based in way they think about space. Chile, have created giant enclosed spiral staircases built in pine, leading to a

Pezo von Ellrichshausen is a Chilean REUTERS platform with cut-throughs in its walls to reveal views over the main gallery Making sense of space A vibrant new Royal Academy show stirs all the senses, says Corinne Julius art and architecture studio established the mood. Using suspended canvas that has created a Zen garden with pebbles in 2002 by Mauricio Pezo and Sofia von has been sprayed to look like concrete and mirror-lined walls — both features Ellrichshausen. Its enormous wooden panels, it demonstrates that if windows that would work in a London garden. contribution to the exhibition takes up and/or skylights are positioned Diébédo Francis Kéré, from Burkina nearly half of the main RA gallery. correctly, light will flood into the spaces Faso in West Africa, based in Berlin, The work consists of four monumen- below and can affect frame of mind. used honeycombed plastic sheeting to tal enclosed spiral staircases built with On a very different scale, Kengo make room dividers that could be the pine that lead up to what, from ground Kuma, from Japan, divides areas up ideal way of defining spaces in a small level, looks like a large box. Despite its by using the most delicate fronds of London home. scale, the use of wood encourages a bamboo. His simple screens mark sense of warmth and comfort. different parts of a room without HE Royal Academy is selling The recent fashion has been for stair- closing off the space. The bamboo the exhibition installations cases to be dramatically exposed, but smells of Japanese cypress and straw, to the public at the close of the enclosed spirals are inviting and to demonstrate how scent can be used the show in April via its reassuring. Their enclosure amplifies effectively in the home. microwebsite, The Great the drama of emerging at the top, not From China, equally simple and ArchitectureT Fair. Objects for sale into an enclosed box but on to a plat- adaptable is Li Xiaodong’s coppiced range from complete installation O Sensing form with cut-throughs in the wooden hazel, used for surfaces to divide space pieces to components for upcycling, Spaces is at the walls that reveal unexpected views out both internally and externally. His use and include Pezo von Ellrichshausen’s Royal Academy, over the gallery below. An approach of a translucent white, underlit floor wooden stools and a bag of Li Xiao- W1 until like this might work well with a gallery feels like walking on a river of ice. dong pebbles. April 6. Adult space in a home. He has also made a small, cream- O The website sale goes live at 9am on tickets £14; Similarly, Irish architectural practice painted room from plywood that could March 14 and runs until midnight concs available Grafton allows visitors to experience become a useful, quiet space in a April 7 (visit royalacademy.org.uk/ and under-12s how light can create drama and alter modern metropolitan home, and architecture fair). Prices from £5. go free

Art of relaxation: African-born architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, based in Berlin, created room dividers and furniture, much of which could be copied to work well in the home, for the RA exhibition AFP 18 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Reader promotion homesandproperty.co.uk with

Race to round up Go Euro-chic with stunning bookends custom shelving THESE handsome horse head FOR chic modern furniture look no bookends are perfect for introducing further than leading European the heritage look into your home. manufacturer Gautier’s sleek, Usually priced at £29.50, Homes & contemporary ranges for the home. Property readers receive a 15 per Perfect for any room, this Preface cent discount, making them just bookshelf is designed to optimise £25.08 for the pair. and enhance space with its ample Each moulded resin piece stands storage units. Bold and stylish, its 24.5cm high with a supporting cool design is available in five pedestal, to ensure maximum finishes and will marry happily into stability for your books. Hurry to any interior. The company can also round up these “black beauties” provide a helpful interior design while stocks last. To claim your offer, service to fit your home. visit alisonathome.com and use code Readers are offered a generous HOR1902 before March 5. Allow five 15 per cent discount off any range of to 10 days for delivery. Gautier furniture including the Preface, reducing its price from £3,900 to £3,000. To claim your offer, visit gautier.co.uk or visit the showroom on Westbourne Grove, W2 and use code ESliving 31 before March 16. For more information, call Bargain news 020 7221 2393.

Perfect living room lounger makes a retro style statement MAKE a seating style frame on an iron base. It statement with this Le is also available in white, Corbusier reproduction brown or pony leathers. chaise longue from Modecor offers a variety Modecor — the perfect of designs, including piece for relaxing in the Barcelona and Eames living room. chairs. Readers receive a The aesthetic design 15 per cent discount Mag rack is stunning on a city wall features soft black across all ranges, Hot deals on cool sofas leather, perfect lines and reducing the Le Corbusier THIS City Sunday magazine rack by a durable, stainless steel from £465 to £395. To RELAX in ultimate comfort by registering with Minus Tio is the perfect piece for Alison claim your offer visit with Designer Sofas. The Designer Sofas online. To storing and displaying your favourite modecor.co.uk or call 020 company offers a wide, claim, visit designersofas. titles. Simple yet stylish, it will make Cork 3239 3902 and quote stylish selection of sofas com/eveningstandard and an alluring focal point in any home. Bargain2 before March 12. and for a limited time only, register via the contact Designed in Sweden and inspired beautiful showroom page. This will enable you by real and idealised city structures, models are available in the to receive your 20 per cent the wall-mounted rack is made from clearance sale at discount voucher in the coated steel wire and is available in priced at £149, Funktionalley is remarkable discounts post, to be used in the charcoal, white, red, yellow, green offering a 15 per cent discount, to make way for new company’s stores at Brent and blue. It measures w100cm x reducing the rack’s price to £126.65. spring stock. Cross South Retail Park or h31.5cm x d8.2cm. Units and colours Claim the offer at funktionalley.com Homes & Property 82 Tottenham Court Road. can be combined to create big, or call 01924 466040 and use the readers can get a further Register by March 9 to eye-catching cityscapes. Originally code RACK15 before March 5. 20 per cent off sale prices qualify for the discount. O The companies listed here are wholly independent of the Evening Standard. Care is taken to establish that they are bona fide but we recommend that you carry out your own checks prior to purchases and use a credit card where possible. To offer feedback on any of these companies, email [email protected] with “Bargain News” in the subject line. For more bargains, visit alisonathome.com or homesandproperty.co.uk/offers. 26 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Our home homesandproperty

Playtime: Charlie Richardson and son Orlando find the made-over basement perfect for family fun

The magic of mirrors and imagination HE idea of involving an archi- Our brilliant basement is the heart tect in a project always sounds expensive, especially of our home, say a couple whose these days, when getting our Victorian townhouse in Barnsbury money to work hard is so important.T However, when it came to turning their damp, cramped, smelly was transformed by clever basement into a sunny, streamlined architects. By Philippa Stockley kitchen-diner, Charlie and Mark Richardson took the plunge. Now the couple are convinced that working with architects not only saved them money but produced ideas they never would have thought of. This bright, clean-lined room has become the heart of their home. Back in 2005, Charlie, a psychiatrist, and partner Mark, who works for major charities, were looking to move from carpets throughout”, Charlie says in Zminkowska De Boise. In an impetuous bustling Camden but couldn’t decide disgust. The basement was the worst moment they called them. “And we where to go. “We were just driving part — dark and damp with a mean, immediately clicked.” about,” says Charlie, “because there ground-level barred window-cum-light- The architects, Hannah and Richard, was so much of London we didn’t know. well at the back. In the middle of the came up with four different schemes Then we stumbled across Barnsbury.” basement, brick piers jutted out, the for Charlie and Mark to consider, from Just south of Islington, the Barnsbury remnants of a former wall. “It felt like just replacing the window right through Conservation Area is a cherry tree-lined a prison.” to structural gutting, smoothing, and residential neighbourhood. There are Over the next few years, having ripped reflooring, and making a bespoke, modest late-Victorian houses mixed with out all that carpet, they sorted out American white oak kitchen. a few grand villas. The lack of local shops upstairs, painting it subtle greys and off- Mark and Charlie raided the piggy may be inconvenient but it does make the whites, and adding oak-block flooring, bank and went for the full fit-out, and area quiet. minimal Vitsoe shelving and simple fur- haven’t looked back. First the pair fell for one of the smaller niture for a spare, streamlined look. houses but that sale fell through. They But they were still stuck with the ghastly ANNAH and Richard put the had also noticed a bigger two-storey basement, and without funds to fix it. job out to tender for the house with a basement for sale nearby, Then in 2011 the rotting ground-level back couple, and got wildly dif- but that was dismissed as way beyond window, reminiscent of a clumsy, barred ferent quotes. The final look their budget. “So,” says Charlie, “we cucumber frame, began to leak. is pared-back and minimal, put in an outrageous offer, 15 per cent “Mushrooms were growing out of it,” says withH a run of oak cupboards right along below the asking price, and to our Charlie. “We had to decide whether to one wall, hiding everything from the amazement it was accepted.” replace that for £10,000, or do it all.” fridge to the microwave, but broken for The empty house was in an appalling Soon after, they received a mail-shot interest by a neatly inset bookcase. On Great location: the handsomely restored home in Barnsbury Conservation Area state, “with soiled, electric-blue nylon from a young, two-person practice, the other side, there is a long sink unit
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 27 y.co.uk with Our home Homes & Property

On reflection: left, a polished steel “magic mirror” high on the rear wall can tilt up to reflect light from the window above it back into the basement, which features oak cupboards and a neatly inset bookcase

Seamless: right, the kitchen sink counter is made from one long piece of Silestone quartz composite

Let the sunshine in: the ground- level window, right, once barred and leaky, is now the pièce de résistance

with more cupboards. With such clean it is beautifully made, with new drains Catalyst to lines, attention to detail makes all the round it so it won’t leak, and an inset THE DETAILS change: the new difference. Unusual details can also be tube light. AWARD WINNER: Charlie, Mark and skylight from hard to inject, however, involving On the kitchen wall directly below it, Orlando’s basement in Barnsbury was outside, right, in-situ trial and error, and a lot of a matching, mirror-polished steel false runner-up in the interior design is a stylish care. window, framed in oak, can be tilted category in the New London replacement for Charlie and Mark are perfectionists. up. Acting as a reflector it catches sky Architecture forum’s competition and the mouldy old They love the unobtrusive little lug and throws extra light back into the exhibition, Don’t Move, Improve! “cucumber handles that took ages to find, and room. The architects based this magical (newlondonarchitecture.org). frame” that which the joiner neatly cut in to the idea on the mirrors and skylights in Sir forced a revamp oak cupboard fronts. They didn’t want John Soane’s Museum in Lincoln’s Inn GET THE LOOK: the total cost of their Silestone kitchen sink counter Fields. It works. works was £55,000 plus VAT, made from two joined pieces, but from which included the fees of architects one long, seamless one. HARLIE and Mark have a two- Hannah and Richard of Zminkowska The poured resin floor, a lovely grey- year-old son, Orlando, and De Boise (zdbarchitects.com). ish white with hand-finishing marks, their spacious kitchen-diner Worktop in Silestone (a quartz had to be re-poured after a setting fault. is the ideal place to spend composite) from silestone.co.uk But their architects and contractor per- family time together. Bright Waxed poured resin floor severed — and everything got done fromC front to back, smooth and calm like by Solacir at solacir.com within the original quote of £55,000 the rest of the house, stuffed with storage Mirror-polished steel panel by plus VAT. that all glides away behind bespoke Rimex Metals (rimexmetals.com). The pièce de résistance is the replace- doors, this is a labour of love that really Steel “Narni” cupboard handles by ment window/skylight at the back. Still paid off — though Orlando is more Hettich at hettich.com Photographs: a sort of long glass box at garden-level, interested in his train set. David Butler
28 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Flooding homesandproperty.co.uk with

HE wettest winter for 250 SEAL UP THE LOO years has been playing The PanSeal is designed to stop havoc in southern England sewage and flood water flowing into — but who really believes it your home through a downstairs loo. will be another 250 years A rubber tube around a plastic plate Tbefore similar floods return? can be pumped up so that it expands The Lea river flooded at Chingford, a to create a watertight seal when fitted water treatment works overflowed in underneath the rim of the lavatory. Croydon and the Thames burst its The product is available for next-day banks at Hampton. But don’t worry, delivery from Muswell Hill-based London councils have 10,000 maker Floodtite, for £34.98. Phone sandbags between them to keep 020 8442 0872 (floodtite.com). homes dry — a laughably low number. With water being relentlessly BE SMART WITH BRICKS inventive in the ways it finds to enter Air bricks can easily be overlooked our homes, its time to fight back with when organising a home’s flood a few clever DIY products that could defences, but large amounts of water mean the difference between can pour through their tiny holes. inconvenience and disaster. You can either replace your existing Remember, flood water doesn’t air bricks with Smart Airbricks, only enter via gaps around doors and which have water-sensitive valves windows, it can come in through air that close the holes when water starts bricks and up through drains into to enter them, or you can screw a baths, sinks and lavatories. In vent guard over your existing air extreme cases, when the ground brick. Both products are available becomes saturated, water seeps up Hold back the tide: Absorbeez are from Carmarthen-based maker through floorboards. a lightweight alternative to Floodgate. Smart Airbricks from £80 sandbags — and they are claimed and vent guards from £45. Phone WHERE TO FIND HELP to be more effective 01267 234205 (floodgate.ltd.uk). Many firms sell flood protection products, including barriers, sealants, PLUG THE GAPS toilet seals, flood-resistant air bricks You can install barriers to stop water and lightweight alternatives to seeping under front doors or through sandbags. These items can be bought the gap between the door and frame. at larger DIY stores or online direct The barriers also work for windows, from manufacturers. A list of patio doors and garage doors. kitemarked products is on the Flood defence Norwich-based Flood Ark’s barriers National Flood Forum’s Blue Pages are made to order and slot into Directory website at bluepages.org.uk. aluminium frames that can be Home owners flooded for the first It could happen to you. Richard Warren finds the new DIY kit that permanently fitted into the fabric of a time and facing major repairs when building. The company’s larger the water subsides should think will offer your home some protection next time there’s a big storm barriers can be erected at the front of about wall-mounting TVs, raising driveways or as temporary boundary electricity points, replacing carpets Keep it clean: a lightweight alternative to traditional walls. From about £1,100 for a single with tiles and buying easy-to-remove PanSeal stops sandbags. Filled with an absorbent door barrier. Phone 01603 879977 rugs. Stainless steel kitchens can be the nightmare of polymer that soaks up water, these (floodark.com). steamed cleaned and withstand sewage pouring bags expand in size to form a flood water better than wood and other into your house barrier for doorways, windows and NO GOING BACK composite products. through the garages. Carefully laid, they can be To stop water coming up through the Advice on preparing for a flood can downstairs loo more effective than sandbags, claims drains into your sinks and baths, put be found on the websites of the their manufacturer, Action Dry a non-return valve into pipework. Environment Agency, the Flood Group. They cost from £51.48 for five Flood Control NI manufactures its Protection Association and National bags designed to protect a front door. own range of patented non-return Flood Forum (environment-agency. They can be purchased from the valves which it says can be fitted in gov.uk/homeandleisure/ Upminster-based company by minutes and without any specialist floods/31644.aspx; thefpa.org.uk and phoning 01708 501581. Action Dry expertise or equipment. Made from nationalfloodforum.org.uk). Group is offering Evening Standard plastic or clay, the valves cost from readers a 10 per cent discount on £86, including p&p. They are made FORGET SANDBAGS purchases made within the next in Leicestershire from 95 per cent Absorbeez sound disturbingly seven days. Quote code number recycled materials (0800 093 3463 medical but are in fact a clever ES0214 (absorbeez.com). watertightinternational.com). EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 29 homesandproperty.co.uk with Outdoors Homes & Property Big is more beautiful in a small space Clockwise from left: a pergola runs Large plants, pots and down the side of the garden, adding another level; wider beds can include garden sculptures can plants of different heights and seasons; a white wall creates a strong backdrop have a striking impact for vibrant planting and provides in a little London plot shadow play for the plants’ silhouettes

ITH careful planning walls and key shrubs or trees with soft and a little trickery the light. More recently, though, there is a smallest garden can move towards outdoor lights that them- have the biggest selves have impact, like the Philippe impact. These are the Starck anglepoise outside light, so you encouragingW words from garden get a design hit during the day, too. designer Andrew Wilson, director of Another plus is that they’re portable, the London College of Garden Design, so you can drop some light over your Kew Gardens, who will be talking on patio dining table when it suits you, or Saturday at the RHS London Plant and another time, focus it on a statement Design Show. plant or piece of sculpture.” “Don’t be confined by your starting Give as large an area as you can to point,” says Wilson. “Larger works planting. “People tend to push every- better in a small space, whether pots, thing back to the boundaries in a small space, but narrow beds can only offer thin, weedy displays. Beds of 1.2- to Pattie 1.5-metre depth will enable you to layer Barron plants so you can have different heights as well as seasonal changes. You’ll get a better result with 10 or 15 plants of

CLIVE NICHOLS/DESIGN: SALLIS CHANDLER CLIVE NICHOLS/DESIGN: one species than lots of different ones, so aim for fewer species, but more of plants, structures or sculptures. If an each. Massing plants together gives you ornament looks great in your living a colour intensity. Create visual drama room, it won’t work in the garden: you with tall plants such as Veronicastrum, need to go bigger. Making strong deci- which has tall, elegant flower spires, sions about fewer elements will deliver and tall grasses such as Miscanthus the impact you want.” Silberfeder, then add perennials at a Lighter-coloured paving materials lower level, such as geraniums and such as limestones and sandstones will salvias. Choose plants that do more.” reflect light into the space, and are WILLIAM STUDIO WILLIAM STUDIO especially useful in shade. “Dark mate- C C FAVOURITE trick of rials such as slate or basalt will absorb Wilson’s is to put up a wall, light, but will be more atmospheric.” either to create an intimate Boundaries, especially if they are dif- space, to screen off a shed, ferent on all sides, make the garden or simply to highlight look bitty. “The problem with town plants.A “Render the wall the same gardens is that you’re not in ownership colour as the house to produce a cohe- of all your boundaries, so you might sive effect,” he says. “A pale wall makes CLIVE NICHOLS/DESIGN: WILSON M CLIVE NICHOLS/DESIGN: have one wall here, one fence there. WILSON M CLIVE NICHOLS/DESIGN: a great backdrop for strong, colourful By painting the wall and staining the planting and, depending on where the fence a similar colour you can unify has one feature that is on a huge scale. small and some collapse after a short can be inset into the beds and will be sun falls, provides lovely shadow play your backdrop,” suggests Wilson. “Be “It is open to the sky, unlike a room while under the weight of the plants. concealed by the planting.” from the plants’ silhouettes. It will also wary of hot, bright colours that will indoors, so really use that vertical It’s worth investing in strong, sturdy Lighting the garden will give you a reflect light during the day, bringing make the space look smaller; black or space. An arch or even a pergola will structures. The height should be at view to look out on in winter, plus give more light into the space.” dark green will reduce the impact of take a flat plane to another level, as well least 2.2 metres, because you need to you more hours to spend outside in the boundaries and will also make a as give you the opportunity to grow allow for the extra space that plants summer. “There are two schools of O Andrew Wilson can be contacted great foil for your planting scheme.” climbers and vines. Most off-the-peg will take, and you need to make the thought,” says Wilson. “You can keep at Wilson McWilliam Studio Every small garden, points out Wilson, pergolas and arches are too thin, too width wider than the path, so the bases lighting subtle and concealed, washing (wmstudio.co.uk). buy it See it: London Plant and Design Show Buy it: time-saving garden bible START the new garden season with THE plants that time-poor gardeners quality plants from more than 30 need to grow are those that self-sow, exhibitors at the RHS Halls in Greycoat spread and multiply with little Street and Vincent Square, SW1, this intervention, weaving through borders, Friday, 10am-7pm and Saturday, 10am- knitting key plants together and 5pm. Pick from hellebores, heucheras, creating both groundcover and weed winter-flowering shrubs and spring- barriers. In new book Plantiful, Kristin flowering perennials, or exotics such as Green usefully details those plants with citrus trees and agaves. The show will a generous nature, calling self-sowers incorporate London Potato Day, so you “faithful volunteers”, easy spreaders can enjoy potato chitting workshops, “thrillers, spillers and fillers” and stock up on seed potatoes from a choice providing a cautionary chapter of of more than 75 varieties and enjoy plants that hit the ground running, so proper fish and chips to celebrate Chip that we can recognise the invasive. Week. Garden designers will be giving Plantiful (Timber Press) costs £14.99, talks and offering advice on both days — but Homes & Property readers can buy Andrew Wilson (see main story, above) it for £13 including p&p by calling 01872 will talk at 3pm on Saturday. For details 562327 or online at efcbookshop.com, of workshops and talks, see rhs.org.uk. High flying: a roof garden with a striking paper skyline at a previous year’s show quoting code HP123. Easy-growing: Foxtail barley; dahlias 34 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Property searching homesandproperty.co.uk with

To find a home in Muswell Hill, visit homesandproperty. Spotlight co.uk/muswellhill Muswell Hill Join the savvy

£2.25 MILLION A DOUBLE-FRONTED five-bedroom families who house with a basement and garage in Woodland Gardens is available through Hamptons. O homesandproperty.co.uk/wood head for this solid suburb

£525,000 with a strong A TWO-BEDROOM flat set over the first and second floors of a Victorian house in Alexandra Gardens, with a garden. Through Tatlers. O homesandproperty.co.uk/alex sense of fun

OU have to be a builder of some imagination and Oodles of green insight to begin with shops space, great houses and get to the houses later. James Edmondson, of High- and schools, not to Ybury, was just such a man and it is largely thanks to him that Muswell Hill mention Ally Pally. . . retains the atmosphere of a prosperous small town of busy shopping streets the attractions are as and avenues of well-built houses. £339,950 This popular north London suburb clear as the views, A SECOND-FLOOR flat with two with breathtaking views over the capi- bedrooms in a peaceful, purpose- tal was developed over a surprisingly says Anthea Masey built scheme in Osier Crescent. short period between 1896 and 1913, Through Foxtons. largely in the sunlit Edwardian years from Clerkenwell. It became a place of from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Pal- remnants of the ancient Forest of O homesandproperty.co.uk/osier and before the outbreak of the First pilgrimage because the waters were ace, with stations at Cranley Gardens Middlesex to the south and north and World War. believed to have healing powers. and Muswell Hill, closed in the Fifties Alexandra Park to the east. Edmondson swept away a number of Located seven miles north of central and is now a walking and cycling route. scattered estates and large Victorian London with Highgate to the south, Plans to integrate the line into the WHAT THERE IS TO BUY mansions in spacious grounds, build- Finchley to the west, Wood Green to Northern line were proposed in the Muswell Hill has mainly Edwardian ing a fine parade of shops and flats the east and Friern Barnet and Whet- Thirties but the Second World War semi-detached and terrace houses, plus along Muswell Hill Broadway, and stone to the north, Muswell Hill’s intervened and the plan was never a smattering built in the Twenties and houses along Princes and Queens popularity has been achieved in spite revived — though it still appeared on Thirties. There are pretty, early Victo- Avenues. The names of the properties of its relative isolation. There is no Tube maps well into the Fifties. rian houses on Fortis Green, while acquired by Edmondson and fellow Tube or train service, and many com- Chris Mullin from the local branch of Whitehall Lodge in Pages Lane is a large £950,000 builder William J Collins — Fortismere, muters are reliant on the W7 bus that estate agent Hamptons says people are block of flats in the Art Deco style, and A FIVE-BEDROOM terrace house in Hillfield, Wellfield, Firs and Elms — live meanders from Finsbury Park through attracted to Muswell Hill by its feeling Birchwood Mansions in Fortis Green Sydney Road set over three floors, on in many local place names. Crouch End and then up the hill to of being “a town in the countryside”, Road is a listed Arts & Crafts block. with a large cellar with development. The name Muswell Hill is thought to Muswell Hill. The railway line that ran surrounded as it is by green space with The local property market is driven potential. Through KFH. be a corruption of “mossy well”, after by school catchment areas. For many O homesandproperty.co.uk/syd the discovery in the 12th century of a That’s entertainment: Alexandra Fine fare: delis, bookshops and cafés years, the desire to get secondary-age spring by an order of Augustinian nuns Palace, in 150-year-old Alexandra Park jostle in Muswell Hill Broadway children into Fortismere School had a

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE What celebration of his birthplace did this man re-release last year? Find the answer at homesandproperty. co.uk/spotlightmuswellhill REX FEATURES EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 35 homesandproperty.co.uk with Property searching Homes & Property

High ground: Muswell Hill has CHECK THE STATS breathtaking views over ■WHAT HOMES London COST: BUYING IN MUSWELL HILL (Average prices) One-bedroom flat £292,000 Two-bedroom flat £416,000 Two-bedroom house £605,000 Three-bedroom house £662,000 Four-bedroom house £1.45 million Source: Zoopla

RENTING IN MUSWELL HILL (Average rates) ALAMY One-bedroom flat £1,130 a month Two-bedroom flat £1,445 a month On the Broadway: far Three-bedroom flat £2,357 a month left, browse in Four-bedroom flat £2,763 a month Crocodile Source: Zoopla Antiques and GO ONLINE FOR MORE then enjoy a cuppa and a cake O The best schools in Muswell Hill at the Crocodile O Local shops and restaurants Café. St James’s Church, left, is a O The latest housing developments central landmark O The lowdown on Muswell Hill’s rental scene O How this area compares with the rest of the UK on property prices O Smart maps to plot your property search For all this and more, visit Photographs by: Graham homesand Hussey ALAMY property.co.uk/ spotlightmuswellhill

has large detached Twenties and Pavilion Café a favourite local hangout Thirties houses that sell for up to on a sunny weekend. The adjacent HAVE YOUR SAY £2.5 million. At the bottom of Muswell Queen’s Wood is run by the local coun- MUSWELL HILL Hill, the Rookfield Estate is a charming cil as a nature reserve. Both of these enclave of Arts & Crafts houses built as woods are remnants of the Forest of a small garden suburb. It is popular Middlesex and sit on the southern edge with Muswell Hill downsizers — a house of Muswell Hill. Coldfall Wood to the @ashermcs best brekkie in #Muswell here starts at £850,000. north also a remnant of ancient forest, Hill is cheap café at top of Muswell The area attracts: family life is what has revived the practice of coppicing. Road. Roundabout now gets crazy Muswell Hill is all about, with people Alexandra Park has cafés, a boating busy as they moved W7 bus stop making a beeline for homes in the lake, a soft play area and a pitch and putt catchment areas of the most popular course. In the major entertainment @GorgeousThings I’ve lived in state schools. venue that is Alexandra Palace there is Muswell Hill for 20 years. It’s a nice Staying power: a house here is seen an ice rink and a pub with magnificent place to live. Good schools too. distorting effect on house prices Road. The houses are smaller than in as a long-term purchase and many views over London. The Parkland Walk, nearby. However, the growth in popu- the Royals, and prices range from families stay in the area for genera- a four and a half-mile walking and @CrouchEndMaggie the little cheese larity of Alexandra Park School has £900,000 to £1.25 million. tions. cycling route along the old Finsbury shop @CheeseShopN10 is great relieved some of the pressure. There are some very large houses in Best roads: Dukes Avenue and Queens Park to Alexandra Palace railway line, Houses in the roads known as the Woodland Gardens, Woodland Rise Avenue; Windermere, Grasmere and is surprisingly wild and remote. @karenmurrayhair I love the easy “Royals” close to Muswell Hill Broadway and Onslow Gardens, south of the Thirlmere Roads; the Ringwood Estate commute to all my clients all around — Dukes Avenue, Princes Avenue, Kings Broadway close to Queen’s Wood. north of Fortis Green; Woodland Rise, LEISURE AND THE ARTS London to and from Muswell Hill. Avenue and Queens Avenue — have These roads are not in any desirable Woodland Gardens and Onslow Gar- The Muswell Hill Odeon is a listed 1936 Beautiful place with good community attractive porches and gables with areas state school catchment area, so houses dens off Muswell Hill Road, and the Art Deco gem. There are three private of decorative plasterwork, known as here are often bought by families who Rookfield Estate. health clubs with swimming pools — @karenmurrayhair I am a freelance pargeting. A one-bedroom flat in one of are educating their children privately, The Manor Health and Leisure Club in hairstylist based in Muswell Hill and these roads costs about £350,000, with or by those to whom proximity to High- OPEN SPACE Fortis Green, LA fitness in Hillfield Park my clients love coming here. a two-bedroom garden flat coming in at gate Tube station is more important. For families who hanker after the and The Laboratory Spa & Health Club Alexandra Palace on a beautiful day :0) about £575,000 and five- or six-bed- These homes have up to seven bed- country life, the open spaces surround- in The Avenue, behind Alexandra Pal- room houses at about £1.5 million. rooms and cost about £2.25 million. ing Muswell Hill are a huge attraction. ace. The nearest council-owned pool @LuciaGlynn area is blessed with Slightly cheaper are the “Lakes The Ringwood Estate between Fortis Highgate Wood, managed by the City is the Park Road Leisure Centre which good schools, including Rhodes Roads” — Windermere, Grasmere and Green and Creighton Avenue is in the of London, has a sports ground, a chil- has an indoor and outdoor pool in Park Avenue Primary School, Alexandra Thirlmere Roads — off Alexandra Park Fortismere School catchment area. It dren’s playground and the popular Road in nearby Hornsey. Muswell Hill Park School and Fortismere Golf Club, with an 18-hole course, is in Art of shopping: Rhodes Avenue. @LuciaGlynn good pubs/restaurants assistant Bryony Travel: some Muswell Hill residents include @VictoriaStakes @ Sly, left, at Art live within walking distance of East clissoldarms @maidofmuswell for Art’s Sake, Finchley or Highgate Tube stations, #MuswellHill local stationers which are both on the High Barnet and art suppliers branch of the Northern line. Others can @LuciaGlynn #MuswellHill has great walk to Alexandra Palace train station independent shops. Best hair salon is with services to Moorgate via Finsbury @PassionForHair Park. All stations are in Zone 3 and an annual season ticket to Zone 1 costs @taraspring @Chriskitch and £1,472. For the rest, the only form of @owensfoodstore — two amazing public transport to take them out of the independent deli/cafés in Muswell Tea and coffee area is the very regular W7 bus service Hill. specialists: to Finsbury Park, or the No 102 or Jamilla Garcia, No 299 buses to Bounds Green Tube right, serves at on the Piccadilly line. NEXT WEEK: Chigwell. Do you traditional Council: Haringey is Labour control- live there? Tell us what you grocers led and Band D council tax is think @HomesProperty W Martyn £1,487.32. 38 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Inside story homesandproperty.co.uk with Penthouse views turn me into a snap-happy tourist type

MONDAY The Monday morning meeting is a huge Diary of wake-up call — it’s going to be a manic week. I agreed four deals last week which is great, but my competitive side an estate is finding it hard to enjoy the success, because my colleague is negotiating agent an offer on the sale of 14 units in Marylebone. He’s got some savvy buyers who know the market and know ment manager, also an Arsenal fan, they have to react quickly to any oppor- describes the views as “the best in the tunities in central London. world” and to my surprise he isn’t I spend most of the morning on the wrong — the living room looks directly phone talking to my contacts to encour- on to the pitch. Shame I’m a Chelsea age them to seize a brand-new oppor- fan but I am still impressed. I leave the tunity. This week we are launching couple to discuss how much they’ll Royal Waterside, a new development save on Sky Sports if they buy the apart- of luxury apartments in Park Royal, ment. NW10 and I know it’s going to be snapped up. THURSDAY Today sees the much-anticipated TUESDAY launch of Royal Waterside at our head The day starts with an early morning office. Our marketing team is expecting visit to a new development called South more than 90 investors, search agents Bank Tower, just next to the Oxo Tower. and friends to attend. Within five min- It’s still under construction and utes of the price list being issued to the completes at the end of next year but team, we have two offers. we can take the cage lift up to the 31st Our research team has given us a floor. detailed report on the regeneration of The official sales launch will be later the area and impact of Crossrail, which in the year but we’ve already sold more I give to one of my applicants. He only than half of the apartments. One of my reads the first paragraph and he is pull- buyers, who organises music festivals ing out his credit card. My line manager all over the world, is very interested in is worried we won’t have much left to buying a duplex penthouse and imme- sell by the time the launch starts at 5pm diately falls in love with the incredible — he’s not far wrong. As suspected the view over the City and St Paul’s. If I get launch day is an outright success with his offer agreed, I’m going to beg for all 34 pre-released units selling out. It’s Glastonbury tickets. great to see that UK buyers are now This isn’t my first time up this tower reacting to the market as quickly as and I’ve already clogged up my phone overseas investors. with view shots, but I still can’t stop myself doing the touristy thing and FRIDAY taking yet more photographs. I love After a busy day of viewings and an London. offer on the duplex apartment at South Bank Tower from the music festival WEDNESDAY organiser, I’m back in the office, on the I take a very early call from a Singapo- internet and arranging viewings for rean investor who is unfortunately tomorrow morning — but this time it’s withdrawing his offer on a two-bed- for myself. I am applying all the regen- room flat in the Strand, due to a change eration investment principles I have in circumstances. Our client is annoyed learned about from my research because she has already made an offer colleagues to slightly more fringe areas on an onward purchase in north Lon- of London. don. It’s a great apartment though, so Tooting is the new Shoreditch accord- it will probably be under offer again by ing to Nick Jones, founder of the Soho the end of the week. House hospitality group, which has just My next appointment takes me to opened the much-acclaimed Chicken Queensland Terrace in Islington where Shop diner in the area. Wish me luck. I am meeting a Russian couple inter- ested in a penthouse next to the Emir- ates Stadium. He’s an Arsenal fan so O Sebastian Oliver is a sales he’s sold... but I think we might have negotiator with CBRE in W1. Call to win the girlfriend over. The develop- 020 7182 2477 or visit cbre.com 40 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Letting on homesandproperty.co.uk with If seeking your fortune, seek a fortune-teller

ECENTLY, I spoke at a seminar for newbie Victoria Whitlock landlords and one question I was asked — the says don’t ask her one I am always asked — to predict the next was:R “Which area is going to be the next property hotspot?” It always investment hotspot. makes me laugh. I mean, do I look like I’ve got a crystal ball shoved up If you haven’t got a my sweater? Don’t answer that. If ever you are reading about the crystal ball, stick to next up-and-coming area in which to invest, trust me, you’ve already the areas you know missed the boat. Prices there will have already started to rise. Besides, if you take these reports seriously you’ll end up running round in The circles because this week Shepherd’s Bush might be tipped as the best accidental place to buy — but last week it was probably Old Kent Road and next week it might be Tooting. landlord A year ago, one well-known estate agent published a report identifying at auction also means you’ll avoid the which London boroughs were likely pain and expense of being to see the greatest property price gazumped. If you want to learn how £623 A WEEK increases over the next five years. to buy property this way — though AN IMPRESSIVE second-floor flat with two double bedrooms, Want to know what it said? In a I admit it sounds pretty daunting — both en suite, at Royal Close, Wimbledon, overlooks the All nutshell, pretty much everywhere in you might want to read Sam’s book, England Club practise courts from a grand mansion on a the capital would rise 19 to 25 per How to Buy Property At Auction, out private gated estate. The fully refurbished flat comes with cent. So there you have it. on March 20. two allocated parking spaces, a terrace and magnificent When buying to let I suggest you However, don’t go to auctions communal gardens. Available to rent through John D Wood. focus on finding a property in the thinking that you’re going to pick up areas you’re most familiar with. If property dirt cheap. Houses and flats O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/rentwimbledon you do this, you will know the most often sell for well above the guide desirable streets and, more price listed in the auctioneer’s importantly, you’ll know which ones brochure, and you could be to avoid. You will know where the competing with lots of serious best schools are, the best restaurants, investors who are likely to have much the best pubs. You’ll know who lives deeper pockets than you. around there and what sort of people    are likely to be your tenants. Best of O IF you fancy a property all, you will be close enough to keep that’s listed for auction, it’s       an eye on the property and you will worth putting an offer to the save a fortune in management fees. vendor to see whether they 
"" To find a bargain, cosy up to estate will sell to you beforehand. agents and ask them to tip you off if TheS first rental flat I bought was due      +  " .
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+  ! appeal to those looking for drive up the price in the auction somewhere to live, so might be room. As my fellow investors knew       available at a discount. the vendor, we managed to agree an I recently spotted a lovely two- immediate sale. bedroom flat for sale at £30,000 less Obviously we were lucky, but then than one immediately next door I do think luck plays a big part in  

 
 

            because it was let to a family who still property investing. Unless you have a had nine months on their lease. crystal ball, of course. 
 

    Homes & Property columnist and seasoned property investor Sam O Victoria Whitlock lets three Collett says these are exactly the sort properties in south London. To contact  
     
 
 of bargains you can find at property Victoria with your ideas and views, auctions. Sam points out that buying tweet @vicwhitlock    
   
  

 £495 A WEEK       

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'"  )   ## ) rentbarns Find many more homes to rent at homesandproperty.co.uk/lettings 42 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Ask the expert homesandproperty.co.uk with Must I pay neighbours to let me build? Fiona WHAT’S I OWN a flat in a block run by a management YOUR company. Three years ago quotations were McNulty PROBLEM? Qreceived from contractors for painting IF YOU have a external doors, gates and railings. Several OUR LAWYER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS question for residents objected to the cost, though I thought it was Fiona McNulty, reasonable. Since then nothing has been done. I have please email pestered the company which only says it has had I AM applying for legalsolutions@ problems collecting service charges from some of us. planning permission to standard.co.uk The place is now looking awful with peeling paint and Q build a house in a very or write to Legal rusting metal. My lease says redecoration should take large garden belonging Solutions, Homes place every two years. Is there anything I can do? to the basement flat I own. The & Property, flat is share of freehold. The other London Evening YOU could force your landlord to comply with its freeholders are demanding Standard, 2 Derry obligations under the terms of the lease and carry £20,000 each, with 10 per cent Street, W8 5EE. A out the work but you would need to issue County paid upon receiving planning We regret that Court proceedings seeking an injunction order. permission. To me this sounds questions cannot This is likely to be costly and risky, as it is within the incredibly greedy but it is the only be answered court’s discretion whether to make the order. It will way they will agree to the house individually but depend on the circumstances which may be complex — being built. Is this usual practice? we will try to for example, if the landlord is unable to do the work feature them because there are outstanding service charges. covenant preventing any building or will have to make, but look at the here. Fiona Remember, if the landlord is the management company YOU will have a leasehold alterations or additions without the cost of developing the land and all McNulty is a and the flat owners are all members of it, the only money interest in both the flat and previous written consent of the associated costs such as planning partner in the it will have is what owners pay in service charges. If there A the garden, so you will be lessor. applications, and then consider residential are arrears and the management company has no money, bound by the terms of your Accordingly, not only will you need what the value of the house will property, farms a claim could put it into a state of insolvency, meaning lease which will contain various the written consent of the lessor to be, to help you decide whether and estates team you may struggle to recover your legal costs. covenants and restrictions, some of carry out the proposed building the project is worthwhile. at Withy King LLP You may like to suggest to the management company which are likely to relate to your works, but the lessor will have to Do remember that your fellow (withyking.co.uk). that they sue any lessees who have not paid their service garden and how it should be used. release you from any covenants lessees, who own the freehold with charges. The terms of the lease should entitle the landlord

There may be covenants restricting affecting the usage of the garden. you, are likely to be inconvenienced to recover the cost of taking such action. the use to a private garden, to be Given what you are planning, a deed and suffer aggravation and used only in conjunction with the of variation may be required. disruption while the building works More legal O These answers can only be a very brief commentary on flat, and these may prohibit it from I do not know how many flats there are taking place, and that is probably Q&As the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. being sold off separately. are in the building and consequently one of the reasons why they are Visit: homesand No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar There will probably also be a how many payments of £20,000 you asking for a significant premium. property.co.uk issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor. 46 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property New homes homesandproperty.co.uk with By David Spittles SmartSmarSmart m Let’s get minimal OUTIQUE apartment schemes are a Cherry-pick a flat in low-cost Essex Clerkenwell staple and almost always pack a design punch. After a new homes drought, BASILDON in Essex is the homes, offices, shops and From £157,000: several small-scale projects are coming to the South-East’s most civic facilities, including a Morello Quarter market, including a rooftop extension of four affordable commuter town, new library, college and in Basildon, the Bduplex apartments above a handsome Victorian with an average property sports complex and South-East’s warehouse in Rosebery Avenue, moments from price of £163,121. an extension to the most affordable fashionable Exmouth Market. Average monthly Towngate Theatre, commuter town Another development at 63 Compton Street is a mortgage and travel costs doubling the number of return to Clerkenwell’s loft-living roots, says Sylvia total £843.45, according to seats to 1,200. Newman of estate agent Hurford Salvi Carr — “ultra-cool, research by property Morello Quarter is a architect-designed, minimalist apartments with large consultant CBRE. town-centre scheme of 121 windows, double-height ceilings and exposed concrete”. The town has 37-minute apartments, priced from To register, call 020 7250 1012. train links to Fenchurch £157,000, and the Next month, the same agent will unveil a scheme of Street and despite its low- government-backed Help to eight flats in a listed Art Deco building in John Street, cost status is enjoying a Buy scheme is available Bloomsbury. £1 billion regeneration (visit homesandproperty. boost, with up to 1,900 new co.uk/morello). Ultra-cool: apartments, right, at 63 Compton Street, Clerkenwell, coming to the market via Hurford Salvi Carr EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 47 homesandproperty.co.uk with New homes Homes & Property NO-GO BECOMES GO-TO Race to buy: Barratt’s ONLY a few years back, include a pedestrianised proposed Canning Town was “quarter” with design redevelopment boycotted by a courier studios, workshops for of the Catford company because it was small businesses, retail greyhound seen as too dangerous. premises and craft stalls. stadium site Now the district is being Call 020 7620 1500. trumpeted convincingly as Rathbone Market is a “Borough Market-style another Canning Town destination”. project, aiming to create a Catford’s Newham council new town centre. The first regeneration is bringing phase, Vermilion — 271 getting £3.7 billion of investment homes, most in a 21-storey and up to 10,000 new tower — sold out fast, the homes. At Royal Gateway triggering an early launch (pictured) Galliard is of phase two, Aurelia, cream building 336 homes on the with 165 homes, going on site of a former bakery and sale this month (homesand at last electrical factory and will property.co.uk/aurelia).

CATFORD was hardly noticed by Fields and the revitalised town central London workers for years but centre. To register, call 020 7423 its relatively cheap stock of Victorian 5630. Clarence Apartments is a and interwar terraces — sturdy, nearby scheme of 12 homes selling three-bedroom houses start from from £315,000 to £445,000 under £350,000 — has been (homesandproperty.co.uk/clarence). discovered by young couples. The firm’s Jaimie Beers says the The town centre, soon to be given a “Shard Corridor” is boosting cheaper makeover, boasts a popular Art Deco postcodes south of the river, including theatre, while good community Catford, just 11 minutes by train from schools and playing fields add to the the new London Bridge business draw for families. And there are two district. local train stations. Extensive regeneration is planned Smart new flats are sprouting up. for nearby Lewisham town centre, Launching soon is a redevelopment of too, with new homes and a modern the old greyhound stadium, with 589 transport interchange. Vantage homes on a 12-acre site. It will open Apartments is a new scheme of up the “lost” River Ravensbourne and seven homes on Lewisham Road. create pedestrian links to Ladywell From £325,000. Call 020 8297 8777.