Wednesday 25 February 2015 Crossing Homes& the line

Interiors trends Property Page 16

NEW HOMES: BAKERLOO LINE HEADS SOUTH P6 BERMONDSEY FOR FIRST TIMERS P10 BUILDING TOGETHER P28

Falling in with Brixton Page 38 DANIEL LYNCH DANIEL

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Trophy buy of the week big space, spectacular views Sugar Quay: a £15 million sweetener is stalling flats scheme £3.95 million: you’d pay this money for a view of a power station in , but look what it extends to in the Surrey Hills overlooking the Milland Valley and the South Downs news: The Candy man can’t near Haslemere. High Crest House has nearly 10,000sq ft of internal space with a grand entrance hall, seven THE millionaire developer behind London’s priciest block bedrooms and staff accommodation over a triple garage, of flats, One Hyde Park, is pleading poverty over his latest and three acres outside, with a tennis court, summer house project. Christian Candy paid £34 million for a Thames- and permission for an infinity pool. Through John D Wood. side site at Billingsgate, near Tower Bridge, with plans for Sugar Quay, 165 flats on the site of Tate & Lyle’s old offices. O homesandproperty.co.uk/trophyhasle Now he is locked in a battle with the over providing a donation for affordable homes in the borough in return for planning permission. The council has turned London buy of the week Victorian down his offer of half the £15 million it had demanded. A spokesman for the CPC, the property company run by apartment sees the light after a facelift Mr Candy, declined to comment. £435,000: architect Carl Trenfield through kitchen cabinetry and wall O Read Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk was called in to redesign this once surrounds, before turning into a dowdy Victorian split-level flat in staircase enclosed by copper rods. Snaresbrook, E11, with the aim of More bespoke joinery can be found creating storage and space while in two bedrooms and a bathroom, adding light to the lower level. with access to a leafy shared garden. This was achieved by the extensive Through The Modern House. use of birch wood, which sweeps around the open-plan upper floor, O homesandproperty.co.uk/buysnare Life changer beautiful B&B Visit our new online offers charm and customers luxury section £500,000: reach the dizzy heights of Ampersand House in Dorset’s hilltop town of Shaftesbury. This dreamy Georgian HomesAndProperty.co.uk/luxury home runs as a popular B&B. It has three floors with sitting, drawing and dining rooms, a kitchen/breakfast room, plus an annex. Across the upper floors are five bedrooms with four bathrooms. Cottage gardens and outbuildings complete the idyll. Through Hamptons. By Faye O homesandproperty.co.uk/lifechanger Greenslade

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Editor: adorably Janice soft... Morley VISIT homesandproperty.co. uk/rules for details of our usual promotion rules. When you respond to promotions, offers or competitions, the London Evening Standard and its sister companies may contact you with relevant offers and services that may be of interest. Please give

your mobile number and/or ALAMY email address if you would like to receive such offers by text or email. London’s new home zones YOUNG buyers will have a chance to pictured, and in Abbey Wood Editorial: 020 3615 2524 own their own home in one of nine and Tottenham, with the help of Advertisement manager: new housing zones being targeted £260 million of housing investment Jamie McCabe with investment by Mayor Boris money. Eventually, 50,000 new

The Peggy chair from £460. For reader offers Advertising: 020 3615 0527 Johnson. homes will be built in 20 zones visit www.sofa.com/eve, pop in to our London Homes & Property, Northcliffe A total of 28,000 homes — with across London to be announced or Bath showroom or call us on 0345 400 2222. House, 2 Derry Street, almost a third of them at affordable later this year. Kensington, London W8 5TT. prices — are to be built from Clapham See a list of the first nine at Junction to Battersea Riverside, homesandproperty.co.uk/zones EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 5 homesandproperty.co.uk with News Homes & Property

Wizard of Aus puts Take a magical mystery tour to Blue Jay

his flat up for sale É A HOUSE named Blue Jay, inspired by a song, is for sale É DANIEL RADCLIFFE is selling his on ’s prestigious Claremont Australian penthouse. Homes Park Estate. The 25-year-old actor from Fulham Its driveway once formed part of has been visiting the Melbourne Kinfauns, the former Beatle’s flat since his Harry Potter days when country house. While living there, he was 16. gossip he wrote the song that later featured His parents, Alan and Marcia, on the Magical Mystery Tour album. reportedly bought the two-bedroom The original gate to Kinfauns is now flat with river views online for By Amira Hashish set at the entrance to Blue Jay and has £1.2 million when he was 16. It was Beatle fan graffiti carved into it. Only transferred to their son when he 19 miles from central London, the reached 18. Now that he also owns a 13,000sq ft space is set in an acre of London flat and three New York walled gardens, has five bedrooms houses, the Australian home is a Scarlett swings and a pool complex. It is for sale spare that he no longer has time to through Savills for £9.95 million. visit — and is valued at £1.6 million. into LA home

O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/jay REX É SCARLETT JOHANSSON has bought a new home in Los Angeles. The actress paid £2.52 million for Best bar none for the 3,500sq ft property in the Los Feliz neighbourhood. One Direction star The Forties build comes with nearly an acre of land, which É CEMENTING his rock ‘n’ roll includes a small terrace, swimming status, Harry Styles is building a bar pool and eight-person spa. in the basement of his London home. The master suite has a fireplace The One Direction star bought the and a balcony with a view of the house in Hampstead in 2012 for Hollywood sign. £3 million, but has spent the past Johansson, who is currently couple of years renovating it so that working on a new version of it meets his standards. The four- The Jungle Book, will no doubt bedroom, four-bathroom pad has spend many a cosy night there open-plan living areas, a stylish garden with her French husband Romain and views across the Heath. Dauriac. The new boys’ den will provide somewhere for Styles and his Got some gossip? bandmates Louis Tomlinson, Liam Tweet @amiranews GETTY Payne, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan

AP to relax in privacy. REX

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                                         6 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property New homes homesandproperty.co.uk with Take the Baker-Lewisham line      

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       smarty head   south-east The capital’s next big Tube project will be a game-changer for good-value SE postcodes with a bohemian edge, says David Spittles   OUTH-EAST London is already of good-value Victorian and inter-war  seeing a surge of interest as terraced houses that can be reconfig-    homebuyers and renters wake ured for modern living.   up to its lower prices and good The Bakerloo line extension will run     commuter links to the City from Elephant & Castle through new Sand Canary Wharf. Now Transport for tunnels, either along Old Kent Road or London (TfL) wants to add an via Camberwell to New Cross Gate, Going south: from Elephant & Castle, the extension will cut extension to the Bakerloo line, which then on to Lewisham and via Becken- through Lewisham borough to Beckenham and Bromley currently ends at Elephant & Castle, ham to Hayes. A spur to Bromley town through south-east London to surbur- centre is being considered. ban Kent. It is set to be the capital’s next Boris Johnson recently designated major Tube upgrade. Old Kent Road an opportunity area or The extended Bakerloo line will pro- priority zone for better public trans- vide a vital new link — a fast and direct port, new housing and more connection into the West End. TfL is businesses, while TfL is inves- collaborating with Southwark, tigating locations for two Lewisham and Bromley boroughs stations. to co-ordinate regeneration along One of England’s oldest the line. As with the recent highways, Old Kent Road, Overground and Crossrail was created by the Romans links, this provides an and famously used by opportunity for home- Chaucer’s pilgrims travel- buyers to invest now ling from Southwark to before prices rise in Canterbury. this presently Tube- Today it forms the starved area. boundary between Walworth, Peckham and WHERE WILL Bermondsey, all up-and- Time out: busy car showroom has been bulldozed to IT RUN? coming zone two dis- Chinwag café, make way for Park View, occupying a Analysis by estate tricts. above, in prominent corner site, while three-bed- agent Winkworth The new opportunity Lewisham Way; room flats at a new Peabody develop- shows a marked area covers the road left, Damien ment on Coopers Road cost £599,995. population shift itself and the corridor Hirst was once Call 020 7021 4842. to south-east of land either a student at London. “The side — a neighbouring AN £850 MILLION PLAN first wave was trig- muddle of Goldsmiths At Surrey Canal Triangle, now a raw, gered by the arrival modest Vic- College largely derelict zone dissected by of the Overground torian ter- railway tracks, there are plans for an three years ago, and the races, council £850 million project that includes 2,400 Bakerloo line extension estates, ware- new homes and a sporting village. will accelerate the trend.” houses, light industrial New Cross Gate will be a big Bakerloo From £306,000: flats at Barratt’s Renaissance, a scheme Areas such as Catford and premises and Burgess Park, a 140- Photographs : line beneficiary. This transport inter- revitalising Lewisham town centre with 788 new homes Sydenham are packed full acre green tract. A former Daniel Lynch change is already plugged into the

BAKERLOO WAS ON OUR RADAR WHEN WE BOUGHT OUR HOUSE

DEVELOPERS are launching new improvements and the opening of a schemes, estate agents are tipping deli and other independent shops. hotspot neighbourhoods, while Amy’s husband, Ben, works for a people who want to buy long-term university in Bloomsbury, and the are factoring the extension into their couple have a two-year-old son, buying decisions. Jacob. Legal secretary Amy Perry, 34, says: Their Thirties house is a five-minute “The Bakerloo line was on our radar walk from the train station and backs when we bought a small house on to Ladywell Fields, a 54-acre 18 months ago for what now seems a refurbished park with tennis courts, very good price. Since then, we have a bowling green, skate park, café and built an extension and transformed through which the Ravensbourne the garden because we think the area River flows. is such a good investment for the Rivoli Apartments, an Art Deco- medium to long term.” style scheme of flats at Ladywell Her commute to the City takes Bridge, is a tell-tale sign of the way 20 minutes from Ladywell, the area is heading. Two-bedroom which has recently acquired village flats cost from £385,000. Call Acorn From £385,000: two-bedroom flats at Rivoli Apartments status following streetscaping New Homes on 020 8852 4455. Right price: Amy Perry and son Jacob at home in Ladywell EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 7 homesandproperty.co.uk with New homes Homes & Property

£599,995: three-bedroom flats at the Peabody’s Coopers Road scheme, close to the planned Bakerloo line extension, feature stunning views to the City

Riverdale House, an Eighties office building notable for its modernist architectural style, is being converted into 137 flats and will have a hotel-style entrance foyer and rooftop communal terraces. Prices from £225,000. Call Galliard on 020 3740 9464. Catford and Lewisham are almost joined at the hip, with barely half a mile between the two town centres. For decades, Catford’s main draw was its Greyhound Stadium, now being redeveloped into a 588-home quarter called Catford Green, right alongside the proposed Bakerloo line station. Prices from £280,000. Call DTZ on 020 3296 2222. Depending on finance, the line exten- sion could terminate at Beckenham, which remains family territory due to its village-style high street, private schools, playing fields and quick escape routes to the Kent countryside. Century Gate is a scheme of detached family houses adjacent to the Overground and also offers five-minute workers, but Canary Wharf and City BAKERLOO-ISHAM grounds of Kent County Cricket Club, Café culture: The London Particular in trains to London Bridge, a fast Thames- types, too — are finding homes. Fami- Lewisham is in the throes of a town close to the high street. Linden, the New Cross offersclassic English food link service to Gatwick and a one-stop lies are settling here as well. One centre makeover, bringing hundreds developer, has played it safe with tra- connection to the Jubilee line. sought-after pocket is Telegraph Hill of new homes, a modern transport ditional-style architecture, but behind of green space and have Thirties semis For many years the area’s only two conservation area, perched at the top interchange, a new shopping mall and the gated entrance there is a sense of plus detached houses in big plots. attractions were Goldsmiths College, of a slope and offering wide tree-lined pedestrian-friendly public spaces. place, while the homes are comfortable Currently, six trains an hour use the where Damien Hirst studied fine art, roads, great views, two parks, a com- Renaissance, by Barratt, comprises and spacious. Prices from £824,995 to Hayes overland line to London Bridge, and The Venue, a lively nightclub. But munity café and Haberdashers’ Aske’s a vibrantly-coloured glass-clad leisure £1,195,000. Call 0844 488 3144. Elmers whereas an extended Bakerloo line to things are changing. Young singles and school, one of the most oversubscribed centre and 788 new homes priced from End and West Wickham are Bromley Hayes could mean up to 15 trains an couples — not just public sector key state secondaries in London. £306,000. Call 0844 811 4334. borough suburbs surrounded by lots hour into central London, says TfL. 8 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Luxury homes homesandproperty.co.uk with

IVEN that London is a city where more floorspace is what everyone wants, to deliberately give up space to add height seems like Gproperty madness. But the effect of height, especially SEEING double-height space, is often underes- timated in interior design. This is why the best interiors in top-end contem- porary homes now feature the soaring drama of entrance halls or living rooms with ceilings that top 30ft. double “It is a pretty profligate way to use space,” admits Ed Mead, executive director of estate agents Douglas & Gordon. “It is also a fairly recent Sacrificing floor space to create phenomenon, and part of the prime central London premier property more height isn’t as crazy as it scene. It’s the showing-off factor.” Tom Tangney, a partner at Knight sounds. Ruth Bloomfield finds Frank, says the crucial benefit of a space with super high ceilings is light. flats with style to their rafters “These rooms really are flooded with light and that is what people love. And great walls are fabulous for hanging interesting art, or displaying a of, say, 1,000 books.” CARRY A PREMIUM One of the most glamorous double- height homes currently on the market must be a six-bedroom studio house in Upper Cheyne Row, Chelsea. Its living room has a cut-out ceiling, opening up the space to the building’s pitched roof, making the room seem £1.65 million: Alex Michaelis of interior architects simply limitless. Michaelis Boyd gave his own flat in north Kensington a By leaving part of the ceiling in place double height living room (above) rather than cram in the design creates a cosy seating/dining another floor (through Domus Nova) zone on a mezzanine space overlook- ing the cathedral-like main room — £3.695 million: the upper floor ceilings have been great for parties. It is on the market removed in this four-bedroom house in Limerston with Knight Frank (knightfrank.co.uk) Street, Chelsea (Douglas & Gordon), losing some loft for £14 million. space but giving the rooms pitched ceilings Mead believes that — at this high end of the market — a home with less floor space but more pizzazz will not lose in above it, which would have made £14 million: in market for £3.695 million with value. It could even carry a premium. the three-bedroom flat feel like any Upper Cheyne Douglas & Gordon; douglasand “At the top end of the market, the other city centre period conversion. Row, Chelsea, gordon.com) has removed the upstairs rich will pay for imaginative design,” The duplex, which Michaelis lived in, this living room, ceilings, forsaking a small but useful he says. is on the market for £1.65 million with above, has a loft space, in order to give the top floor When Alex Michaelis, director of Domus Nova (domusnova.com). cut-out ceiling master bedroom suit high, pitched Michaelis Boyd — the interior archi- However, double height design that makes it ceilings. This innovation has given the tects of phase two of the £8 billion doesn’t need to be completely shock great for parties bedroom and bathroom an airy look Battersea Power Station project — was and awe, it can work on a more and exposed beams and brickwork, redesigning his own flat in St Quintin domestic level in a period family home, even investing it with a subtly Avenue, north Kensington, he opted as well as lateral flats. industrial, architectural feel. for a double height reception room, The owner of a four-bedroom house Another way to retrofit a double rather than cramming another floor in Limerston Street, Chelsea (on the height space is when building an

     

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View from the top: this property on Charles Street, Mayfair, has a theatrical feeling, thanks to the space offered by a double height extension The expert’s view... “THERE is something magical about double height spaces,” says architect Chris Romer-Lee, director of Studio Octopi. “They are theatrical, they give light and space. The quality of natural light can be very special pouring in at a very high level from roof lights.” When it comes to furnishing, Romer-Lee likes the idea of low, chunky sofas, which will again enhance the sense of ceiling height, and either powerful downlighters or long pendant lights hung from the ceiling. “A delicate, sculptural light fitting, which looks like it is floating, would work very well,” he says. And while the colour of choice for architects tends to be white, Romer-Lee does not rule out using a darker colour scheme. “If you go so dark that you cannot see the ends of the space, it could add drama.”

extension. A newly renovated four- Agency, is a fan of the double height. Read more: visit bedroom house in Charles Street, “People have got a little bit obsessed our new online Mayfair (on the market for £15 million with square footage, but my view is that with Wetherell; wetherell.co.uk) has at the top end buyers are a different luxury section had a simple glass rear extension. breed. Volume is often more valuable, HomesAndProperty.co.uk/luxury Some “side to side” rear extensions and a point of difference,” he says. look a little mean thanks to their long, slim footprint. But this beauty, by On another level: removing part of an virtue of its double volume, has a upper floor, as in this London flat, wonderful feeling of open space and right, retains more living space does not compromise the light into the upstairs, brings light into lower rooms rear of the main house. Ed Tryon, and also provides ceilings for more managing partner of Lichfields Buying intimate spaces, such as dining areas 10 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property First time buyers homesandproperty.co.uk with

THE KNOWLEDGE: ITHIN living memory, BERMONDSEY Bermondsey was a Past: Bermondsey is the birthplace of run-down jumble of the Bourbon biscuit created in the abandoned factories former Peek Frean factory at Dockhead. and warehouses, with Wlittle to recommend it other than its Future: there are plans to convert the central location and the simple fact that former Branston Pickle Factory into it had space to build on. about 400 homes, the first of which In recent years, developers have will come on stream in 2017. poured billions of pounds into new housing schemes in the area, while Trivial pursuit: King Edward III built a restaurants and bars now populate “country” house in Bermondsey in Bermondsey Street, and Maltby Street 1353. Its excavated foundations can be Market has quietly become one of the viewed close to The Angel pub. best places to buy food in Britain. The jewel in Bermondsey’s crown What it costs: homes in Bermondsey was the opening, in 2011, of the largest cost £475,000, on average, up 6.73 per outpost of the White Cube gallery — cent in a year, according to Zoopla. and, as everyone knows, when artists Expect to pay an average £463,612 for move in a postcode’s reputation as a flat, and an average rent of £2,432 a up-and-coming is sealed. month for a two-bedroom flat. The downside for first time buyers is Everything’s right, including the price

First time buy: Bermondsey’s glitzy new build apartments often come with Bermondsey is booming with seven-figure price tags. If you are prepared to go ex-local authority, then prices as high as its new towers Ludlow Thompson has a very smart two-bedroom flat (above) in a midrise but Ruth Bloomfield finds flats tower on the Rennie Estate for £285,000. The flat is in great condition, first-timers can buy for £106,000 and has two balconies. ALAMY Landmarks: the White Cube, that top-end apartments in the area Bermondsey. The contemporary art now routinely sell for seven-figure cent share. Buyers will need to factor On the grow: Peabody. “And every apartment comes gallery opened in 2011 in a remodelled sums, and the average price of a flat in a monthly service, which is likely to Maltby Street with a balcony or a winter garden.” Seventies warehouse. is slowly inching towards the half a be between £130 and £150 a month. Market has Among the good points of Reflector million pound mark. established a are its location, about a six-minute walk Eat: modern Spanish at Pizarro or But there is an opportunity for buyers GENEROUS SIZE reputation as from Bermondsey (Zone 2), which head over to foodie heaven Maltby without limitless funds to buy in one The homes will be ready to move into one of the best offers Jubilee Line services direct Street Market for some of the best of its steel and glass towers, because this spring, and people living or work- places in Britain to London Bridge, Canary Wharf, street food in the capital. housing association Peabody (peabody. ing in south-east London will get prior- to buy food Stratford and the West End. org.uk) has 62 shared ownership flats ity on the homes, which will be The big downside is that the homes Drink: cocktails in an industrial setting in the new 10-storey Reflector building released for sale in tranches of 10 are being built as part of the major at The Hide Bar. on Chambers Street. throughout the year. Chambers Wharf development. The majority (51) of these flats “They all have open-plan living Property developer St James wants Shop: Bermondsey Antiques Market, have one bedroom and are priced at a spaces, they are generous in size, and to build 400 new homes between held on a Friday, is a great hunting first time buyer friendly £106,250 for the specification is of a good quality Reflector and the River Thames, ground for homewares and jewellery. a 25 per cent share. — with oak laminate flooring, quality so buying with a river view now might On a Saturday there is a farmers’ There are also 11 two-bedroom flats, carpeting and appliances,” says be a bit of a risk, and prices could market on the same site. priced at £137,500, also for a 25 per Andrew Peglau, marketing manager at eventually be hit.

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From £106,250: a first-time friendly price for a 25 per cent share of a one- bedroom flat at Reflector, left, the new 10-storey development in Chambers Street — only a six-minute walk to Bermondsey Tube and with generously sized living spaces

Unmatched High life: location: sixty- Bermondsey two affordable Street has been homes are in the the area’s most Chambers Wharf spectacular scheme, success, moments from attracting the Thames path restaurants and with views to gastro pubs and St Paul’s and weekend crowds Tower Bridge of hungry young professionals

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ESPITE it being the third largest city in Europe, Madrid is surprisingly overlooked by Britons who Mad for are looking for a second Dhome in Spain. Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca may have hogged the property headlines for years, but the Spanish capital’s time has finally come. That’s the view of consultants PwC, Madrid which has placed the city at number three for investment prospects in An elegant capital and gateway to Spain, Europe this year, hot on the heels of £1.1 million: in Salemanca, Lucas Berlin and Dublin. Investors, including Fox has this elegant two-bedroom Madrid is once again a great cultural hub several Chinese property companies, penthouse with a private terrace are pouring capital into Madrid, and in which to live, reports Cathy Hawker the outlook is positive. “After six years of recession in Spain and price reductions of up to 40 per cent, the Madrid market is starting to move,” confirms Rod Jamieson of agents Lucas Fox. “In the last quarter the city registered a price increase of 2.7 per cent, the first rise since 2007.” Jamieson says investors come for strong capital growth and rental yields of four to five per cent, while non-Europeans are also drawn to the Golden Visa programme, allowing anyone spending more than £370,000 to gain Spanish residency.      ELEGANT, GREEN AND A LEGENDARY NIGHTLIFE These knockdown prices are matched by a knockout lifestyle. Jamieson is      British born, but has lived in Madrid for several years — and is quick to list why. “It’s a low-level, elegant, green and friendly city, where three million people enjoy being outside — and it has    a legendary nightlife,” he says. “It is Spain’s most international city, Barcelona looks provincial and touristy in comparison, and because it is in the middle of the country with a superior Lucas Fox has an attractive renovated high-speed rail network, nothing is one-bedroom apartment among the much more than 2.5 hours away.” bars and restaurants for £258,400. Add top-quality restaurants, At the top of Grand Vía, Madrid’s handsome architecture, some of main shopping street, 25 one-bedroom, Europe’s finest galleries and museums loft-style apartments in a 32-floor tower and year-round blue skies, and the case start from £335,800. Monthly service for a Madrid residence looks strong. charges, including 24-hour security  and a communal gym, start from £220. LOWDOWN ON DISTRICTS Half are already sold, and would rent Salamanca is the most prestigious and for £1,500 a month, says Jamieson. priciest district, packed with designer Stamp duty is lower in Madrid than shops and wide boulevards built Barcelona, six per cent compared with on a strict grid system. An elegant 10, and property taxes are also lower. two-bedroom penthouse with wide private terrace in a classic building INTERESTING OPTIONS renovated to the highest standard there Madrid is Spain’s economic hub, home            costs £1.1 million, through Lucas Fox. to headquarters of international banks Justicia, north-west of the centre, is and businesses and Europe’s chief             Madrid’s Chelsea: chic, international entry point to South America. Property               and in great demand. It includes the search company Moving2Madrid has      narrow streets and intimate boutiques a client list that includes Santander of historic Chueca, as sought-after as Bank, RBS and the US Army. “Anyone              Salamanca, but with a younger crowd. moving to Madrid wants to know how                               HOTEL URSO OPENED last autumn on the edge of Chueca, with its shops and bars,            THE ART IS the Urso Hotel & Spa is Madrid’s first             IN THE MIX five-star boutique hotel.      Design is high on its priority list, as well as ingenuity in the way it has embraced and embedded itself into a 1913 neoclassical building. Architect Antonio Obrador has brought an airy, stylish, light-flooded touch — artfully mixing old and new: a mahogany-lined antique lift and vintage photographs of Madrid with Perspex boxing, its ground floor pooled with softly rippling *(#"  $0"-1-('"" "&1$ "0-1-('"% "* $$((."1$ " "!+."(*-(('"-"*0$'"" $0(." water features surrounded by ,($/(.&1"$'",("$&-$('"0*"$("(*-(('"$'(1$/")" *(#"  $0"-1-('. mirrored walls. (*-(('")"&( "'"0"$ *," ( "!" "(( "'" !" "*0$'. The elegant ambience is set with honey-toned wood, matt silver wall EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 13 homesandproperty.co.uk with Homes abroad Homes & Property

In demand: people-watch in Plaza Mayor in Europe’s third largest city, left, or head to the district of Chueca, now as sought-after as the plush Salamanca area, where Lucas Fox has, right, this renovated one-bedroom flat among the bars and restaurants for £258,400

THIS IS ALAMY MY SPACE close they can be to good transport links, the metro, supermarkets, parks and gyms,” says Arash Palizban, of Moving2Madrid. “Salamanca and Chueca are most expensive, but there $ % +% %&"%%% are other interesting options.” %(+*5%''5+% He tips Lavapiés to the south as an -5% ,"% up-coming, newly gentrifying district to watch, saying: “It is like Chueca in % the Nineties with attractive buildings, +4%% %+%' though still with graffiti and peeling ' *'%0%+( ' paint.” For somewhere more 2% %'15+%*' established, but still hip, he suggests Malasaña, west from Chueca. A two-bedroom apartment, requiring '4+!*3)5 renovation, starts from about £133,000 in Lavapiés and £162,700 in Malasaña. !*3)5 Among the local craftsmen and £805,000: between the Prado and Thyssen museums, %%/  busy bars of La Latina, home to the Lucas Fox is selling this modern three-bedroom flat Sunday antique market El Rastro, a %!* one-bedroom apartment over two O Lucas Fox: lucasfox.com 00 34 933 floors rents for £590 a month. Palizban 562 989 '14%#'"% adds: “A rental budget of £740 would Moving2Madrid: moving2madrid.com give you good choices across the city.” 00 34 911 980 685 41*'4+

lights and dove grey shot silk fabrics, while pops of colour come from slashes of acid yellow on walls and the quilted wall divider in the dining room. Intricate panels of chinoiserie decorate the walls of corridors, and in the glassy ‘vertical garden’ first floor breakfast room, with glass walls hung with waves of golden silk voiles. It also houses a charming little breakfast bar, lit and tempting with local patisserie and bakery. It opened in the autumn and has just 78 rooms and suites, and a Natura Bissé spa. The Prado art museum and beautiful  1%+ +4+  Retiro Park are both nearby.  1)+%)+)%'%0+%15+% O Urso Hotel & Spa: hotelurso.com -%.1.%%+         Room rates from £150 B&B for a double room. Arty touch: the Hotel Urso’s decor blends the old and new 16 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Design homesandproperty.co.uk with

STACKED Storage ideas needn’t be ORIGINAL boring with this Criss Cross shelving Fresh, bright unit (£535) from Barker and geometrics are Stonehouse. Fun and dynamic it’s an hand screen eye-catching way to take care of the printed onto clutter in a living space. Call organic cotton 0333 355 9392 or visit barkerand using non-toxic stonehouse.co.uk for shop organic inks, information. so even a considered ETCHED Inspired by design can have diamond-etched metal, the a quirk. This Knurled rug by Deadgood has a cushion costs hand-knotted pile in wool. £1,000; £38, complete 140cm diameter. Deadgood’s pop-up with pad from shop is open March 2 to 31 at Riverside rolfeandwills. Walk, Sea Containers House, SE1; 020 com, or call 3371 0214; or see deadgoodltd.co.uk. 07968 219 153. DesigDesignDesiggngn trendtreenddsds from all angles By Barbara Chandler

DUTCH artist has with a new crop of sharply angled turned two rooms at geometry on crisp fabrics, east London’s wallcoverings, rugs and cushions. Whitechapel Gallery Some pieces are startlingly linear, into a giant abstract with lighting and furniture that are Awork of art, drawing parallel chalk little more than outlines. lines in grey onto angled walls and Forget that bland yet ubiquitous around the skylight. This, it seems, style termed “mid-century is the signature style of Bart modern” — this is modernism now, Lodewijks, who loves to draw lines in your face for 2015. on buildings — outside and in.# Nearby in the same gallery are lots O Adventures of the Black Square: more lines and angles in the current Abstract Art and Society 1915 to 2015 blockbuster show of 150 modernist runs until April 6 2015 at the abstract paintings, textiles, Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel photographs and lights. And High Street, E1; 020 7522 7888; today’s design imitates such art whitechapelgallery.org.

WONDER WALL Like a huge abstract painting, the Sumi wallpaper has a large pattern repeat of 76.2cm. From the Momentum collection by Harlequin, a roll costs £59. It measures 10.05m long, and is extra wide at 68.6cm. See it at the Harlequin showroom at First Floor, South Dome, Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, Lots Road, SW10. London stockists include John Lewis, Oxford St, W1; Peter Jones, Sloane Square, SW1. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 17 homesandproperty.co.uk with Design Homes & Property

THE FLOOR HAS IT The new Illusion SHARP-ANGLED GLASS New from 2015 collection of rugs by Deirdre Finnish glass master Iittala (iittala. Dyson softens angles and lines with com) are these diamond-shaped shaded wool and silk. Ruutu vases, designed by the This dazzling design is Pinnacle. celebrated Parisians, Ronan and It can be made to order to any size Erwan Bouroullec — the name and in a wide choice of colours, means diamond in Finnish. from about £895m sq. Available in five sizes and seven See it at 602 Kings Road, SW6; subtle colours, the vases are 020 7384 4464, or visit designed to collect and combine deirdredyson.com. into abstract “seamless” “This geometric hand-knotted installations, to show off both the design may look simple,” asserts strength and delicacy of their form. Dyson. “But the makers in Nepal, Each vase takes seven craftsmen who work across the loom from left 24 hours to produce by hand. Prices to right, row by row, have to change are from about £79 to £229 at colour at almost every stitch, a Skandium, 245-249 Brompton Road, complete labour of love.” SW3; 020 7584 2066; skandium.com.

TUBULAR BELLE Six bends of seamlessly welded tubular steel support the sturdy oak top of the Olly stool, which has won a Design Guild Mark. This sculptural design appears to change shape as you walk around it. “Bowling ball” holes in the top (which also comes in ash or walnut) create a hand-hold for moving the stool around. Price is from £195. “We named it after Oliver Twist — because of its twisty shape,” says the young Northampton designers, David Lord and Ben Frost of Junction Fifteen; 01604 779 039; junctionfifteen.com.

GRITTY A Northern industrial angled images for digitally printed landscape, complete with pylons and wallpapers, cotton cushions and gasometers, prompted Leeds-based drum lampshades. In the picture: Anthony Hughes to make gritty, pylon cushion in ferrum grey (printed on both sides — this is the back); reflections cushion, with plain black back; gasholder cushion in caution yellow (both sides printed). All covers are cotton, 43cm sq. Price of £58 includes a duck feather pad; buy from anthony-hughes.co.uk, 07933 160 202.

■Twitter: @sunnyholt 20 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Shopping homesandproperty.co.uk with

OSBORNE & LITTLE DESIGN Indulge your wild side with Osborne & Little’s new feline-themed wallpapers and fabrics. Pantanal, an SPY ocelot print with a metallic hint, in silver or gold is £115 a roll for paper, By Katie Law or £120 a metre as a velvet jacquard, pictured here in front of Kuri (£90 a metre) and Pardus (£110 a metre). Visit osborneandlittle.com or find stockists by calling 020 8812 3123.

1STDIBS HERMES CANVAS HOME Luxury online marketplace 1stdibs Ikat is having a moment and Hermes Glam up your After Eight platinum, copper and has launched an app to make has adapted this traditional weaving dinner parties with these matte black accessories sourcing that obscure Gio Ponti technique by transferring it to sleek coffee spoons from that also includes serving silver coffee pot or cabinet-making porcelain. Voyage en Ikat comes in Canvas Home. A set of six dishes, bowls and plates. service easier. Browse, negotiate shades of sapphire, ruby and is £55. They are part of See it all at Selfridges, and buy from more than 2,000 emerald, edged in matte gold. the American homeware where the first concession dealers globally with a swipe on your We like this colourful emerald company’s Dauville has just opened. smartphone. Download free from platter, though at £352 it is not the collection of gold, (Selfridges.com). iTunes, searching for 1stdibs. cheapest piece.

KING’S CROSS ON A NEW LEVEL

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THE IVY Buy a piece of this legendary West (est £1,000-£1,500), a pair of 1990 End restaurant, from its mirrored champagne buckets (est £100-£150) cocktail bar to its many artworks. and two cocktail shakers (est £80- On March 25, Sotheby’s will be £120). Or buy the “best seat in the auctioning the contents of the house”, an oak and leather theatre crowd’s favourite eaterie, banquette (est £800-£1,200). which closed last month for a Paintings by Bridget Riley, Howard complete refurbishment. Hodgkin and Eduardo Paolozzi are Highlights include that bar also for sale (Sothebys.co.uk).

CHRISTIAN LACROIX The devil is in the detail, or so they say, and there is plenty of it with Christian Lacroix’s Manaos cushions. In a painstaking process, hand-painted ripening fruits are printed on a turquoise striped background and then finished with For more pictures, a bright citrus-yellow piped trim. visit our new online That’s why they cost £100 each, but they are beautiful. luxury section Available from Designers Guild (designersguild.com). HomesAndProperty.co.uk/luxury

■Twitter: @JKatieLaw 26 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Design homesandproperty.co.uk with Reinventing the wheel — and everything To celebrate its 70th anniversary, the Design Council has named the country’s 70 brightest new design talents, says Barbara Chandler

ESIGN is the fastest growing From left: the A4 Kick Scooter by sector in the UK’s big George Mabey is designed to fold up success story — the creative and fit into the parameters of an industries. Revenue from A4 sheet of paper; Torsten Sherwood design activities is growing and his “mini-architecture” Nook Dfaster than in advertising, architecture, house now on show at the Design music or film. And working towards Museum, SE1 (torstensherwood.com); this success has been the Design and the Current table by Marjan Van Council, founded after the Second Aubel, which gathers energy from World War to improve the design of solar cells — enough to charge a mobile products from British industry. The Design Council celebrates its 70th which kept a high public profile for the anniversary this month with an elite next two decades, even publishing its list of 70 UK “ones to watch”. The own magazine. The Design Council kept breadth of talent is astounding. files on well-designed products, opened Waël Seaiby makes stunning bowls a shop, and added a café. Prince Philip from old plastic bags, creating an was an active patron, awarding a series almost gem-like new material (available of his own design prizes. through Mint, SW3; 020 7225 2228). Sharply on trend is Hannah Sangwin, NEW STRATEGY with striking hand-drawn patterns for In the Nineties, the Council changed monochrome fabrics she will market direction, focusing now on strategy, through her own business. Meanwhile, policy and education rather than on Oliver Hrubiak has a chair in produc- products. tion at John Lewis. Design Council veteran Sir Kenneth Marjan Van Aubel’s Current table Grange, 85, who designed the Kenwood harvests energy from solar cells — food mixers, Parker Pens, High Speed enough to charge a phone (to be shown trains and the London Taxis, was at the Designs of the Year show from knighted for services to the design March 25 at the Design Museum). industry in 2013. He won 10 Design Some ideas are a tad bizarre, though Council Awards during the earlier part surprisingly beautiful in execution — of a 50-year career and is currently a bowls made from London dust, any- consultancy with Heal’s. one? Others are ingenious in the In 2011, the Design Council merged extreme — a kettle you can control to with CABE (the Commission for Archi- the last drop and degree from an app, tecture and the Built Environment) and a scooter that folds to the size of an A4 is once more in the public eye. piece of paper. They also include archi- Chief executive John Mathers says: tecture — for example, bricks using “Now, perhaps more than ever, the filled plastic bottles. Design Council is championing great Many address social problems and the design — improving lives and making difficulties of the disabled and/or elderly things better.” The Council is fostering — a low-cost prosthetic hand, and a communities, improving services, “memory box” to comfort patients with enhancing the environment and dementia. Scroll through the whole list helping businesses to grow. with pictures at designcouncil.org.uk “Ones to Watch” is just one of many — it’s a fascinating read. imaginative initiatives. “Spark” will  shortly award support and up to  ALL CHANGE £65,000 of investment to the best prod-   The Design Centre opened in the uct innovators chosen from hundreds ! # Haymarket, where it stayed until 1994, of applications. “Design Summits” are     in the very heart of the West End bringing together Britain’s most power- showcasing top British products. In ful creatives and enablers. “Active by    #( -* $!'   !   ("** 1964 came the celebrated “swing tag” Design” is combating obesity. “Design — a distinctive black and white triangle for Care” is helping people stay at  ! #!' ! (,*  $ '  ' #$ # &(--* awarded for the next 30 years to “good” home longer. And there is much more .)$! ( !*#  "+/#$!!#  ! designs chosen by conscientious listed on designcouncil.org.uk. !#!  ##### # $##%#' committees. In the Seventies came the name change to the Design Council, ■ Twitter: @sunnyholt 28 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property My home homesandproperty Communal pick ’n’ mix is showing the way The first ‘co-housing’ project in the capital has delivered a treat for the pioneering families who took the plunge. by Philippa Stockley Aesthetic: all the houses comprise brick or timber cladding

OU have to take your hat off 2010 to have a first design to take to the to Copper Lane, London’s planners, but the planners rejected it. first co-housing project. Why So it was back to the drawing board. London has waited so long to The final design gave each house a do this is anybody’s guess; semi-sunk basement, which lowered the butY now that a group of six brave Lon- roofline. The homes (some three-storey doners have taken the plunge, perhaps and some two) were clustered round the others will follow. Six beautifully thought communal hall. Each has two doors: one out, light-filled houses cluster round a into the hall, one on to the courtyard that shared hall, workshop, laundry and is the roof of the hall. Each, with its brick several courtyards. Simultaneously or timber cladding, has timber-framed medieval and modern, it is a new hamlet windows. One has a balcony, others just on a small Hackney plot. The houses are give on to one of the several shared all made of pearly bricks and heat- courtyards, or grass or brick walkways. treated cladding that’s already silvering Windows look in oblique directions, into its setting. minimising direct overlooking between Cressida Hubbard joined the group the houses. almost by accident, but her joining made Even so, surrounded by so many exist- the project happen. In her late forties ing neighbours, there were objections, and the director of Artangel, which com- and the group had to win an appeal. missions modern arts projects, Hubbard Next, details had to be thrashed out; had divorced, and had to sell the family costs had to be reduced and, finally, home that she shared with her husband having gone out to tender, building and two children, Madeleine, now 22, began at the end of 2012. and Will, 18. In 2009 she was renting a small, new-build flat in and had HE site is reached by a path been looking for a three-bedroom house so narrow that only a small in the area for months. But nothing right crane could get down it. Work Individual: a balcony gives the family private outdoor space was affordable. One day she joked to an took until summer 2014. architect friend, Jack Woolley, that he “There are economies of was just going to have to build her some- Tscale in building six houses instead of thing. “And he said, ‘funnily enough, one,” explains Hubbard. “We all have Join the luxury holiday I know five people doing the same thing, the same materials. We all have the same but who can’t afford to do it’.” white-washed pine inside, and plastered home specialists... Woolley’s five people had found a plot walls, the same kitchens and bathrooms. of land they wanted to buy, but to afford The architects would bring things like it they needed another member. knobs and handles to meetings. If you Many luxury The land was an overgrown 1,000sq m opted out you would have to sort it out properties backland plot that belonged to an yourself. One couple did arrange their deliver over Egyptian church, with a derelict nursery own kitchen and bathroom.” 39 weeks! school on it. Hubbard’s own house has windows on Of the five, two were trained architects, all four sides and is very light and warm. one an artist. Three of them had built a She chose the corner of the plot that house together before. Before she knew she wanted, and insisted the kitchen it she had joined the group, and they and living space went at the top, and bought the land in 2009. asked for a window bench on one turn                 The group drew up a long list of archi- of the stairs.           tects, and interviewed six. The architects Everywhere in these remarkable          they finally chose, Henley Halebrown houses there are surprises and different           Rorrison, really focused on the balance rhythms, yet it fits together. There isn’t          between privacy and communality, and a dud view anywhere you look. And how the whole development would Hubbard loves living like this. “It’s a nice !" "  look, and work. mix,” she says. “You don’t have to be        As you’d expect, getting six people to communal if you don’t want to, but by              agree on the design of a house was a slow the time you’ve been through a process process. The architects were clear that like this, you get to know people very all the houses would share the same well. My only regret is that I didn’t do it palette; they weren’t designing six totally earlier. It would have been lovely to different ones — although each would have come here 10 years ago, when the have its own configuration. It took until children were younger.”  EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 29 y.co.uk with My home Homes & Property

WHAT IS CO-HOUSING? A group gets together, buys a plot of land, and builds housing in which some communal parts are shared. It took off in Denmark in the Sixties. It happens across Europe and also in America, where land is cheaper; but there’s little here so far.

FINDING THE MONEY Financing a project of this sort isn’t easy in the UK, even if you manage to find and buy a plot. Though it is possible to get a self-build mortgage, you can’t draw down on it till the build is watertight. That means about a year of self-financing, which effectively excludes many young people. Few lenders are prepared to lend to this type of project. Those who may consider it include Triodos Bank, and the Ecology Building Society. Although she won’t reveal what she spent, Hubbard reckons it cost 80 per cent of the cost of a similar-sized house in the area.

O The UK Cohousing Network has more info on funding at cohousing. org.uk THE FACTS This small, 1,000 square metre plot once belonged to a church and would cost about £900,000 in 2008. O Cost of build: £1.8 million excluding architects’ fees, which could add an additional £216,000 (12 per cent) O Estimated value of houses now: £1,161,800 each, according to Mouseprice.com GET THE LOOK O The architect: Henley Halebrown Rorrison at hhbr.co.uk O The contractor: Sandwood Construction at sandwood.co.uk O The timber cladding: Thermo Wood from metsawood.com/uk and other suppliers O Terca pearl grey bricks from stockists such as weinerberger.co.uk O Douglas Fir engineered floorboards from Reeve Wood at reevewood.com O All interior wood treated with Osmo white oil from osmouk.com O Work surfaces: Richlite black recycled paper from richlite.com

Family ties: Cressida Hubbard, with son Will, wishes she had been in a co-share when her children were younger

Personal touch: Hubbard requested her kitchen and  % % % %*&'+ living space,   %    %   far left, be on &$%%  % the top floor of her house   %% # %   %"  $!!!   $% ! % Adjust to taste: each % %)+(%   %% house is built to an % %%  $ $$,$  $ $ $ $"( #$ $ $ individual specification,  #$+)$ $'& $$*$ including  #$+*$ $'& $$)$ staircases  #$+%$ $'& $$ Photographs $$ $ $ $$$$# ! ""#  David Butler  32 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Outdoors homesandproperty.co.uk with Camellias put the lipstick on a winter garden A sheltered spot is ideal for this head-turner that can bloom from September until May

AFFODILS might herald the Pattie MARIANNE MAJERUS start of spring in London, but it is the camellia, lav- Barron Left: camellias makes an ideal front ishly dressed in lipstick-red garden shrub; above, varieties or sugar-pink blooms, that JC Williams, left, and Adolphe isD the head-turner at this time of year. Audusson thrive on a town balcony Nothing beats it for front-of-house glamour. Park a heavy-budded camellia the key period for camellias to bloom, ceous compost. Trehane is enthusiastic bush in a pot by the front door and but if you choose carefully, you can about a potting compost made from spring, in full, glorious fling, is sorted. enjoy a succession of flowers from wool and bracken (dalefootcomposts. You can also train camellias against September to May, says expert Jennifer co.uk) that is peat-free, contains all the trellis, plant them to grow through the Trehane, author of Camellias: The right nutrients and the wool content front garden railings so the fallen petals Gardener’s Encyclopedia (Timber cuts down on watering by half. In fact, carpet the pavement, or site them Press). Her grandfather introduced the Trehane cautions against frequent along a low wall to make a flowering large group of williamsii hybrid camel- watering. “Wait until the compost is hedge. London’s sheltered gardens are lias to this country in the 1950s, and nearly dry, then give it a darn good soak.

perfect places for camellias to thrive, founded Dorset’s Trehane Nursery, MARIANNE MAJERUS Most composts will provide sufficient and they make ideal candidates for which ships camellias worldwide, as nutrients to last through the growing containers, providing early flowers and well as to London’s North One and West small, dainty leaves, bloom in autumn, hybrids, which will take you through season but, the following spring, give a glossy greenery all year. Six garden centres. “The sasanqua and you can follow these with early to late spring,” she says. Thus your balanced ericaceous fertiliser as soon The next couple of months might be varieties, which are fragrant and have japonica varieties and williamsii high-performing trio might be as the buds begin to open.” sasanqua Hugh Evans, with single pink If growing one of the beautiful flowers from October, then late 19th century heirloom varieties appeals winter-blooming Betty Foy Sanders, — and you will need a sheltered spot or with red-streaked white flowers, and conservatory for them to thrive — you lastly Black Lace, which has elegant have a month to see them at Chiswick double flowers with velvety red petals House from this Saturday. Be quick, from March until May. however, if you want to bag one of their For a container, choose a variety that offspring. Trehane Nursery took cut- grows slowly, so will not need cutting tings three years ago of 16 gorgeous back every five minutes. Trehane heritage varieties from this rare collec- recommends Quintessence, which has tion, the oldest under glass in the West- a low, spreading habit and has sweetly- ern world, and now the young camellias PROPERTY AUCTIONS scented, single white flowers tinged are for sale, just 200 of them, alongside with pink. “It is perfect on a garden their parents in the 300-foot glass- London & National step. However if you want a tall, house. Form an orderly queue at day- WWW.LANSDOWNEAUCTIONS.CO.UK narrow, elegant shape, buy camellia break, because doors open at 10am. transnokoensis, which has masses of tiny white flowers from December to For more details on camellia "!(+)-&&++" %+,+  +)&', March and young foliage which is cultivation, and to buy Jennifer bronzy red, all through summer.” Trehane’s book, and plants, +"!*+  + *+ % *++'+) Anticipation is justifiably popular. visit trehane.co.uk “It’s a williamsii hybrid that my father For entry times and prices of the   + ( introduced from New Zealand back in Chiswick House Camellia Show, visit the Sixties,” says Trehane. “The flow- homesandproperty.co.uk/events ers are peony-shaped, rosy pink, and bloom over a long period.” O For outdoor events this month, visit In containers, camellias need erica- homesandproperty.co.uk/events

Best of bunch: for an easy-to- grow camellia with large,  ( $(   (!(   ( (&(  ruffled flowers "(%)'%)#)' "(%*)'%*&' "(%#*' that bloom for weeks, choose variety Anticipation

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CLIVE NICHOLS @gmail.com 38 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Property searching homesandproperty.co.uk with

HAT a spectacular Left: street art at twist of fortune. The the end of a row once scary south of handsome London suburb of terraced houses Brixton is now wor- in Lyham Road riedW about the pace of gentrification. Only two weeks ago a petition did the rounds protesting at the eviction by Network Rail of long-standing traders from the railway arches under Brixton Right: Brixton train station. Village has The area has changed beyond recog- become one of nition in just five years. It is called the the capital’s £1.295 MILLION “Brixton Village effect”. A failed prop- trendiest foodie A spacious four-bedroom house in erty speculation had left the owners of destinations Appach Road, SW2, with a paved the Granville Arcade off Coldharbour garden, a cellar and immaculately Lane with a near-empty covered mar- refurbished throughout (Foxtons). ket. In an attempt to revive its fortunes, O homesandproperty.co.uk/appac the owners offered start-up businesses the chance to occupy a unit for free for six months. It was genius. Many failed, but lots of new and innovative cafés, Spotlight Brixton bars and restaurants survived. Brixton Village and the surrounding covered markets have become one of London’s trendiest foodie destinations, but now Brixtonians worry that it has gone too far, with long-standing trad- ers, selling yams and calves’ feet, being From scary forced out by rocketing rents. Most of the young people who pour into Brixton at the weekends are too £1.79 MILLION young to remember the riots of 1981 A three-bedroom loft-style house sparked by the indiscriminate use of to starry carved from classrooms at a the “sus” laws on Brixton’s young black former Victorian school in inhabitants, or the later riots of 1985 With oysters and champagne served in the Canterbury Crescent, in the heart and 1995, although the disturbances of of Brixton (London Lofts). August 2011 might have given their market, this south London district’s only worry O homesandproperty.co.uk/cant parents in the provinces a sleepless night or two. is rapid ‘gentrification’, says Anthea Masey Brixton is still the spiritual home of Britain’s Afro-Caribbean community. first wave of post-War immigration. the best value for money in the area. shop and MAC Cosmetics concession. The Windrush Generation first came Brixton is five miles south of central Postcodes: Strangely, much of Brixton The high street also has branches of to Britain in the late-1950s. London. The A23 London to Brighton falls into the SW9 Stockwell postcode; M&S, Iceland, TK Maxx and H&M. Although it seems incredible today, road runs through the centre; with the rest is in the SW2 Brixton postcode Brixton market stretches out along many were first housed in the vast Kennington to the north, Camberwell that spreads south to Tulse Hill and Electric Avenue, so called because it underground shelters under Clapham to the east, Streatham to the south and Streatham Hill. was the first market street to be lit by South underground station. They Clapham to the west. Up-and-coming: The roads off Cold- electricity. Here you will find every- ended up in Brixton because that was Properties: Brixton has mainly Victo- harbour Lane around Loughborough thing from fruit and vegetables, to where the local employment office rian and Edwardian houses; the larger Junction are fast catching up with the clothes and household items. was. The new public square in front of ones have been split up into flats, rest of Brixton. The interesting independent shops, the Ritzy cinema, the Tate Library and and most of the smaller ones are now cafés and restaurants are tucked away £425,000 the newly opened Black Cultural single-family homes. There are also SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS in adjacent Brixton Village and Market A one-bedroom school conversion in the town centre was named “right-to-buy” flats on Brixton’s Morleys is the much-loved local inde- Row. Many of the restaurants such as flat in Priory Grove, SW8, with Windrush Square in memory of this many council estates that represent pendent department store with a Top- wood-fired pizza makers, Franco exposed brickwork, double-height rooms and windows and old-style radiators, all immaculately To find a home in Brixton, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/brixton decorated (John D Wood). O homesandproperty.co.uk/priory ForF more about Brixton, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/spotlightbrixton EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 39 homesandproperty.co.uk with Property searching Homes & Property

CHECK THE STATS

■WHAT HOMES COST: BUYING IN BRIXTON (Average prices) One-bedroom flat £363,000 Two-bedroom flat £485,000 Two-bedroom house £833,000 Three-bedroom house £855,000 Four-bedroom house £988,000 Source:Zoopla RENTING IN BRIXTON (Average rates) One-bedroom flat £1,414 a month Two-bedroom flat £1,733 a month Two-bedroom house £1,844 a month In the picture: the Ritzy overlooks Windrush Square, Brixton’s new public space Three-bedroom house £2,409 a month Four-bedroom house £2,875 a month Manca; burger joint, Honest Burgers; smaller music venues. The Ritzy is the Source:Zoopla and Thai restaurant KaoSarn, which local multiplex cinema — part of the first established themselves here, have Picturehouse chain — where the GO ONLINE FOR MORE gone on to open other branches. workers have recently won a battle for Other favourites are French & Grace, the London Living Wage. O The best schools in and around Federation Coffee, the Agile Rabbit, On the first weekend in August, Brixton Mama Lan, Rosie’s and Salon at Brixton Splash is an annual street O All the latest housing schemes Cannon & Cannon. Seven and Three festival celebrating local talent and what a new home is likely to Eight Four are cocktail bars serving performing in the streets around cost you tapas and small dishes. Coldharbour Lane. The hip cocktail scene is even The Brixton Recreation Centre in O The lowdown on the local renting creeping down Coldharbour Lane with Brixton Station Road is the local scene in Brixton the opening of Shrub & Shutter in a council-owned swimming pool. O Find out how house prices in drab row of shops opposite Southwyck The Black Cultural Archives (BCA) has Brixton compare with the rest of House, known locally as the Barrier recently opened in a renovated London and the UK Block, which was built facing away Georgian building overlooking O Smart maps to plot your from the road when it was proposed, Windrush Square. Staying Power at the property search in the early-1970s, to drive the inner V&A until June 30 is an exhibition of London ring road through Brixton. photographs documenting the experi- Emy Gray has a brilliant eye for the ence of Black people in Britain and is Photographs Daniel Lynch slightly macabre and unusual in her a collaboration between the BCA and shop Brixi, where she sells gifts, prints, the V&A. HAVE YOUR SAY @Gemma_shah Prawn & Bean curd and hand-made objects. But there are Travel: Brixton is at one end of the BRIXTON Fung Cheung @CourtesanDimSum signs that the chain restaurants are Victoria line with the advantage that favourite thing to eat. Also a secret moving in, with Wahaca opening in commuters can get a seat in the lovely pub off beaten track former Brady’s bar in Atlantic Road. morning. There are also trains from @danmcculloch Fujiyama! Best @ElmParkTavern There is a farmers’ market every Brixton to Victoria that take nine min- chicken wings and Katsu Curry in town Sunday in Brixton Station Road and a utes. Loughborough Junction is on the @livilovez San Marino Cafe! Great night-time street food market in Wimbledon loop line with Thameslink @KatyMarketFresh Check out pastries, lunch and teas Windrush Square during the first week- trains through London stopping at @Cariocabrixton & their authentic end of the month. Blackfriars, City Thameslink, #brazilianfood! @ronniejoice Check out Farringdon and St Pancras. @shrubshutter336 LEISURE AND THE ARTS All stations are in Zone 2 and an @robjent @KaffBar - meat in the Brixton was once a major centre of annual railcard to Zone 1 costs £1,284. day, cocktails in the evening, music @Peggyhall65Hall sw9 bar has good music hall with a number of large Massive 18-bus routes run through TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE at night - fun atmosphere too! fish and chips theatres; the only one remaining is the Brixton town centre travelling to all the Brixton Academy, now a cavernous — major rail stations, Oxford Circus, the Where did a moustache-hater leave @Mrsmina Gyoza chinese, Satay Bar NEXT WEEK: Weybridge. Do but with much of the interior décor still City and South Kensington. his mark on Brixton? Thai, Refill Caribbean and Burnt Toast you live there? Tell us what intact — music venue. Plan B, the Prince Council: Lambeth (Labour-control- Find the answer at cafe for huge pancakes #Brixton you think @HomesProperty of Wales, with its rooftop bars, Jamm, led); Band D council tax for the homesandproperty.co.uk/spotlightbrixton the Windmill and the Hootananny are 2014/2015 year: £1,224.29.

 42 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property New homes SmartSmart mmovesmovovoveovee By David Spittles JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED ISTORIC Queen Elizabeth Children’s Hospital in Bethnal Green has started a new life as Mettle & Poise, a Read more: visit Hscheme of 186 flats behind the striking original listed Victorian Thfd our new online frontage. The much-loved hospital closed in 1996 and later fell into luxury section dereliction, but has been rescued as part of Boris Johnson’s affordable HomesAndProperty.co.uk/luxury is a s homes initiative. Penthouses and three-bedroom duplex apartments, with outside space, have been launched. Prices from £699,000 to £999,950. Call estate agent Currell dsas on 020 7226 6611.

From £432,500: The Town Apartments, left and right, are handy for shops and the Tube

Triangle has a ring to it Urban — and proud of it RIPPLES of development landscaped courtyard. KENTISH TOWN, postcode NW5, has Into this mix has dropped The are spreading out from Prices from £475,000. a real sense of freshness — with a new Town Apartments — 15 homes that the Islington and Call Crest Nicholson on French lycée school, a restored listed are well placed for the shops and Shoreditch heartlands so 0800 883 8002. Victorian baths and pool and a Tube station. widely that they are now Nearby Wenlock Basin is growing buzz created by a fresh Prices from £432,500. Call Telford meeting in the middle. smartening up, and generation of artsy Londoners. Homes on 01992 809 800. A crop of apartment coming soon are Zabludowicz Collection, one of the In 1873, Sainsbury’s opened its schemes have sprouted up apartments at Banyan capital’s best contemporary-design second grocery shop at nearby within the triangle formed Wharf, part of the galleries, is housed in a former Queen’s Crescent, and a fortnightly by Essex Road, New North Brewery Project wrapping Methodist chapel, close to the studio food market has been flourishing Road and City Road, all N1. around Wenlock Arms, a of celebrity photographer Rankin, since then. Redevelopment of a local The Bevenden, pictured, prized local boozer. while Kentish Canteen is one of butcher’s shop has spawned a is the latest arrival — 42 flats Call Regal Homes on several cool restaurants. scheme of five flats in the upper set around a communal 020 7328 7171. Yet the area remains defiantly parts, priced from £405,000. urban and is still affordable for many. Call Linton on 020 3402 5102. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 43 homesandproperty.co.uk with New homes Homes & Property Enjoy the many perks of living on the edge

Portobello Square is an enticingly named new address. Bordering Notting Hill, it is the creation of up to 1,000 homes and reinstatement of the area’s original Victorian street pattern offering a sense of heritage. Lying at the northern end of Portobello Road, the regeneration of dis a Seventies council estate has provided this opportunity. Prices lag about 20 per cent behind homes in its neighbour, Notting Hill, sd says estate agent Hamptons International, which has 16 contemporary-design townhouses available to buy, each with two parking spaces. sds Prices from £1.85 million. Call 020 7758 8478.

All those stations and all that grass keep Clapham on top SOUTH of the river it may apartments and two be, but Clapham is houses up against a comparable in price to handsome red-brick similar close-in north Edwardian mansion block. London addresses such as Prices from £499,950. Camden and Tufnell Park. A show flat is open. The 220-acre Common is Call Kinleigh Folkard & one reason; another is the Hayward on 020 7348 5311. three Northern line Listello Buildings, on stations connecting it to Bedford Road, has 58 the City and central apartments moments from London in 20 minutes. Clapham North Tube 125 King’s Avenue, station. Prices from pictured, is a tasteful new £439,995. Call Bellway development of nine Homes on 0845 257 6068. 46 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Ask the expert homesandproperty.co.uk with Will she get a share of my cottage if we split? Fiona WHAT’S I HAVE been trying to buy a house of my YOUR own recently, but I am really struggling McNulty PROBLEM? Qbecause the price of property is just so IF YOU have a expensive. My colleague has said that I OUR LAWYER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS question for should look into shared ownership but, to be Fiona McNulty, honest, though I have heard about it, I know please email nothing about it. What does buying “a share” of a A COUPLE of years ago I legalsolutions@ property involve? inherited a cottage in standard.co.uk Q Cornwall from my or write to Legal SHARED ownership combines renting with godfather. My first wife, Solutions, Homes buying part of a property. It is available through our children and I used to visit it & Property, A housing associations, and is sometimes called regularly until my wife died. It London Evening “registered providers”. means a lot to me. I married for a Standard, 2 Derry You can buy from 25 per cent to 75 per cent and pay rent second time 12 years ago. I hope Street, W8 5EE. on the share you do not own. You will need a mortgage to nothing goes wrong with this We regret that fund the share you buy and a deposit or reservation fee marriage, but if we do split up, will questions cannot may be payable. my wife be entitled to part of the be answered A mortgage valuation and/or survey fee will be payable cottage? It was inherited by me individually, but plus legal fees, search fees and Land Registry fees. Stamp and I never want to sell it. we will try to Duty Land Tax may also apply. feature them If you buy a flat or a house that has the use of communal THE starting point, really, is here. Fiona areas, you may have to pay an annual service charge, so fairness and equality when McNulty is legal you have to budget carefully. A dividing the matrimonial director in the You may qualify for shared ownership if you are a assets. Usually all assets, real estate first-time buyer or rent a council or housing association whether owned jointly or not, tend group of Foot property and your household earns (in London) £66,000 to fall into the matrimonial pot. Anstey LLP or less for a one or two-bedroom property or £80,000 for This includes assets that you or your (fionamcnulty@ a three-bedroom property. wife have inherited during or before your assets to be split in the event of Nuptial Agreement may be enforced footanstey.com If you can afford it, you may buy more shares in your your marriage. Accordingly, the your death, divorce or separation. by the court if your marriage ever property (up to 100 per cent in most cases) and this court could divide the cottage you Discuss the cottage with your wife breaks down, your lawyers should process is called “staircasing”. inherited if it deems it fair. and try to reach an agreement. Both advise you on the qualifying criteria Consider entering into a Post of you should seek independent legal for such an agreement e.g. there More legal O These answers can only be a very brief commentary on Nuptial Agreement with your wife to advice or, even better, each instruct should be full and frank disclosure Q&As the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. protect your interest in the cottage. separate lawyers in relation to the and no undue influence, and the Visit: homesand No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar It can confirm how you both wish agreement. To ensure the Post agreement should be generally fair. property.co.uk issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor

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TRYING TO BUNNY HOP    Brought to you by ...CLOSER THAN YOU THINK Rent a 1 - 4 bed home in the former Athletes’ Village Find out more at eastvillagelondon.co.uk 48 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD FIRST PHASE NOW Homes & Property Letting on AVAILABLE FOR SALE OFF PLAN We don’t always pocket profits E’RE only two Victoria Whitlock is glum. She months into 2015, and already it’s clear has just been hit with a string of that I’m going to have to spend a lot of bills for her rental properties moneyW on my properties this year. Media reports give the impression that cash from buy-to-let investments flow only one way, directly into landlords’ pockets, but properties are very expensive to maintain and every so often we get huge bills. At the start of the year, I received a letter informing me that in the autumn I’ll be billed for £2,500, for repairs to the exterior of a block of flats where I own a four-bedroom rental property. I wasn’t aware the building needed any repairs; it looks absolutely fine to me, but the local council owns the freehold — and the £450 A WEEK majority of flats in the block — so if In quiet Edis Street, Primrose Hill, NW1, John D Wood has a it’s determined to carry out work, one-bedroom flat with private courtyard garden available to I am required to pay my share. rent. Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/rentedis On the plus side, it’s good to have a freeholder who wants to keep the building in good nick and will The accidental landlord organise any necessary work, but it’s always a shock to be presented with though the inside of the flat is really such a large bill. rather nice. It’s a reminder of the need to Electrical safety checks on both squirrel away quite a large chunk of properties are also due this year, the rental income every month to and my electrician has told me to build up a contingency fund. Have I brace myself for a bill of about done that? Nope. Thanks to the early £1,000 for each. warning from the freeholder, I’ve got “There’s bound to be quite a bit of a few months to save up. work,” he tells me. “There always is.” I’m also going to have to arrange One of my properties is classed as a and pay for repairs to the exterior small HMO (House in Multiple of another property, where the Occupation), because it’s let to more elaborate cornice over a large bay than four sharers, so I am legally window has been badly eroded by obliged to have the fixed wiring 65 HOMES FOR weather and time, and now looks tested every five years. shabby. Plus, the large external The other is a one-bedroom flat so, window sill is badly cracked and will strictly speaking, I’m not obliged to SHARED OWNERSHIP have to be replaced. have electrical safety checks, but I That cosmetic facelift is going to want to anyway — just to make sure cost me around £2,000, but it’s it’s safe. If there was a fault and the SALE IN TOTTENHAM necessary in order to increase the tenant suffered an injury as a result, property’s kerb appeal, especially as I’d be to blame. Also, the inside of the I’m trying to attract new tenants at one-bedroom flat could do with the moment. One look at the exterior repainting before new tenants move building might put them off, even in. If I get the whole place done, it will cost more than £3,000. So I’ll be lucky if I get away with spending anything less than £9,500 )2$ $ $,, on the two properties this year, 0) 2-3) )-/0+0 1 which is roughly half what I expect to have left over from the rent, after I’ve paid the interest on the mortgages. I realise that I’m fortunate that I don’t depend on my rental  $# $  $" properties for an income, so I can 0/ )%%3)0'0 1 use any profit I make from the rent to keep them in good condition. Like other landlords with )$&)(3$%%3)$*3$ !$$ mortgaged properties, I’m also counting my lucky stars that interest ,.$) /$*$%$3%1)$ %2 )$*$! rates are so low, otherwise I wouldn’t have any profits to plough back in. //$ /22$+$$-)$2/ /+$/$ -)$($  +-$*$%/+)$ £2,300 A MONTH Victoria Whitlock lets three Hamptons International has a charming three-bedroom properties in south London. To Victorian cottage in The Royals area of East Sheen, available contact Victoria with your ideas to rent. Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/rentroyals for details and views, tweet @vicwhitlock Find many more homes to rent at homesandproperty.co.uk/lettings 50 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Inside story homesandproperty.co.uk with It’ll be a home from home for Mr Trendy

MONDAY THURSDAY It’s Monday morning and busy. Last This evening I’m working at a launch Friday was spent agreeing a sale for a party for a new development in north- first-time buyer moving to the West west London, so I call round potential End from Brighton, so there is a lot to buyers and confirm appointments. prepare for a smooth transaction. I spend the majority of my time He’s very excited by the prospect of working on developments in and moving to London, and we’ve found a around the West End, so it’s a good great apartment just off Neal’s Yard in opportunity to meet people. Seven Dials village. I think it will be like The evening goes very well and we a home from home for him, as Neal’s secure some sales — mainly from local Yard has a rather trendy, Bohemian residents looking to upgrade. feel. The solicitors have received the It’s great to see new-build schemes necessary paperwork and are getting are so popular with buyers, even out to work on the deal. of central London.

TUESDAY FRIDAY Today I have a second viewing on a After several offers and counter-offers, newly developed mews house in we get the Marylebone mews house Marylebone. It’s a spectacular property agreed for my buyer and his car. and its launch is imminent. I feel the This is very pleasing, as I have been urgency of getting my buyer through working on it with an ex-colleague of the door before things start getting mine from my very first job as an estate competitive, as I know he will love it. agent. She is still a great friend, so it’s My buyer arrives in a huge 4x4 and been good — our collaboration has wants to see if it will fit in the garage. worked out well. I’m crossing my fingers as he edges it would have been a tough ask a year or My buyer intends to exchange into the mouth of the garage, parking Diary of an estate agent two ago, but today I have two potentially within five days, so I expect another sensors beeping galore! perfect options. Both flats have fantastic busy week ahead, but make sure I wonder if there will be space for him views over the famous people-watching my colleague who lost the bet on to exit the car once he is inside, but I only will my buyer and client be WEDNESDAY Covent Garden Piazza. Tuesday indulges the team in a breathe a sigh of as he gets out of ecstatic, but three of my colleagues and Today I am out with a family who have I was actually on one of the balconies well-deserved lunch. the car with ease. I, who also have deals exchanging this very specific buying requirements. They when Robbie Williams started doing an Later in the afternoon I get news that week, have all made a bet: whoever are looking for a penthouse in the West impromptu gig this Christmas! My buy- O Craig Simpson is a senior sales a deal I have been working on for the exchanges last buys the team lunch. End with three good-sized bedrooms, ers are obviously very impressed and I negotiator with CBRE in the West End past few weeks has gone through. Not Luckily, I’m safe on this occasion. en suites and concierge service. This leave them to have vital discussions. (020 7429 3050)

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