Wednesday 10 February 2016 Men: style Homes& and passion

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Arch-itecture A glorious new life for London’s 10,000 neglected railway arches Page 6 REBECCA REID REBECCA 4 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | News Cheaper, better trains — the TfL promise Trophy UNDREDS of thousands of London commuters are home of being promised cheaper the week travel and more frequent services within two years a mansion Has grapples to seize control of privatised train serv- that makes ices across the South-East. The Department for Transport has the most of backed Mayor Boris Johnson’s plans to create a more “joined-up” rail network your millions in and around the capital, which would

include taking control of rail services JEREMY SELWYN operating within Greater London. £16.8 million: take your 21,630sq ft that includes a lift, should you be feeling like This would mean TfL taking over Battle for the index, the average London property conspicuous wealth north to mass of entertaining space one of the idle rich. parts of the South West Trains service driving seat: price is £514,097, while the average for Totteridge and you’ll find a in five reception rooms, Staff can be kept at a when its franchise comes up for overcrowded the South-East is £261,581. spectacular mansion that along with a 12-seat private discreet distance in a renewal next year, followed by the South West However, this price difference must can really show it off. cinema, a bespoke wine separate two-bedroom South Eastern service in 2018. Trains could be be set against the cost of commuting. Sitting imposingly in a cellar and a 12-metre indoor apartment, while there is The move comes just when the gap the first of the A new study suggests that the average private gated plot of about swimming pool. ample garaging for your between property prices in the capital private services London commuter will have travelled three acres — bang in the The obligatory grand spiral favourite car... plus a fleet and the rest of the South-East has in London to 141,437 miles by the time they retire, middle of a conservation staircase leads to eight plush of others. reached its widest on record, forcing come under TfL and spent more than £113,000 on their area — Cavendish House bedrooms and seven It’s on the market with many Londoners to look for homes in control journey to and from work. itself covers a whopping bathrooms. There is also a Statons (020 8012 3395). the commuter belt and beyond. According to the latest Land Registry O Find Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk Lifechanger You be the judge in our New Homes Awards 2016 of the week WE ARE looking for 18 avid bad points of house building readers of Homes & Property, today across all sectors of the good karma’s each with a passion for industry, from starter homes guaranteed in property, who would like to be to luxurious mansions. part of our judging panel for Judging must be completely this perfect the 2016 Evening Standard independent, so reader judges New Homes Awards. must have no direct connections barn retreat You will join industry experts to builders or developers, and to choose the very best homes they must not have served on £1,175,000: Willow Barn, in and developments in London our panel in previous years. the conservation area of and the South-East. Ducklington, Oxfordshire, A shortlist of schemes will be HOW TO APPLY If you would is the perfect Zen package prepared by a team of experts, like to take part, tell us in no Top of the world: view from for a dreamy yoga retreat including five bedrooms — while glass panels in the who will visit each site, but our more than 150 words why you Ballymore development The or boutique B&B, with its three of them en suite — and original barn openings add reader judges will choose the feel qualified for the task, Penthouse at Wapping Lane, serene views over the a fabulous kitchen-dining light and space to beamed winners in each category. detailing relevant knowledge, winner of our 2015 Grand Prix River Windrush and the open area lit by a wall of bi-fold reception and dining rooms Reader judges do not need any experience and enthusiasm. fields beyond. doors that peel back on to that are completed by sleek professional qualifications — You would need to be free for a provided) and all day on The converted barn the sun terrace and well- Italian floor tiles. just bags of enthusiasm for couple of hours on the evening Thursday, April 7, for the final provides ample space for presented gardens. The Through John D Wood excellent architecture and of Wednesday, March 2, to judging. Please email your your guests to retreat, property has solid oak doors, (01865 575177). design. Your job will be to attend the selection process in application to avril@ recognise both the good and Kensington (refreshments signaturevents.co.uk. London buy of the week the last one left. A sleek three-bedroom flat with balcony views Editor: Janice £540,000: tempting buyers Morley to N11 is Florian House — a boutique development in VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk/ New Southgate, where this rules for details of our usual three-bedroom flat is the last promotion rules. When you one available. respond to promotions, offers or It has a generous floor  competitions, the London Evening space of 964sq ft across an Standard and its sister companies open-plan living/dining may contact you with relevant room, pictured, with a offers and services that may be of balcony. A sleek kitchen has interest. Please give your mobile integrated appliances, glossy number and/or email address if units and granite worktops. you would like to receive such Two of the bedrooms offers by text or email. have balconies, while the Editorial: 020 3615 2524 main bathroom, inset, is Advertisement manager: very hotel-chic. There are Jamie McCabe communal gardens and video Advertising: 020 3615 0266 entry, and Arnos Grove Tube Homes & Property, Northcliffe station (Piccadilly line) is     House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, minutes away. Through KFH London W8 5TT. — call 020 8012 2773. By Faye Greenslade

Facebook: ESHomesAndProperty • Twitter: @HomesProperty EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 5 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by News | Homes & Property Form a queue for a modern marvel

Healthy extras at Ricky’s place É WHILE this south London tower sixth floors, on the market through ÉRICKY GERVAIS has reduced the block might appear austere to many, Barnard Marcus at £400,000. asking price for his home in to architecture buffs it is one of the The block was designed by Sir Leslie Hampstead. The four-bedroom capital’s finest examples of the Martin and Sir Colin St John Wilson, Victorian detached house was modernist movement’s International architects of the Royal Festival Hall originally listed for sale at Style. Fans are expected to form an and the British Library respectively. £7.7 million last September. orderly queue at Prospect House in Remodelled by RIBA award-winning However, it is now on Goldschmidt edgy Elephant and Castle to view a White Table architects, the flat and Howland’s books for two-bedroom flat on the fifth and featured in Grand Designs Magazine. £6,999,000.

With a generous 5,263sq ft, there’s GETTY plenty of party space and an outdoor terrace. Miley’s home No 3 British comedy actor, director, and writer Gervais, right, who has is a Malibu retreat hosted America’s Golden Globe Awards four times, turned the lower É MILEY CYRUS, above, has bought level of the house into a spa area, a four-bedroom Malibu mansion. The above and top right, with an ozone £1.74 million residence, below, is the swimming pool, gym and a golf pop singer’s third house. drive. But after living there for It’s near the home of actor Liam nearly 10 years and completing Hemsworth, with whom Cyrus, famed By Amira Hashish renovations, the Extras star for her risqué twerking dance moves, decided to start a new chapter. has reportedly reignited her romance. O For more celebrity gossip, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/gossip He recently moved into a £10.5 Her new place stands in more than million mansion nearby with his two acres of grounds, with connected Got some gossip? Tweet @amiranews long-time partner, the best- outdoor dining space and swish kitchen.

selling author Jane Fallon. REX Built in 1958, the bedrooms could do with an update — but it’s essentially the perfect summer retreat. Perrie mixes with Surrey set

ÉLITTLE MIX singer Surrey after the break- Perrie Edwards, inset, has up, and has spent the sold the £5 million north past few months London home she bought giving the place a with her ex-fiancé, more feminine look. Bradford-born former One Malik, 23, whose Direction star Zayn Malik. debut solo single They bought the six- Pillowtalk topped bedroom property, right, the US charts this last summer but split soon week, has relocated afterwards. Edwards, 22, to New York and is invested in a £1 million reportedly dating four-bedroom bungalow American fashion

with a pretty garden in model Gigi Hadid. GETTY

   

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HE extensive network of railway viaducts and arches in the capital is a great legacy of the Victorian era. Now, London’s great after decades of neglect and Tdecay, these splendid structures are being restored and integrated into new housing schemes, weaving their his- toric heritage into our redesigned inner-city spaces to the benefit of com- munity and buyers alike. Many individual arches have already turned around their image as leaky, back-street lock-ups by being trans- formed into chic offices for start-ups, boutiques and bistros but, as develop- ers scramble for land, projects are happening on a much larger scale. Planners and Network Rail are col- laborating to bring rows of railway arches back into use and to make their 10,000 neglected Victorian railway arches beautiful, bare-brick fabric an archi- tectural showpiece. are enjoying a glorious revival as part of new DUKE’S REVAMP homes schemes, reports David Spittles Network Rail owns 10,000 arches in London and has an active programme of renovating rows of them rather than individual units, arguing that this “encourages better place-making and more community benefits”. The Grosvenor Estate, the Duke of Westminster’s property company, is looking beyond its heartland of Mayfair and Belgravia to create a new quarter in a gritty Bermondsey backwater. Its 11-acre site butts up against the world’s oldest railway viaduct — the London to Greenwich, built in the 1830s — which also has the longest run of arches in the UK. The Peek Freans biscuit factory once stood on the site but for years the land

has been a no-go zone, closed to the REID REBECCA public. Grosvenor’s master plan is for 800-plus new homes, a school and Shad Thames. A campaign by Ber- new shops, an art house cinema and park. Offices and studio space will open mondsey Village Action Group saved private members club, plus a new up the area by creating new pedestrian rare polychromatic brick arches along- southern entrance to the market. links through listed arches and side London Bridge station from the Check out Great Suffolk Street, passageways to Bermondsey’s Jubilee bulldozer, which have been listed by which runs all the way to Trinity line station. English Heritage. Church Square, the latter a traffic-free Snowsfields Yard, tucked away Georgian conservation area. WALK THE LINE behind the viaduct, is a scheme of 28 For many years, this patch was Railway viaducts radiating out of flats priced from £765,000. Call Crest deemed the wrong side of the tracks, London Bridge and Waterloo mainline Nicholson on 020 3002 5453. but architects and design companies stations crisscross this swathe of the Borough Market is set to move up are moving into refurbished arches, capital, and it’s here that the most another notch in status with a game- while small plots are being redevel- ambitious projects are to be found. changing £300 million project, open- oped into flats. The best way to get to grips with ing up magnificent vaulted Victorian A scheme in Rushworth Street has what’s happening is to put on your hik- railway arches which housed the nine flats priced from £710,000. Call ing boots and follow the rail tracks, Vinopolis wine centre. 020 7758 8424.

DANIEL LYNCH DANIEL stopping for refreshment at some- Redevelopment of the three-acre Looming over a railway viaduct at Graffiti tunnel: Leake Street, beneath the former Eurostar terminal at Waterloo where like Ropewalk food market near complex will create space for up to 50 Union Street is The Music Box, a funky

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                      From £737,500: The Music Box in Union Street, Part of a master plan: the site of the former Peek Freans Southwark, has one-, two- and three-bedroom flats biscuit factory in Bermondsey is earmarked for 800 homes       "            EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 7 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by New homes | Homes & Property DAVID YEO DAVID Sweet success: E5 Bakehouse in railway arches at London Near Waterloo’s tracks: former hotel Fields supplies five-star restaurants with cakes and bread Dover House has been turned into flats DANIEL LYNCH DANIEL

All change: scheme of 55 flats above new premises Marsh, a 160-year-old street market Monmouth for London Centre of Contemporary that had suffered property blight fol- Coffee Company Music. Prices from £737,500. Call 020 lowing the Eurostar terminal closure, is among firms to 3772 7725. but is now gentrifying. take over arches From here, viaducts run parallel with in Spa North, BANKSY TERRITORY Albert Embankment and pass through '   Bermondsey, Leake Street used to be a dark and fast-changing Nine Elms to the Wands- $ $  "( ) #*( '* " above left; dangerous alley running below the worth hinterland. The railway line used Stoney Street, disused Eurostar terminal at Waterloo. to act as a buffer, blocking access to the "(   "" * "( ( ** above, is at Made famous by graffiti artist Banksy, river, but arches are being punched  " *  * *(*  * *  the centre of a who organised the first of the Cans through. £300 million Festivals of street art there in 2008, Damien Hirst’s vast Newport Street " *( #* " *" project to Lambeth council has now given Gallery has opened alongside the rum- * *" "( '" * transform arches approval for it to be turned into an bling Vauxhall viaduct. Next door, (*( " at Borough avenue of coffee shops and quirky food developer St James is renovating arches Market outlets. as part of a wedge of elite new riverside Most of all it will increase the allure housing. A new public space will unite of the neighbourhood around Lower the arches with 433 luxury apartments in three separate schemes called The Corniche, The Dumont and Merano Residences. Prices start at £3.35 mil- lion. Call 020 8246 4190. Battersea Exchange, between Battersea Park and Queenstown Road stations, similarly makes a virtue out of listed railway arches. Taylor Wimpey, the developer, is creating a new car-free street lined with "*   "'* shops and cafés facing 10 buildings with 290 homes. Prices from £790,000. Call 020 3053 0745.  Meanwhile, architects are turning their attention to a new challenge — that *  of creating homes within railway arches. An amazing prototype home and studio for a photographer has been resourcefully squeezed into an arch in  * *    " "(  * Southwark.  "$  Designed by Undercurrent Architects and clad in rusty Corten steel with a ""(%"(*' highly insulated inner skin, the 1,600sq ft space is acoustically pro- (&& &  ! From £765,000: Snowsfields Yard, just off Bermondsey tected from the noise of the trains that Street and close to the Shard, features 28 apartments go rattling past during the day. * # " *   8 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Buy to let

£600,000: a two-bedroom flat in Hackford Road, Oval, SW9. Through Ludlow Thompson (020 8212 2211)

Big potential: capital growth prospects are strong in King’s Cross, where the UK’s first natural bathing pond, right, opened last summer

, JEREMY SELWYN Learn the rules of good rental returns

HERE is nothing like a tight deadline to focus the mind, Move quickly to avoid April’s hike and the announcement that stamp duty on buy-to-let in stamp duty. Here’s our guide property or on a second to the 10 best rental areas to Thome will rise by three per cent on each band from April has prompted a scram- ble by investors desperate to avoid pay- search. By Ruth Bloomfield ing thousands of pounds extra. investment does not take into account However, this important buy, which management costs or the possibility could be your pension pot, needs care- that the property will be empty for ful thought if it is going to bring a con- some of the year. Nonetheless, the stant return and increase in value in financial gains are impressive. the long term. An average two-bedroom property Exclusive new research from Right- in Oval costs £571,551 — up from about move reveals the top 10 locations £450,000 a year ago — and rents for where you can expect the best rental about £1,700 a month. However, return, both in London and in the com- Karelia Scott-Daniels, managing direc- muter belt, and with a price range to tor at Manse & Garret Property Search, suit all pockets. This research is sup- says investors could get into the area ported by expert advice on how to from about £350,000 by buying an ex- make the best buy. council flat, which would rent for about Leading the way in central London is £1,600 a month. “These flats are Oval where, according to the research, cheaper than private flats, but there is investors could see a 31.3 per cent not as much of a difference in the rents return on investment — calculated by they command,” she says. LAUNCHING looking at the average price of two- She adds that renters on the upper bedroom flats across London, their floors of a block like lifts, all of them annual price change and their annual want security and most prefer small      rental income. The return on each blocks to sprawling estates.    ‘WE’LL SAVE £13,500 IF WE COMPLETE BEFORE APRIL 1’     #                LIZZIE RIVERA, 30, an online that it makes more sense to (& -( (.-" (' ('+ &(+- *-#+-# ).*- *, editor, and her partner, Joe keep the flat as a long-term  $"& "+  (&  +-#'-#(' #' #-+  68   McGuire, 32, who works for investment than to sell,” she (0' *#!"-, 0#-" #-+ .11#'! * -#/ + '     a tech start-up, are buying a says. “Even though the rental ' % -# *+ ' * +-.*'-+7      one-bedroom flat in north yield isn’t huge, I’m getting  4       London for £450,000. more than I would from having $   !&$*)"""       Lizzie’s share of the deposit savings in a bank.” '   !*'")"""   325 is coming from equity released Lizzie revealed that stamp from a flat she bought in duty on their new flat will (   !+&")"""  6      Enfield for £115,000 in 2013. cost £12,500 if they complete     9(' : She converted the studio before April 1, but £26,000 into a one-bedroom flat and afterwards. has since rented it out to a “We do need to complete the        "'" %$"% '&'$ professional couple. purchase of our new home        “I never intended to become before the end of March a landlord, but property prices Investment: Joe and Lizzie are because the extra stamp duty are rising so quickly in the area buying a flat in north London would wipe out our deposit.” EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 9 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Buy to let | Homes & Property

Top spot: Oval, left, central London’s best buy-to-let area, and its Kia Oval cricket ground

£480,000: two- bedroom flat in The Galleries, Brentwood, right. Through Next Chapter (01277 567077) CORBIS

LOOK FOR CONNECTIONS Transport links are key, so look at areas TOP 10 BUY-TO-LET AREAS near new developments such as Cross- Average asking price Total rent Total rail. Proximity to the Tube is a big fac- tor for commuting tenants. Q4 2014 Q4 2015 collected return Oval’s prospects for capital growth London look promising because the area is still Oval £450,918 £571,551 £20,447 31.3% better value than much of the rest of King’s Cross £742,421 £938,154 £28,865 30.3% central London. Being sandwiched East Ham £212,933 £261,328 £14,195 29.4% between regeneration zones at Nine Cricklewood £458,682 £569,210 £19,380 28.3% Elms and Elephant & Castle should help Wembley £283,041 £346,570 £16,269 28.2% raise prices, too. Regeneration areas are attractive to Silvertown £388,123 £477,045 £19,674 28.0% renters with their uplifting vibe. King’s Barnsbury £639,768 £787,609 £26,540 27.3% Cross scores almost as strongly as Oval Brent £284,745 £345,370 £16,125 27.0% in today’s research, with a total return Lee £280,012 £339,657 £14,490 26.5% on investment of 30.3 per cent — Forest Gate £261,027 £314,277 £14,577 26.0% though high property prices (the aver- age asking price is currently pushing Outside London £940,000) might make the area too expensive. Brentwood, Essex £255,624 £315,442 £12,434 28.3% Luton, Beds £148,295 £178,620 £8,633 26.3% SCHOOLS ARE A BIG DRAW Grays, Essex £168,358 £200,656 £10,114 25.2% Almost as lucrative, but a fraction of Slough, Berks £212,150 £252,488 £11,931 24.6% the price, is East Ham, with average Stevenage, Herts £189,624 £225,326 £10,002 24.1% prices standing at just more than Hemel Hempstead, Herts £222,857 £264,011 £11,284 23.5% £261,000 and a total return on invest- Windsor, Berks £353,298 £419,788 £15,736 23.3% ment calculated at a healthy 29.4 per cent. Sheeba Kumar, director of Dartford, Kent £191,568 £223,008 £10,558 21.9% Swayam Estates, says the property Margate, Kent £123,152 £143,202 £6,671 21.7% stock in the area tends to be three-bed- High Wycombe, Bucks £202,273 £235,367 £10,585 21.6% room terraces, selling at £350,000 to Source: Rightmove £380,000, which landlords are snap- ping up to rent to fortysomethings with THE CROSSRAIL FACTOR children, who typically pay £1,600 to Outside London, buy-to-let returns are £1,750 a month. If you are investing in slightly lower. Brentwood in Essex is a family house, try to buy one that’s the best performer. An investment of near good schools as this will be a big an average of just over £315,000 could draw for parents. see a return of more than 28 per cent. Demand is fierce, both from investors Perry Binyon, of Country Places and renters, near East Ham Tube estate agents, puts Brentwood’s suc- station in Zone 3 — served by the Ham- cess down to its proximity to the new mersmith & City and District lines — Crossrail station at nearby Shenfield, and close to one of the area’s three which has seen investors rushing to Ofsted “outstanding” primary schools snap up two-bedroom flats near the (Cleves, St Stephen’s and Brampton), station, paying about £300,000. or its two top-performing secondaries Binyon says renters, mostly London (Brampton Manor Academy and Plas- commuters, will pay between £1,100 het School). and £1,300 a month for a property, Kumar says: “East Ham is still below providing it is in smart condition. market price compared to Stratford. He believes that the Crossrail factor People can’t even dream of living in means prices will increase by 10 to central London any more, and we are 12 per cent by 2018, when the line is only 20 minutes away.” due to open. 10 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Regeneration

Stone’s throw: homes at Glasshouse Gardens, left, are close to the area’s amenities

Getting there: right, is now in Zone 2, meaning travel has become cheaper

The pacesetter Stratford’s Olympic homes boost shows no signs of slowing, says Ruth Bloomfield

HE biggest winner at the 2012 not huge. The average price of a two-bedroom Olympics was Stratford. It turned house in one of the streets just off Broadway is into property gold and has never about £450,000. looked back. Developers piled into If you have deeper pockets and are determined the formerly drab east London to buy a new build this year, you will have to be Tdistrict, sending new-build prices storming quick off the mark. The first phase of homes at ahead. Chobham Manor, within the Olympic Park However, young buyers who were unable to itself, sold out fast, but work has started on the pay the high price tags at new apartment blocks next tranche of 207 houses, flats and did not miss out. They searched among maisonettes. Prices have not been unveiled — the Stratford’s older housing stock and were able to homes go on sale later this year. Visit benefit from regeneration, while often enjoying chobhammanor.co.uk for details. more space. They will be followed by the first homes at two Exclusive research from data analysts LonRes other Olympic Park neighbourhoods, East Wick shows average values near the Olympic Park and Sweetwater, by developers Balfour Beatty have grown from £171,081 in 2005 to £293,105 and Places for People (placesforpeople.co.uk). today, a 71 per cent rise. The wider Olympic The first residents should move in next year. borough of Newham is up 47 per cent in the Glasshouse Gardens (ghgstratford.com) is same period to an average £370,000. well under way and the first residents are due to Over the past five years, both Stratford and move in this year. Prices start at £433,000 for a Newham have begun significantly to outperform one-bedroom flat.

   the rest of the capital. Since 2010, their average This development is part of a wider £2 billion  house prices have risen 60 and 43 per cent scheme, the International Quarter, which  respectively, compared with 36 per cent across will also have offices, shops and restaurants. Greater London. Annual travel is now cheaper, as Stratford,  Nick Parr, a partner at Knight Frank, says: “The Stratford International and Stratford High Street       Olympic Park and the billions the Government stations have become part of Zone 2. But fewer       has spent on transport improvements have people will have to commute long distances, as

    focused the buying public’s attention on this many more job opportunities are created locally. 

  

      

  area as a good-value residential district.”



   

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 Bernard Cully, head of sales at JLL City & East GET IN QUICK  

London, agrees: “The average price per square The Financial Conduct Authority and Transport

 !  foot in prime Stratford — within a five-minute for London — among others — are moving into walk of the station and Westfield Stratford City — the area, bringing an active market for homes is about £800 to £850 a square foot, compared and jobs. Partly on that basis, Knight Frank with £1,000 per square foot in Canary Wharf predicts that prices will increase from current and £2,000 in the Liverpool Street area.” levels of £700 to £800 per square foot to £1,000 to £1,200 a square foot by 2018, when the A VICTORIAN TERRACE IS opening of Crossrail should give east London’s STILL A GREAT-VALUE BUY premier regeneration zone another boost. According to LonRes, new flats sold in the last year have had an average price of £456,870 — well over 50 per cent more than the £293,105 for  $  # ( ,$  ( , ,*$ !!$( $*$$  $! older properties in streets surrounding the main regeneration zone.  , #&  $#    $ Yet the capital growth of new and second-hand  )  , ( +   ) ( # "   '#  $$   homes in the area is very similar. New-build prices have increased by 78 per cent in the past  )*   % $  decade, while second-hand homes have  * $ * #$  !     $ increased by 71 per cent. Look for value in the Victorian terraces. Stratford has streets and                      streets of homes like these, and many of them        will have potential for added value if they are given makeovers and their lofts are turned into Up for grabs: second-phase apartments at extra rooms. At 900sq ft to 1,000sq ft, they are Chobham Manor go on sale later this year

5-year 10-year AVERAGE change change PRICE OF Where 2005 2010 2015 % % A FLAT Postcodes around Stratford’s £171,081 £182,662 £293,105 60 71 regeneration zone Newham (borough) £253,091 £260,213 £370,822 43 47 Greater London £246,016 £338,573 £459,804 36 87 Source: LonRes/ Land Registry (surrounding postcodes include E151, E152) 12 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Holiday homes

HE “northern powerhouse” concept is nothing new to York. Founded about AD 71, the city has experienced plenty of boom times down Tthe ages. The arrival of railways in the mid-19th century saw the UK’s largest train station of the day built there in 1877 — and the connection brought tourism, industry and wealth. Today, the train link from York to King’s Cross is a tolerable two hours or so. Catch the 6.30am service and you can be at your London desk by 9.15am, says Ben Pridden, of Savills York. From £285,000: for one- to three- “One in every 10 of our buyers still bedroom flats or £1.55 million for works in London,” he says. “They townhouses at St Leonard’s Place might not commute every day, but they appreciate the easy journey times. Londoners are buying into York’s good for an apartment in York is just less schools and quality of life.” than £300,000, with a prime four-bed- York is surrounded by glorious coun- room Victorian townhouse with a gar- tryside — the North York Moors den in the centre costing about National Park is 45 minutes to the £500,000. north — yet it is the city itself that With very few new builds in the his- entices families. “There is a clear flight toric city centre, the renovation of an to the city,” explains Pridden. “Prices entire Grade II*-listed Regency cres- in York are seven per cent above those cent opposite York Minster is a story of in 2007, while the countryside remains note. St Leonard’s Place dates from 15 per cent lower.” the 1830s. Built for the landed gentry, 150 years later it became council offices,

PRICE GROWTH POTENTIAL GETTY until developer Rushbond stepped in Figures from Jackson-Stops & Staff Take several steps back in time: visitors flock to York’s historic heart, with cobbled streets and quaint independent shops to restore the crescent. After extensive confirm York’s popularity. It was the work, St Leonard’s Place now offers agent’s third best-performing county five townhouses and 29 apartments. town for family homes price growth “Buyers include business people and last year out of 41 contenders, behind York powers ahead in popularity those looking to downsize while keep- only Exeter and Bristol and showing a ing generous proportions in their near-20 per cent price increase. homes,” says Mark Finch, of Rushbond. The average house price in York is This elegant Roman city has cheap homes and nearby wild moorland “They tell us they want contemporary £240,000 — less than half the average elegance in a traditional house.” in London. Savills’ average sale price that tempt holiday and permanent owners, says Cathy Hawker Prices start from £285,000 for one- to three-bedroom apartments from 553sq ft. Entire five-bedroom town- houses of 4,420sq ft are £1.55 million. ‘YORK HAS A GREAT SENSE OF bought a house in Precentor’s Court four-bedroom townhouse is one of Rushbond will manage the homes, with COMMUNITY AND HISTORY’ in the shadow of York Minster as a York’s best city rentals, winning Visit annual service charges from £1,000. holiday let. They refurbished it from England and Alastair Sawday’s awards. LONDONERS Steve and Jane Cain top to bottom and now rent it out for A LONG, SWEET STORY moved from the capital to York in up to eight people. O No 2 Precentor’s Court: York has a long, proud history as the 1995. They bought a Georgian “We love York and this gives us the fivestaryork.com home of chocolate. Flats in the building townhouse to double as their home opportunity to have a place in the where the first Terry’s Chocolate and as Steve’s orthodontic practice — city,” says Jane. “It had been owned Orange was made go on sale this spring. and fell at once for the local life. by the Minster and we have added The Grade II-listed Art Deco building, “York has a village atmosphere,” Welcome: Steve and Jane Cain run an a few ecclesiastical touches to it, The Residence, has 170 one- to three- says Jane, 52. “It’s a pedestrian city award-winning York holiday let, right such as a small church noticeboard bedroom flats from £185,000, with where everyone walks and that and folding chapel chairs in the duplex penthouses from £500,000. provides a great sense of community. their children Maisie, 12, and Christian, bedrooms. It has a great sense of history, too, 14, they moved to a village in North “Guests tell us they love lying in bed O St Leonard’s Place: yet it is relaxed and full of charming, York Moors National Park, 25 miles on a Sunday morning and hearing the stleonardsplace.co.uk independent shops.” In 2009, with north of the city. Four years later, they Minster bells ring out.” The beautiful O Savills: savills.com O The Residence: pjlivesey-group. co.uk/the-residence-york

5% # & ! "$$ DEPOSIT 40% SHARED EQUITY 55% MORTGAGE     #)       & ! & )."  ! "$$# . 2."  . !7 ! "$$# 5 7! $ . #$7% &"   # $ 7 . *#  #$ 5$51 . 5 $5  "1" $5  !" 1" # 5# 1 51 ) ."  ! "$$# "  2%  ."  ! "$$# "  )%  034/ (08+( /+/ -+  )    /8+( ,+/)4(-36 ,+/)-36 3'4  3 ( +/4( , EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 13 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Design | Homes & Property

HE creative colour Colour trends: consultant for paintmaker latest Farrow & Farrow & Ball, Joa Ball colours Studholme loves nothing include the better than mixing new romantic paintT colours and trying them out at Peignoir, right, her North Kensington home. and moody Inchyra Blue, MY HOME far right I have lived with my husband Andrew, a commercials director, and our two children, Cosmo and Nancy, Just the place for in the same house for 22 years and I hanging out: imagine I may live there forever. The new designer red-brick exterior is not very Rufus Martin’s beautiful, but the interior is big and Roomoon tent, the rooms run across the building left, can be rather than from front to back, which hoisted into the means a brilliant relationship with trees with the the garden. help of a chain

By Katie Law MyMy ddedesdesiesesiessii JOA STUDHOLME COLOUR CONSULTANT, FARROW & BALL

MY HOME STYLE We have a very eclectic style — no minimalism here, however hard we have tried. We initially bought two flats and joined them together and we are still slowly expanding into the rest of the building. Every wall is double- or triple-hung with a variety of styles of art and an equal amount of objects on every surface. And, of course, there is a kaleidoscope of Farrow & Ball colours in every room — all of which are changed constantly.

At the moment, we are all loving CLIVE NICHOLS/GAPINTERIORS having the new colours throughout the house, particularly romantic Dear diary: Peignoir in the sitting room. Joa Studholme, above, can’t get MY TOP STYLE TIP through a year Use a strong colour in your hall so without her that you create ultimate impact on Smythson arrival. It also means that all the Portobello diary, rooms off the hall look bigger and £180 but worth lighter as well as giving you licence to every penny be more neutral in the rest of the house. Over the past 20 years, it has been Mouse’s Back, Claydon Blue, Firm favourite: some amazingly talented people, Downpipe, Railings and London Joa loves Jasper among them Terence and Jasper Clay, but at the moment I am really Morrison’s shop Conran. I still follow the young thrilled with moody Inchyra Blue — in Kingsland designers the school produces and I one of the new colours for 2016. Road, E2, and his am particularly struck by the cork furniture beautifully crafted hanging tents WHAT LUXURY MEANS made by Rufus Martin. Luxury to me is having the best decorator in town on speed-dial. SECRET ESCAPE Hooper Interiors have the most On Sunday mornings I love to walk courteous, reliable and professional from Camden to Ladbroke Grove painters you could ever find. They along the canal, a route that covers so admitted recently that they have many aspects of London, from run- made a tiny mark on the interior of down urban estates to proud stucco one of my cupboards every time they mansions, and having lunch in the have painted that room. There are beautifully designed Dock Kitchen 11 of them. followed by a browse in Tom Dixon’s shop at the Wharf Building, FAVOURITE SHOP Portobello Dock. The revered designer Jasper Morrison was one of my best friends I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT at school and I still love all the Every year I get a Smythson products in his diminutive shop in Portobello diary — a huge Kingsland Road, including his own extravagance, but worth every penny designs, from simple sticky tape to to me, because I write all my clients’ his iconic cork tables. details in it. I have 14 now in fabulous colours piled decoratively in my MOST TALENTED office. Every night, I pack my diary NEW DESIGNER and a sharpened wooden pencil I was lucky enough to go to a into one of my Jack Spade bags school with a huge design ready for work. Three beautifully ethic (Bryanston School in designed items which together Dorset), which has produced enhance my life. 14 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Design

Here’s my heart: Toast the host: Alessi heart Lalique coffee spoons, champagne set of four, coupes, £95 £19.99 (alessi. each, and com) Ganymede ice bucket £3,100 (lalique.com)

Love, actually: neon sign from Daniel Poole, The Hello mellow: Old Hardware the space-saving Store, Regent’s music system by Park Road, NW1 Tivoli, £499 (tivoli (danielpoole.com) audio.co.uk) Style is so seductive ITH Valentine’s Day Throw out the black leather, fellas. Girls love amazingly romantic simply arranged holders in silver, gold and copper, approaching, it’s in a tall vase with fragrant from Selfridges, cast an inviting glow. worth noting how warm, tactile fabrics and are seduced by your eucalyptus. Always make sure vases Habitat’s Tessellate wall light — big an impression a are right for the flowers. A domed designed by Aaron Probyn for man’s home can sofa-sensitive style, says Dominic Lutyens arrangement matches a round evening use with all other lights Wmake on a prospective partner — and goldfish bowl better than a tall square turned off — emits an even more how it can potentially cement an to their guests. After all, a man’s Moyses Stevens, says: “Flowers add vase. Tall delphiniums suit a tall, dramatic glow. Meanwhile, Gods already budding relationship. appreciation of home interiors and colour, strong design and wonderful square vase.” Own Junkyard’s reclaimed If a man’s interest in his home wows the thought he puts into them implies smells. We recommend the classic fairground signs and neon slogans the object of his affection, it’s bound sensitivity, a creative streak and Red Naomi rose, which looks LIGHT OF YOUR LIFE provide a truly theatrical effect. More to bring them closer — while the way originality. Sally Storey, design director of informal is the portable UMA Sound he decorates the place is a form of lighting specialist John Cullen, Lantern (nest.co.uk), which doubles seduction in itself. GOODBYE MACHO STYLING advises: “Create the correct as a wireless speaker. Similarly space- Men reputedly loathe shopping, yet A wider choice of interior styles impression right from the front door saving and stylish is Tivoli’s audio there’s growing evidence that they means men no longer cling to dated, with a dimmed light, which sets the music system, encased in wood. relish the finer things in life, be it bachelor pad clichés, such as mood. For a more intimate effect, Also made of wood are the Do craft beer, organic food or grooming “masculine” black leather and light flowers or objects in the centre South Shop’s Osso table and products. Not surprisingly, the chrome furniture. Much better to opt of a coffee table with a narrow beam matching stools — perfect for two — hipster demographic is driving up for warmer, organic materials such as of light. Candles are also unbeatably Skandium’s chopping boards by sales in all these areas. wood and tactile fabrics, which not romantic.” Skagerak, and Ercol’s Love Seat, What’s more, a study by market only suggest a softer side to a man’s Particularly covetable is L’Objet’s partially coated with a red dip-dye research firm Verdict Retail revealed character, but are bang on-trend. amber and lemon-scented candle, finish for Valentine’s Day. More that 40 per cent of all consumers The same goes for daringly vibrant Thé Russe (No 75), while Tom Dixon’s comfortable, however, are Finn Juhl’s who bought homewares in the colours, which promote passion, semi-translucent Etch tea-light Poet sofa (my-furniture.co.uk) and preceding year were men, with most warmth and a sense of fun. Creating a Amy Somerville’s mohair-covered of their spending in the kitchen and comfortable ambience is crucial. Dyad sofa. For a cosier feel still, add dining areas. Gentle lighting, music and flowers all Lucky numbers: L’Objet candles, £66; colourful throws from SCP. What home owners buy reveals a enhance this atmosphere. Spale number 6 is Jasmine D’Inde, number Once perched, toast romance with lot about their personality and taste Marcinko, director of Harrods florist 75 is romantic Thé Russe (l-objet.com) Lalique crystal champagne coupes,

        London Evening Standard NewHomesAwards             

For more information and to request an entry form email [email protected] or call 01568 708 163. Closing date for entries: Friday 12th February 2016 www.homesandproperty.co.uk/nha #nha2016 EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 15 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Design | Homes & Property

Baby, it’s cold outside: so snuggle up by a rooftop fireplace and set the mood with lighting, right, from John Cullen (King’s Road, SW6; johncullenlighting.co.uk)

Tea for two: retro- style bone china, £32 per cup and saucer (melody rose.co.uk)

Show your sweet side: Moomin Love Bowl, left, with cuddling Moominmamma and pappa, £22.95 (ariashop. co.uk)

Get cosy: Wedgwood Arris wineglasses or SCP’s Alessi’s witty homeware includes curl up on a jewel-bright Pols Potten wine goblets. coffee spoons by Miriam Mirri that mohair-covered Humorous touches are winners, morph at one end into hearts. Dyad sofa, right, too. Melody Rose has Victorian-retro Ensconced in an imaginatively (amysomerville. teacups adorned with embracing decorated love nest of his own com; call 020 couples, while Aria’s Moomin Love making, how can a man fail in his 7586 2211 for Bowl, with cuddling Moominmamma quest to make a fledgling romance price list) and Moominpappa, is endearing. blossom into love?

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Buying a home can be an exciting time, but it OPEN THE canalsobeexpensive. That’swhywe’llgiveyou£500whenyou completeonamortgagewithus. • Offer available to first time buyers and home DOOR TO movers who apply for a qualifying mortgage between 4th January and 28th February 2016. • £500 will be paid through your conveyancer YOUR NEW on completion of your mortgage. Offer excludes: Shared Equity (including Help to Buy Equity Loan), Shared Ownership, HOME WITH and applications through Halifax Intermediaries. Offercanbewithdrawnatanytime.

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Lines are open: Monday to Friday 8am-8pm and Saturday 8am-4pm. Telephone calls may be monitored or recorded. Halifax is a division of Bank of Scotland plc. Registered in Scotland No. SC327000. Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Bank of Scotland plc is thorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 169628. All information correct as at December 2015. Compliance No 15/08280. 18 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Design

HE three-day Surface Design Show techniques or hi-tech methods. The event show- 1 focusing on floors, walls and ceilings cases innovative designers, such as Anna Glas- opened yesterday at Business Design brook, who has brought her neon ribbon-threaded Centre in Islington. It’s normally acrylic blocks, and Lisa Alcock, whose acrylic restricted to the trade — but this year “dichroic light sheets”, back-lit by LEDs, pulse Tit is giving an exclusive welcome to readers of with colour as you alter your angle of view. Homes & Property. It is your chance to quiz the Tonight, the show is open until 9pm, with a experts, pick up samples and discover the latest popular “PechaKucha” session — the name comes ideas and trends for the home. from the Japanese for chitchat — starting at 6pm. Just show this page on arrival and entry is free. A succession of designers and architects are each You can browse the stands of 55 flooring and showing 20 images of favourite surfaces for wallcovering specialists, and view more than 20 20 seconds, with a description that must be companies that create bespoke specialist finishes similarly brief. for interiors. Stone is a key material this year, with Tomorrow, the show closes at 5pm, with a pres- a dedicated gallery showing examples from entation of the Surface Design Awards at 1pm. around the world. More information at surfacedesignshow.com. One focus will be on texture, says trends expert Meanwhile, here are our top five firms to visit. Sally Angharad. Leather, plaster, wood and metal will all play a part, whether delivered by craft Barbara Chandler CoverCovoveveer storyststotorory

RUG-MAKER is bringing its 2 1samples from St Albans, where it has a large showroom/shop. Richard Mathias and Julian Blair, who have been trading since 1989, have built up a close relationship with skilled weavers in India, who make a variety of contemporary and traditional designs/textures to order. Clever software on the company’s website allows you to customise a rug, choosing different colours, and then visualise it in a room setting, pictured (stand 476; rug-maker.com).

THE Original Floorboard Company 2supplies wonderful nine-inch- wide boards, salvaged from the construction industry, then cleaned, 3 sanded and waxed in a choice of finishes. Dan Carr, now working with son Aaron, has been restoring barns, chapels, churches and industrial buildings for nearly 30 years. His wooden floors, pictured, cost £49 a square metre. Laying the floors costs about £20 a square metre (stand 348; originalfloorboardco.com).

WALLPAPERS made from wafer- 3 thin slices of patinated bronze, wood veneer and even solid slate are available at Altfield. Glinting with gold is a wallcovering, pictured, made from painted strips of paper from the Himalayas, hand-woven Computer Generated Image 4 into a metallic Lurex warp. Equally exotic are wallcoverings fashioned with a mix of glass beads and mother- of-pearl (stand 344; altfield.com).

RUPERT BEVAN is an expert in 4 luxury bespoke finishes for furniture and walls and he will be at the show in person. His spellbinding antiqued mirror glass, pictured, can be made as worn-looking or smoky as you choose. Romantic alternatives include gilded gesso, polished plaster and patinated metals such as zinc, copper and bronze. Inlay, marquetry, vellum, leather and hand-painted 5 panels are also on offer (stand 336; rupertbevan.com).

GLARTIQUE is a new venture for Sales agent Developer 5artist Ashley Phillips, who offers custom-made glass splash-backs, wall panels and shower screens, which can be back-lit with LEDs. “London with a twist”, pictured, has quirky details added to a city skyscape. Art         can also be printed on to ceramic, mirror and more. Designs on glass can become opaque at the flick of a switch (stand 598; glartique.com). 22 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Reader promotion Buy two shutters Bag big and get one free Daddy THOMAS SANDERSON window shutters, right, are made to measure KICK back and and handcrafted in the UK. relax on The They provide privacy and shade Daddy bean control, and come in more than bag, which has 80 different colours and finishes, extra-large including their designer collections. dimensions at Readers can claim three shutters for 1.7m x 1.3m for the price of two, plus an additional true comfort. 10 per cent off. Rectangular To claim this Valentine’s offer, or to in shape and order a free brochure or book a free made with design consultation, visit ts-sale.co.uk ultra-tough or call 0800 051 7711 and quote T4348 polyester, this before February 15. seat is perfect Terms and conditions apply. for indoor or outdoor use. It comes in Alison nine vibrant colours, Cork Handsome chair including, Scuba Blue, for a comfy price below. Readers are IF YOU need a standout piece in your offered a £100 living room or bedroom, make sure to discount, snap up Within’s Rochelle armchair. reducing the Priced at £295, readers can claim price to only Bargain news £50 off when ordering the Rochelle in £59 — a huge putty, above, or dove grey, reducing 63 per cent off. the price to £245. To claim your To claim, visit withinhome.com/ offer or to roch10 or call 020 7087 2900 and use browse the code ROCH10 before February 24. full range, visit poufdaddy. Pop on a topper co.uk and use code DADDY59 and snuggle down or call 0845 544 3055. ADD an extra layer of comfort to your bed with a feather mattress topper, above, from One Regent Place. Filled with 100 per cent white duck feather, this 2in-thick topper will protect your mattress. Encased in a cotton cover with a double needle-stitched edge, the topper is available in single, double Classic leather Chesterfield for only £699 and king sizes. The double is currently reduced from £64.99 to FEW furniture items are as iconic as a plus delivery. Readers can also save a £32.99, while the king is now leather Chesterfield sofa. further £30 by entering code £42.99, reduced from £79.99. Wallace Sacks’s tan Chesterfield, ABN10FEB16 at the checkout. To order, visit oneregentplace.co. above, stays true to the original, with To order, visit wallacesacks.com or uk/topper10 or call 020 3504 1530 its nail head trim, bun-style feet call 0800 011 4642 before March 2. before February 15. and soft, distressed leather. Normally There’s free delivery on all orders of £2,495, it is now available at £699, more than £1,000.

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.      "&% &#$* 25% #&#* 2,-/ 55   &

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VOID the clichés for Valen- Pattie tine’s Day. Top of the list is a dozen red roses with no Barron perfume, grown overseas and under glass, and found Ain every supermarket, corner shop and garage forecourt, too. Instead of the uninspired bouquet of essence of spring. You need at least one choice, go British. Kally Ellis, at top hundred stems to make an impact, in florist McQueens, favours a big bunch either all white or daffodil shades of of fragrant narcissi. “Either creamy, citron to butter yellow.” double-flowered Cheerfulness or other As the rose is the classic flower of dainty, double-headed varieties that love, Londoners still request them, but

carry the perfume evoking the very in vintage shades. “The dusky pinks MARIANNE MAJERUS

Gardener’s choice: clockwise from above right, Viburnum bodnantense Dawn; vintage shades from McQueens; a (),3,*5 highly scented Valentine’s   bouquet from    The Real Flower 2    Company    *   1      +  #   

and lilacs of roses such as Quicksand, but you can find one straight-stemmed send out less and less red roses,” says Silverstone and Sandstorm are consid- Austin special at The Real Flower Com- Vic Brotherson, of Scarlet & Violet, the ered more romantic than the red rose pany. Rosa Kate has magenta petals of Queen’s Park florist renowned for its and have wonderful perfume,” says four inches across that deepen as the romantic touch. “It’s an easy option Ellis. “We team them with clematis, flower ages and has fragrance notes of and it’s boring. They’re all going to die astrantia, lilacs and hyacinth, stoking raspberry, redcurrant, geranium and at the same time. Your money goes up the perfume with aromatic herbs, bergamot. much further with lovely little handfuls such as rosemary, thyme, mint, mar- The company also has a Vintage Val- of different flowers. joram and myrtle.” entine’s Bouquet with roses of coffee- “For Valentine’s, we’re sending out Along with a perfumed candle, you coloured Café Latte, fragrant peach peach and apricot stocks, blush-white could give the gardener in your life the Princess Charlene and claret Deep anemones with black sooty centres and gift of a bare-rooted fragrant rose that Secret mixed with rosemary, mint and adding fragrant narcissus and hyacinth. would bloom this summer. Present the eucalyptus sprays. You can raise the Ranunculus, resembling spring peo-   shell pink French rose Fantin Latour romance level by adding a trio of mini nies, are a good rose replacement. We with Roja Dove’s Rose de Mai candle, Moroccan rose-scented candles packed might include roses but they need to which incorporates the coveted oil in the company’s signature hatbox. “We have longevity as well as fragrance, so extracted from the centifolia rose from we use O’Hara, a large, French ivory  which Fantin Latour was created, and rose, Yves Piaget, a deep pink rose, and you have a rather divine duo. our most popular, shell pink spray rose      In the same way, Dove’s sublime Majolica.” Lavande des Alpes candle could under- Meanwhile, inventive gardeners    score a basket of garden-centre Lavan- could plan for Valentine’s bouquets dula angustifolia plants. Honeysuckle next year by planting right now for     and jasmine are fragrant climbers that seasonal spring blooms. A hand-tied add a romantic quality to any garden; bunch of home-grown Daphne odora you could send these, potted and ready stems, with their waxy pink, exqui- " *,4,)(, 1, ,20 .   , to plant, together with Ken Turner’s sitely perfumed flowers, a stem or two  *1 + 1 5 , (, ..,20 Midsummer Night candle, which sum- of fragrant Viburnum Dawn or Deben, mons up an evening in an English a few sprigs of spicy-scented witch   +, 5(+, ) -1 ,) ( country garden, complete with the hazel and aromatic rosemary, with a Gardening scents of honeysuckle and jasmine. The camellia flower tucked in here and  , %!$' (44   -  22   problems? 1 5 / , (+# + !$&    glass candle-holder, after use, doubles there, will rival anything the flower &  ",1(5 (,#  *1 +# +  - Email our RHS as a posy vase. market can offer. expert at: expert David Austin’s garden roses are unpar- gardeningadvice alleled for perfume — essential for a No two alike: Scarlet & Violet’s unique O For outdoor events this month, visit @gmail.com truly romantic Valentine’s bouquet — bouquet of romantic blooms homesandproperty.co.uk/events 30 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Our home homesandproperty.co.uk

Added extras: the house, above, now has far more light and 60 per cent more space. Right, Mikko and Joanna in the vast kitchen-living space on the extended ground floor Ex-council. Really?

An imaginative loft conversion and an extension UN-DOWN ex-council houses built a double studio, with a loo, at the aren’t exactly inspiring. But ‘It was in such a state. Each end of the garden. at ground level transformed a drab former council in 2009, this was exactly what The whole house was refurbished, too Mikko and Joanna Laukkanen room was a different colour, — a loo was built in the old cupboard house, doubling its value. By Philippa Stockley were looking for. the kitchen was disgusting — under the stairs, and the foot of the stair- RBoth Finnish — though Mikko, 38, an case was curved to make room for a big architect, was raised in America and it was just what we wanted cupboard by the front door. educated at Harvard — the pair first met Joanna took the children away for a in a London pub. a jungle. But it was exactly what we month during demolition. Mikko stayed “He had an awful gash over his eye- wanted.” on site — though once the entire back ! brow,” says Joanna, 44, who works with They put in an offer and were wall had come off, he was sliding down  '' investors at BT. “I wondered if he was a gazumped again, but this time, furious, a scaffolding pole instead of taking the " ) ' bit rough, but it turned out he played they countered with more cash and got stairs. The family then moved into a flat + '' rugby for Hammersmith and Fulham, their house in 2010. while the work was completed. and had been in a match.” When they first moved in, they gave it “We had 10 builders working six days When they first married, the couple a coat of whitewash to make it bearable, a week,” says Mikko, who project-man- lived in Joanna’s house — a listed Geor- while Mikko put in applications to the aged, as well as surfing the internet for gian cottage, where their son, Dashiell, council for a loft conversion, plus an bargains. % ,, was born. When Ava, now seven, extension and a studio in the garden. To Every day, Joanna came home from  arrived, it was time to go house-hunting his surprise, the planners rejected his work to find that Mikko had found lots for more room. “lawful development” application, so of things online for her to choose Architects see things differently to he went to appeal — which he won. between. From lamps and light sockets           most of us. For them, problems become As with most Londoners, money was to lavatories and sinks, the pair left no opportunities. Even so, after the 2008 super-tight. Although they were finally stone unturned. But they didn’t compro-  !' )''          crash, the market had got tougher and given the green light in 2011, they saved mise on quality, especially in the enve-   the pair were gazumped. Although North up and didn’t start works until 2013. The lope of the house, from windows to  '! '#'             Sheen, just two minutes from Richmond, pre-prep to such a big project is lengthy engineered oak floors. has lots of Thirties homes of the type and involves a lot of organisation.  '&        they were looking for, it took more than Once they were ready, they decided on OANNA wanted three particular           a year to find a place they wanted — a a really fast build, and set aside just four pendant lights over the kitchen  ''              three-bedroom, neglected ex-council months to do a complete transformation units, but each cost hundreds    terrace, ripe for renewal. that would add 60 per cent extra space. of pounds, so Mikko took two “It was in such a state,” says Joanna. They created a master bedroom and en lamps apart and built her some- Photographs: “Every tiny room was a different bright suite in the loft and extended out four Jthing that looks identical, for £60 each. +$  $ Marcin Noga colour, with a matching carpet. There metres at ground level to make a vast He found bargain toilets on eBay and #!*' #'((  ' and was one small bathroom upstairs, the kitchen-living space with six Velux roof then sourced basins to match. For the David Butler kitchen was disgusting and the garden lights and big bi-fold doors. They also kitchen, they tracked down a firm in  EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 31 powered by Our home | Homes & Property

MIKKO’S TIPS: Don’t be afraid of bold structural changes — such as demolishing stairs, chimney breasts or walls — but take advice and get necessary consents first. It is better to pay £10,000-£20,000 extra and recover £100,000-£200,000 of useable area Bright and through better use of space than be beautiful: burdened with poor room floor-to-ceiling proportions. windows in the Nano self-cleaning paint, sanded cool and stylish smooth, keeps white external paint master bedroom looking good for longer. floods the room with natural light GET THE LOOK O Architecture by Mikko Laukkanen at mlaukkanen@gmail. com O Building work by Mo Construction, via architect O Engineered oak flooring from Jordan’s Wood Flooring at jordanwoodfloors.co.uk O Doors from Distinctive Doors at distinctivedoors.co.uk O White leather corner sofa from Using the space: Dwell at dwell.co.uk the sizeable O Chrome door handles from master bedroom, ironmongerydirect.co.uk which is in O Alien Egg Pod loos from eBay at the converted ebay.co.uk loft of the O Ceramic tiles in bathroom from former council Minoli at minoli.co.uk house, has an O Granite setts used as paving in en suite garden from eBay, as before O Lotusan nano self-cleaning paint from Sto at sto.co.uk WHAT IS A LAWFUL DEVELOPMENT CERTIFICATE? If you think what you want to do falls within “permitted development rights” — alterations or extensions Finishes count: that can be done without planning the couple made permission — you can apply for a sure the house Lawful Development Certificate had high-quality beforehand, which you can show fixtures and subsequent buyers to prove that you fittings, such acted lawfully. as designer It’s not obligatory, but it is good for doors and peace of mind. Visit planningportal. engineered oak gov/uk for more information. flooring

Southampton that made wooden as possible. In the sunny main room, a dimmable downlighters and pendants mation,” she says. “Terraces can be quite WHAT IT COST carcasses, which they topped with smart trick was running a band of mirror — and plenty of sunlight. deep and dark, and we wanted light. It’s O The ex-council house cost £572,000 smooth white silestone. all the way round the walls, a bit like a Finishing just two days before Christ- good for the children.” in 2010 Mikko hid all the pipework and cables, frame. This bounces light and foxes the mas, they were laying the last bit of the When you match light with a lot more O The couple spent: (without so there are no drainpipes cluttering up eye, enlarging the sense of space. There floor when Joanna’s parents arrived. space — all done on a tight budget — it architect’s fees) £215,000 the back façade, and put in as much glass is also concealed coving lighting, “They just couldn’t believe the transfor- doesn’t get much better than that. O Value now: £1.2 million

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                                   34 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Property searching Spotlight on Leyton Leyton is working hard on its appearance. With the Olympic Park and Stratford nearby, it’s a place with added value, says Anthea Masey

OUSE prices generally get painted signs. Other councils up and cheaper the further away down the country have followed suit, you get from central Lon- using this idea as a blueprint for don, but this rule doesn’t improving their own high streets. always apply. The east Leyton is the birthplace of David LondonH suburb of Leyton can offer Beckham, Jonathan Ross and Graham more affordable property — by at least Gooch — the former England football 10 per cent — than its more fashionable skipper, the TV personality and the neighbour, , just a few ex-England cricket captain all came miles further north. into the world at Univer- South of Leyton lies Stratford, sity Hospital, which has one of Britain’s Pastel parade: the brightly painted shops of Leyton High Road another happening neighbourhood. busiest A&E departments. The open green spaces of the Lea Valley Local estate agent Paul Leonard, of and lie west of Ley- Bairstow Eves, says nine out of 10 of his ton, and you’ll go east for , buyers are from outside the area — in Wanstead and Epping Forest. Mean- particular people priced out of Hackney while, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic have been painted in bright colours and Stoke Newington who are searching Park, with entertainment programmes and shop owners have been persuaded for a home they can afford — and many and fabulous facilities including the to forgo brash neon for more subtle are first-time buyers. VeloPark and Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, is in walking distance. The local council has done a good job THE PROPERTY SCENE in recent years of tidying up Leyton’s shopping areas. In High Road, around LEYTON has roads of Victorian shops are improving and the nearby Leyton Tube station, along Francis terrace houses and purpose-built primary school, Newport, is rated Road and in the area — flats, as well as some Thirties houses “outstanding” by the Ofsted where the High Road, Hoe Street and and council estates. The Francis education watchdog. The Capworth On track: Coopers Lane, near Leyton Midland Road station Road meet — upper storeys Road area is popular, as the local Street area will benefit from the

Pitch perfect: Colin James, Leyton Orient FC groundsman, gets ready for Saturday

FROM £364,950 £675,000 £350,000 £665,000 APARTMENTS and townhouses in Prospect East, THIS newly refurbished five-bedroom SET in a period conversion in Belmont Park Road, A FOUR-BEDROOM house in Malta E15, a new scheme in Leyton Road, a 12-minute house in Palamos Road is close to good this two-bedroom ground-floor apartment comes Road with an open-plan kitchen-diner walk from the Tube. Call East Thames on 020 schools and transport links. Call with a private garden. Call Foxtons in Walthamstow leading to the terrace and garden. 8012 6065. Douglas Allen on 020 8012 2127. on 020 3324 9160. Call Ellis & Co on 020 8012 2203. To find a home in Leyton, visit rightmove.co.uk For more about Leyton, visit Photographs: homesandproperty.co.uk/leyton Daniel Lynch THE PROSPECT LOOKS

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BUYING IN LEYTON (Average prices) One-bedroom flat £262,998 Eye-eye: Owen Bailey — owner of Platinum antiques store in High Road — and pal Two-bedroom flat £329,948 HAVE YOUR SAY: LEYTON Two-bedroom house £427,262 Three-bedroom house LOCALS TWEET THEIR TIPS £508,827 Four-bedroom house £603,673 Source: Rightmove @EdwynUK @deeneys is the best thing Marmelos, Yardarm, Deeney’s. All new RENTING IN LEYTON to happen to Leyton in a long time, great and all great. (Average rates) little café with fabulous staff and great One-bedroom flat toasties. @SusieHQ @Marmelo_Kitchen has £1,054 a month great meat-free dishes, too. Two-bedroom flat £1,347 a month @ForestGreat The lovely @Marmelo_ Two-bedroom house £1,398 a month Kitchen for the best roast pork belly. @DA_E10 Café Lolita for great Spanish Three-bedroom house £1,731 a month tapas, @LeytonTechnical (one of Four-bedroom house @Bobbiebee33 @LeytonVillage lots London’s best pubs), @OceanoLeyton, £2,066 a month going on — Muga pizza at The Northcote, Anatolia for great Turkish food. Source: Rightmove reopening of Lea Bridge station in the flats start at £350,000 and the spring, while the Barclay estate, off TRAVEL development will be ready this FOR MORE, VISIT Essex Road, is close to Whipps Cross summer. Call 020 7087 5634. homesandproperty.co.uk University Hospital and Leyton Sixth Form College. ■ AFFORDABLE HOMES O Use our School Checker to find Housing association ISHA will have catchment areas and inspection ■ NEW-BUILD HOMES 13 shared-ownership flats at The reports for local schools The Exchange is a development of Exchange available later this year, for O The best shops and restaurants in 148 one-, two- and three-bedroom occupation in February next year. and around Leyton flats, including 36 affordable homes, Register an interest at isha.co.uk. in Leyton High Road. Six two- and O Local arts, leisure and sport three-bedroom flats remain in ■ HOMES TO RENT O Where to find the nearest open Brennan Apartments, the final Lettings manager Luke Parkinson, spaces phase, with prices starting at from Bairstow Eves, says houses for O All the latest new homes £335,000. The development will be LEYTON Tube station is on the Central sharers in the Francis Road area get developments completed by September. Call line, with trains to Stratford in two snapped up in a heartbeat. Bellway Homes on 0845 257 6177. minutes and to Oxford Circus in “Our renters are mainly young Leyton Central is a Tudorvale 21 minutes. Leyton Midland Road, professional sharers and young development of 87 one-, two- and above, is on the Overground line families who appreciate the easy three-bedroom flats in Ruckholt linking Gospel Oak and Barking. Both access to the West End and the City,” Road, designed by architects stations are in Zone 3 and an annual he says. “For example, I recently Stockwool, which launched on travelcard to Zone 1 costs £1,520. rented a three-bedroom house to Pretty picture: attractive properties Saturday. Prices for the one-bedroom three primary school teachers.” can be found in Vicarage Road

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          &# &!"&!'+!& #      Prospecteast.co.uk 40 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Ask the expert Is £2k reservation fee part of our deposit? Fiona WHAT’S FOR the past 12 months I have had an assured YOUR shorthold tenancy. I paid a deposit at the McNulty PROBLEM? Q outset and I know that my landlord placed it IF YOU have a with one of the recognised tenancy deposit OUR LAWYER ANSWERS question for schemes. He has now said that I can stay on in my flat YOUR QUESTIONS Fiona McNulty, and that he will not need to give me another assured please email shorthold tenancy agreement. Will that be okay? And WE ARE buying our first legalsolutions@ what will happen to my deposit? Surely I do not have house off-plan. It won’t be standard.co.uk to pay another one? Q ready to move into until or write to Legal November. We have paid a Solutions, Homes IF YOU stay on at the property as a tenant after reservation deposit of £2,000, but & Property, the fixed term of your assured shorthold tenancy now our solicitor says we must pay London Evening Ahas ended, this will create a statutory periodic another 10 per cent of the Standard, 2 Derry tenancy and your landlord does not need to purchase price on exchange of Street, W8 5EE. provide you with a new written tenancy agreement — contracts. Our solicitor has also We regret that unless he wishes to do so. said that he is trying to get the questions cannot You do not need to pay another deposit. As long as it seller’s solicitors to hold our be answered continues to be held in the same tenant deposit scheme, deposit as “stakeholder” rather individually, but its status will not change. than “agent”, as it would be better we will try to When you first became a tenant and your assured for us. Why is that? And if we pay feature them shorthold tenancy agreement commenced, your 10 per cent of the purchase price here. Fiona landlord should have provided you with prescribed on exchange of contracts, then will McNulty is a information regarding the tenancy deposit scheme. we actually be paying more than a legal director The information will have covered such matters as the 10 per cent deposit? in the private address of the rental property; the amount of the deposit wealth group of and how it was to be protected; the name and contact THE deposit of £2,000 is is to be taken into account upon the seller’s solicitor as stakeholder, Foot Anstey details of the relevant tenancy deposit protection probably a reservation fee completion, then you will have to pay and so cannot be released to the (footanstey.com). scheme; details of that scheme’s dispute resolution A you paid to the selling agent a deposit of 10 per cent of the seller until completion. Some service etc. If you have any concerns over the deposit, when you reserved the purchase price on exchange of developers require the deposit to be you should contact the scheme. house. On exchange of contracts, it is contracts and the reservation fee of paid to their solicitor as agent, If your landlord has failed to provide you with the normal to pay a 10 per cent deposit £2,000 will be deducted from the enabling it to be released to the prescribed information he may struggle if he tries to seek under the standard conditions of balance of purchase monies due developer prior to completion. This possession of the flat from you at a later stage. sale. Often, a seller will accept on when you complete the purchase of is risky, as if the developer fails to exchange of contracts a deposit of the property. You should clarify this complete or becomes insolvent, More legal O These answers can only be a very brief commentary on 10 per cent minus any reservation fee point with your solicitor. getting it back may be difficult. Some Q&As the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. paid. However, if there is a term in Under the standard conditions of building warranties or guarantees Visit: homesand No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar the contract that the reservation fee sale, a 10 per cent deposit is held by cover such a risk — ask your solicitor. property.co.uk issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor.

TO APPRECIATE TRUE QUALITY YOUMUSTFIRSTSEEITFORYOURSELF STUNNINGNEWSHOWAPARTMENTNOWOPEN

TWENTY RESIDENCES OF THE HIGHEST STANDARD REGISTERTODAYFORANAPPOINTMENT Aldwych Chambers is a boutique development of exclusive apartments and TO VIEW OUR NEW SHOW APARTMENT penthousesclosetoTheStrandandCoventGardenwithfarreachingviews over the City and the River Thames. [email protected] [email protected] READY FOR OCCUPATION EASTER 2016 PRICES: £895,000 - £4,725,000 020 7087 5111 020 7420 3033

ALDWYCH CHAMBERS MARKETING SUITE | CBRE Office 9-12 Bow Street | London WC2E 7AB ANEXCLUSIVEDEVELOPMENTADVISEDBYRERLONDON,SIDRACAPITALAND90NORTH aldwychchambers.com 44 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Inside story Business is going hell for leather. I’ll hop on the Harley

MONDAY I am starting the day at Hogarth Views in Chiswick — 19 new apartments we Diary of are selling overlooking Hogarth’s House. We’re dressing the show apart- an estate ment for the official launch on Saturday and there is a real sense of excitement agent because there is the chance to move in before April 1 and avoid the changes to stamp duty. A call from Team Chiswick out our objectives for the second quar- confirms 79 people have pre-registered ter of the year. After lunch at a brilliant for launch day. café in Askew Road, I meet with a devel- In the afternoon, I make the most oper to pitch for a new-build in Balham of the sunshine and nip over on my for our new homes department. Harley-Davidson motorbike to our Fulham office, where the team is busy WEDNESDAY chatting with a long-term client from Waking up to numerous iPhone notifi- the area about the Sands End market. cations reminds me that, five years ago Any excuse for property chat and cof- today, I wrote the business plan for Haus fee goes down well with the team. Properties. Four offices, seven awards THURSDAY refurbishment project at one of our market. I visit all four offices, before and 29 staff later, we’re flying. We’ve had five more fantastic Google properties, and we love any opportu- heading home to get ready for the TUESDAY We have won an instruction on a new reviews overnight for treating our nity to talk design. I am slightly jealous, evening event. We’re big on commu- It’s an early start today, meeting a pub- development of six luxury townhouses clients well. Two regulars come into as this is my dream pad. nity events and I’m off to cut the ribbon lication filming an online renovation in Fulham and I spend the morning the Chiswick office with their dog for at a bilingual school in Fulham, whose series at our property in Queensmill briefing our office team over there. In coffee and an update on their latest FRIDAY “Hollywood Glamour” evening we’re Road, Fulham. This is a big coup for us, the afternoon, we have our monthly investment, which they’re keen for us A few months after opening, business sponsoring. It’s the end of a busy week as it’s going to complement our new — “Haus Huddle”, where the entire team to take on. at our Shepherd’s Bush office is really and an ideal way to celebrate with and second — office in Fulham. Next, gets together to talk about the good, At 5pm, I head over to our Wands- taking off. I start the day here, and we’re clients and local friends alike. it’s over to our HQ in Shepherd’s Bush the bad and the ugly. We celebrate our worth Bridge Road office to meet a taking in some gorgeous turn-of-the- for a strategy meeting with my market- successes, enjoy pizza and a few drinks global architectural firm round the century homes with quirky, intelligent O Jamie Lester is head of Haus ing manager and our directors to thrash together. kitchen table. They’re interested in a designs that will be a hit within the local Properties (hausproperties.co.uk). 46 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Letting on

ON’T you just love the idea of an ex-Labour prime minister’s wife helping to fight a Tory This is work, chancellor’s plan to tax landlordsD more heavily — calling it a breach of our human rights? Next, Sir David Attenborough will be airing a documentary on landlords as a breed not my hobby threatened with extinction by wilful Acts of Parliament. Not that I think Cherie Booth QC — aka Mrs Tony Blair — hasn’t got a strong argument against George Mr Osborne Osborne’s plan to remove the relief landlords get on mortgage interest payments. Victoria Whitlock says the Chancellor’s Given that every other type of business is allowed to deduct the cost removal of tax aid for private landlords isn’t fair of loans from pre-tax profits, it seems harsh that landlords should be when bigger property investors will escape treated differently. Mr Osborne’s argument is that fashioned knocker. She doesn’t think £575 a week: a recently redecorated two-bedroom flat in a period building in buying to let isn’t a business, it’s an the knocker adequate, even though Roland Gardens in South Kensington, SW7, is available to rent through Hamptons investment. Obviously he’s never The you can hear it from anywhere inside International. Call 020 8012 2916. tried looking after a rental property the flat. You can even hear it in the and its tenants. It’s a business, accidental next street, but my tenant still feels George, trust me. the need for a bell. home, my tenants expect everything money on an electrician to install a Also, it does seem unfair that only landlord It’s an odd request, I think, to be just so. Little things, like the bell, but then I discovered that you those landlords who have taken out especially as I have lived in my house lack of a bell, can irritate them almost can buy wireless, battery-operated mortgages as individuals — myself for 10 years and it has never bothered as much as a bigger problem. I guess ones that just stick into place for included — will be hit. of success, but I suppose it is worth me that I don’t have a doorbell. they think it isn’t a lot to ask, so the about £5 or £6. Bigger investors who buy a try. While other landlords have Now that I think about it though, landlord ought to sort it out. They look a bit naff, the cheapest properties through companies, or been busy crowdfunding the legal there are times when I’m not sure Really, it is best to make sure might not last very long, but hey, if it those without mortgages, won’t be action, I have been busy running my whether I have heard a knock at the everything is in order before a new keeps my tenant happy, I am happy affected and neither will those rental business — take note, Mr door or a car door slamming, so I tenant moves in, so that they don’t to buy her one. running holiday lets. Osborne — and faffing about with hoof it downstairs, only to discover it find anything to complain about. You see, Mr Osborne, that’s I don’t get the impression Ms Booth doorbells. was just the sound of junk mail being While it is tempting to ignore little business. is too hopeful of winning her battle. Yep. Doorbells. thumped through the letter box. But, problems like loose door handles, She has been quoted as saying that My tenant has asked me to install a you know, that’s nothing more than a wonky loo seats and, yes, the lack O Victoria Whitlock lets four her application for a judicial review bell, which I could understand if she minor inconvenience. of a doorbell — don’t. You hope properties in south London. To of Clause 24 of the Finance Act 2015 was in a block of flats, but she has However, while I put up with lots of the tenant won’t notice, but they contact Victoria with your ideas has only a “reasonable chance” her own front door with a good old- niggling imperfections in my own usually will. I didn’t want to spend and views, tweet @vicwhitlock

Tutelage Court, College Terrace E3

A rare opportunity to acquire a stunning period conversion in a former landmark school, a Grade II listed site dating back to the 19th Century.

Tutelage Court is a striking new development in London’s Mile End offering buyers a range of one, two, three and four bedroom apartment homes. Development by Launch: Friday 19 February 4pm - 7pm From double height duplexes to double fronted apartments, Tutelage Court offers Saturday 20 February 11am - 2pm a distinctive range of homes with an array of delightfully restored features.

Prices from £499,950 to £1,349,950.

To register your interest and secure an appointment please contact:

020 8981 7788 [email protected] 50 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes SmartSSmartmSmSmamaraartrt m By David Spittles Just look what’s in my garage HOREDITCH is a land of lateral spaces, mainly factory lofts and warehouse conversions. So the arrival of Dereham Place, a new Sterrace of townhouses offering vertical living over six storeys, brings something fresh and desirable… including a free Fiat 500 cabriolet. Tucked away in the Shoreditch Triangle, a buzzing enclave of design studios, fashion boutiques, bars, coffee shops and cool restaurants, the 1,560sq ft houses are inspired by the live-work atelier homes of northern European cities such as Antwerp. Tall and narrow, these homes have been thoughtfully designed, with a ground-floor workshop or garage, basement cinema, and bedrooms and living spaces on the upper floors. A bespoke oak-and-glass staircase leads to the terrace at the top. Slick and modern, the interiors have full-height glass, natural Visit our online luxury section ventilation and poured white resin HomesAndProperty.co.uk/luxury floors. The home automation system controls lighting, climate, security

Lateral, flexible living in fashionable Fitzrovia

FITZROVIA is changing. Home of hipster advertising agencies and now attracting corporate businesses lured by the prospect of a local Crossrail station, the district has all but lost its legendary “bohemian” character. Yet it is more fashionable than ever, with a new wave of fancy apartments amid the hustle and bustle. Artisan is sited where Goodge Street meets Tottenham Court Road and launches 13 apartments across the upper floors of five terrace From £1 million: Artisan apartments, buildings. It’s an eclectic above and right, have sliding interior architectural mix, with restored walls to shut off part of the living space historic façades and cantilevered full-height glass bays. giving owners the flexibility to shut Some apartments straddle two off part of the space. buildings in the terrace, creating These are elegant and original wide, mostly lateral spaces with big bespoke homes. A curving oak-and- windows and covering up to 1,761sq ft. glass staircase in the show apartment Dukelease, a boutique West End is a standout feature, as are the developer, has opted for a “broken Japanese-inspired porcelain rain plan” apartment layout rather than mosaic tiles in the showers. the customary open-plan design. Prices start at £1 million. Call CBRE Sliding walls and screens are used, on 020 7420 3050. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2016 51 New homes | Homes & Property

From £815,000: flats in converted Victorian weights and measures office, Rosebery Avenue, EC1 HANDSOME HOLBORN FLATS MEASURE UP

HOLBORN has a fascinating history. Once a borough in its own right, the district stretches from Smithfield to Covent Garden, taking in the Hatton Garden jewellery quarter and Chancery Lane’s Inns of Court. “Urban” since the Middle Ages, it still has ancient guilds and trade associations, but has continuously changed with the times. Now it is finding a new identity as a top address, with tasteful homes for well-off accountants and lawyers as well as creatives who want to live close to their workplace. Much of the new housing is niche — boutique developments in keeping with the area’s individuality. But bigger projects, including the From £1.5million: and audiovisual entertainment via a Mount Pleasant postal depot, are in Dereham Place hand-held or Apple device. the pipeline, while the Crossrail townhouses have For newcomers to Shoreditch, station being built at Farringdon will white resin floors, estate agent Frank Harris is laying on bring a new dynamic. full-height glass Blue Badge walking tours of the area “Little Italy” emerged here in the and a Fiat 500 in after viewings. Prices start from early 1800s when the Napoleonic the garage £1.5 million. Call 020 7600 7000. Wars forced northern Italians to flee their country. Many of those displaced from Como were skilled artisans making barometers and other fine instruments. A Victorian weights and measures office in Rosebery Avenue is a legacy from this era. Sitting alongside a viaduct, the handsome red-brick building has been given a modern extension. Together, the two elements have produced eight apartments, including a duplex penthouse with terrace. Flats in the original building have high ceilings and traditional sash windows. Prices from £815,000. Call Hatton Real Estate on 020 7101 2020. The Italian community endures, with authentic delis such as Gazzano’s flourishing alongside all the new bars and eateries that serve the neighbourhood.

Blend: period office with a modern extension created eight homes