EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2013 1 Homes · House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, London W8 5TT. news: £4m to live in Hackney, the rising property star of the east ... a converted

LightsfantasticInteriors

Page 26

NEW HOMES AS LONDON BOOMS P4 DOUBLE UP, BUY NEXT DOOR P12 & P28 BARBADOS P8 SPOTLIGHT CRYSTAL PALACE P34

Homes&Property

Wednesday 6 November 2013

London’s best property search website: homesandproperty.co.uk

Head over Heal’s Store boss’s My Design London: Page 10

NIC

K H

OLT

EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2013 1

2 WEDNESDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2013 EVENING STANDARD

Faye Greenslade

This week: homesandproperty.co.ukProperty search

in partnership with

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 email address if you would like to receive such offers by text or email.

Editor: Janice Morley

ESHomesAndProperty @HomesProperty HomesProperty

Editorial: 020 3615 2524 Advertisement manager: Mark WoodAdvertising: 020 3615 0527Homes & Property, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, London W8 5TT.

news: £4m to live in Hackney, the rising property star of the east

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

Plus: a 10 per cent discount on all sofas for every reader

get ahead of the crowd: sign up for our e-newsletter

Win £800 to spend at Sofas & Stuff

£695,000: woodlands and a pretty two-acre garden, plus a former bothy converted into a studio, lend bags of earning potential to this listed farmhouse in Staplecross, East Sussex. You could run a little tea shop or deli from the bothy, where guests could buy picnic supplies to enjoy in the grounds. The double garage could also be converted into a shop, as there is ample additional parking. There are five bedrooms, open fireplaces and exposed beams indoors. Through Freeman Forman.

Visit homesandpropertyco.uk/lifechangerstaplecross

£650,000: nip over to NW5 where this chain-free garden flat — set on a prime Kentish Town road — is a find for buyers seeking a smooth move. Inside showcases pale grey walls, oak floors, wide sash windows, high ceilings and plenty of high-spec detailing to match. Plush style continues in two double bedrooms, a sleek bathroom and a 29ft reception/kitchen and dining room leading to a decked landscaped garden. Through KFH.

Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/buyoftheweekkentish

BE THE first to get the latest London and UK property news, design trends, area guides and offers — every Wednesday. Simply sign up at homesand property.co.uk/newsletter.

LIKE Homes & Property? Find us on Facebook: ESHomes AndProperty

TO ENTER Simply visit homesand property.co.uk/offers before the end of November 20.

Terms & conditions: the 10 per cent discount applies until November 20. Usual rules apply. See homes andproperty.co.uk/rules for full details.

London buy of the week the smoothest of moves

Out of town buy of the week the barn is lovely, the gardens magnificent

Life changer realise your dream of a country tea shop

£650,000: escape the rat race and cosy up for winter at this magnificent Grade II-listed converted Elizabethan barn in the semi-rural spot of Stowmarket, Suffolk.

There is a lot to love about this property, especially its wonderful gardens — a favourite in the National Gardens Scheme — featuring meadows, ponds and a stream meandering among flowerbeds,

while inside sees a mass of elm beams in the huge reception/drawing room, a bespoke kitchen/breakfast room and four bedrooms, all with lovely views.

There is even a fully equipped studio space above the garage. Through Abbotts.

Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/swapstowmarket

Homes & Property Online homesandproperty.co.uk with

THE east London borough of Hackney has emerged as the capital’s shining property star with prices up almost 13 per cent in a year, according to the latest figures from the Land Registry.

The average home in the borough will soon breach the £500,000 barrier — and currently stands at £474,202. The most expensive home currently for sale in Hackney is a converted church hall close to Victoria Park, on the market with Foxtons for offers above £4 million (visit homesandproperty.co.uk/vicpark). You can still find bargains, however. The cheapest property is a studio flat in Clapton, also through Foxtons, for £139,950 (homesandproperty.co.uk/clarence).

SOFAS & STUFF sofas and beds are handmade in Britain and come with a lifetime guarantee on every frame and spring, delivery in about 30 days and a no-quibble returns policy. Now one lucky Homes & Property reader can win an £800 voucher to spend on this superb furniture. Sofas & Stuff prices are extraordinarily

reasonable thanks to a business decision to shun expensive high streets and operate via the internet and from lovely old barns in the middle of nowhere. The tagline “for a sofa to come home to” suggests comfort is key.

See the range at sofasandstuff.com or visit one of the firm’s showrooms, including Parsons Green (near the Tube), Tunbridge Wells, Hungerford, West Sussex and Bishop’s Stortford.

To claim your 10 per cent discount: visit one of the Sofas & Stuff showrooms, call 0808 1783211 or go to sofasandstuff.com and quote the code STANDARD by November 20.

For a chance to win an £800 voucher: see side panel.

Offers over £4 million: this six-bedroom home, once a church hall, is close to Victoria Park, Hackney. Through Foxtons


LEONARDO DICAPRIO is house hunting in New York, where an environmentally friendly Fifth Avenue flat has caught the 38-year-old Hollywood A-lister’s eye.

On the market at £8 million, the property would be fittingly sumptuous for the Great Gatsby actor, with its three large bedrooms, marble bathrooms, plus a spacious dressing room and a library.

The 4,300sq ft home, which is split across two floors, has the added attraction of top-notch security features, including a 24-hour porter and key-locked lift. DiCaprio has reportedly been looking for a new home all year. The slick contemporary apartment might just be to his taste.

MICHELLE MONE is settling into a new three-bedroom townhouse in her native Scotland. The Ultimo lingerie boss splashed out £780,700 on the duplex in an upmarket area of Glasgow after her split from husband Michael, 46.

The five-bedroom marital home — named Telperion after a tree in The Lord of the Rings — in the Glasgow suburb of Thorntonhall, is for sale through Savills for £1.5 million, including its luxurious fixtures and fittings. Michelle, 42, reportedly tried to buy her husband’s share but he said it was against a previous agreement.

Visit homesandproperty.co.

uk/telperion

Bra queen Michelle’s £1.5m sale

By Amira Hashish

Homes & PropertyNewshomesandproperty.co.uk with

RIHANNA wants to give her new £13.6 million Barbados home, right, the London look. The Diamonds singer, 25, is creating a private nightclub there modelled on Piccadilly celebrity haunt, Dstrkt.

She is said to be spending £6.18 million on a makeover to include replicating the club’s futuristic bling lighting, oversize sofas, chrome furniture and bar clad in rare stone. RiRi certainly knows how to party in style.

Always party time at RiRi’s

Rogers hopes for a £4m pot of gold at the Rainbow’s end

PORTOBELLO ROAD’S most colourful home, designed by architect Ab Rogers, below, is for sale.

The director of interior design at the Royal College of Art and son of starchitect Lord Rogers describes the four-bedroom Rainbow House

in Portobello Road, W11, as “a living artwork”. Some of its fabulous features include a circular bed that rotates 360 degrees, a fibreglass rainbow-themed staircase and a trap door, revealing a slide that connects a bedroom with the living room.

Even the floors are amazing, with illustrations by artist Richard Woods.

It is listed at £4 million with Domus Nova.

Visit homesand property.co.uk/rainbow for more pictures and details

DiCaprio’s seeking a green fresh start

Got some gossip? Tweet @amiranews

Where to buy a home in Barbados: see Page 8

GET

TY IM

AGES

EPA

REX

FEA

TUR

ES

REB

ECCA

REI

D


Homes & Property New homes homesandproperty.co.uk with

Population boom means housing Nine million people are set to call the capital home by 2019. David Spittles reports on the race to provide the 400,000 new homes and transport upgrades that will be needed

LONDON’S population jumped by more than 100,000 last year to a new postwar high, and at the current rate of increase the capital will grow

by the equivalent of an extra borough every three years, hitting a total of nine million people by 2019, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.

As a result the city needs a more extensive transport network for commuters, says London Mayor Boris Johnson, and 400,000 new homes over the next 10 years.

The popular suburbs are where the population is predicted to grow. After past flirtations with locating offices out of town, the mood is now for commerce to cluster in the centre of the capital, though this will inevitably put extra strain on the transport system. So Lon-don will not just have more people — predicted eventually to reach 10 million by 2030 — it will have more people trav-elling longer distances to work.

Private car use in London is falling, while journeys by Tube and bus are soaring. Once-quiet public transport routes are crammed, with 3.7 million people using the Tube each day. The Docklands Light Railway carries 100 million passengers a year, up from 66 million in 2008, while the recently completed East London line is already feeling the strain — though its capacity is being boosted by 25 per cent.

BEYOND CROSSRAILOf course, where railway lines go, homebuyers are sure to follow, with the inevitable effect on local property prices. Since the Overground came to Tube-starved Hackney, for instance, prices are up 25 per cent. Transport strategists are looking ahead for ways

to solve the commuter crush. They are looking beyond Crossrail — the east-west train link arriving in 2017 — to find efficient ways to integrate rail and Tube lines in the suburbs and outer London areas. And new transport routes equal new homes.

Transport for London is set to gain more control of suburban commuter routes currently run by rail operators. In 2015 TfL will take over the West Anglia rail franchise. This route runs from Liverpool Street through east London to Stansted airport and Cam-bridge, taking in Hertfordshire com-muter towns such as Bishop’s Stortford and Cheshunt.

Part of the deal involves upgrading 23 stations, one of which is Hackney Downs. While forlorn now compared with nearby Hackney Central, a shiny new Overground station surrounded by trendy bars and cafés, Hackney Downs is likely to be transformed.

Another Overground station is Hack-ney Wick, which enjoys a much higher profile since the 2012 Olympics. Previ-ously off the radar of homebuyers, the area is smartening up, with regenera-tion reversing decades of industrial decline. The cathedral-size church of St Mary of Eton is at the centre of an ambitious project bringing 25 new homes, including a spectacular triplex apartment in the listed tower. The church is being renovated and two new “wings” built either side.

Loft-style apartments with up to four bedrooms and patio-style terraces are being carved from a separate double-height mission hall, while a new vicar-age is being built alongside and a café created in the cobbled courtyard.

Called The Mission, the develop-ment looms over the roaring Eastway dual carriageway, but it is only a five-

minute walk to Hackney Wick station, while all the Stratford amenities are on the doorstep. This district has a bright future and artists priced out of high-rent Shoreditch are already settling. Completion is due next summer. Prices from £250,000. Call estate agent Fyfe Mcdade on 020 7613 4044.

GET IN THE ZONEOuter London is where families used to go but it is enormously varied in terms of wealth, ethnicity, education,

housing stock and culture. Home buyers have had a poor deal in the past from unimaginative building. The Mayor is calling for higher quality, more imaginative architecture and design for the suburbs. Buyers priced out of central and inner London are a ready audience for something special.

London has 19 outer boroughs — from Sutton in the south to Enfield in the north, from Havering in the east to Hillingdon in the west, created by

From £374,995: interior of a two-bedroom flat at low-rise London Square, Ruislip (0333 666 2636)

From £277,500: above, Kidbrooke Village flats have good transport links for commuters

From £250,000: for apartments at The Mission, Hackney Wick, below. Call 020 7613 4044

JER

EMY

SELW

YN

Saturday 9th November Sunday 10th November

Call us to book your appointment on 020 8569 7449 or visit us at

www.brentfordlockwest.co.uk


Homes & PropertyNew homeshomesandproperty.co.uk with

an extra borough every three years

railway expansion in the early 20th century. During the interwar years, the pioneering Metropolitan Railway built its own housing estates to the north-west of London in Buckinghamshire, Middlesex and Hertfordshire, and marketed the area as Metro-land, later famously celebrated by the poet John Betjeman.

Built on the site of an industrial estate, Stanmore Place is a welcome arrival in the style-starved north-west London suburbs. This 798-home

community is set in award-winning landscaped grounds which include a lake, cycle paths and play areas. There is also a gym, plus a car club and 24-hour concierge services.

Home buyers here can “shop” at the on-site interior design studio, and various fixtures, fittings, furnishings, fabric and colour choices are available. Prices from £401,500 for two-bedroom apartments. Call 020 8952 2853. Nearby Canons Park Tube station is in Zone 5 on the Jubilee line.

A NEW GARDEN SUBURBAt Kidbrooke station in SE3, a new transport interchange providing a 15-minute commute to London Bridge is part of a “new garden suburb” in the borough of Greenwich that will have 4,000 homes and 10,000 residents. The train service is run by Southeast-ern, another TfL takeover target.

Called Kidbrooke Village, the devel-opment is split into four attractively landscaped neighbourhoods and bor-ders Sutcliffe Park, which has a lake

and wetlands. Flats and townhouses with roof terraces overlook this green expanse. Properties are a step up for the area, with smart, space-efficient interiors that would not be out of place in trendy parts of Islington or Ber-mondsey. Prices from £277,500. Call Berkeley Homes on 020 8150 5151.

The Metropolitan Railway propelled Ruislip from sleepy medieval settle-ment to commuter suburb. Now in Hillingdon borough, the area feeds off the Heathrow commercial zone and

has five Tube stations to the West End and City.

Developers are bringing fresh ideas to an area dominated by interwar hous-ing. London Square has a scheme of 60 flats in low-rise blocks surrounding communal gardens. From £374,995. Call 0333 666 2636.

From £950,000: townhouses in Napier Square, West Acton, with patio gardens, roof terraces and garages. Call Berkeley Homes on 020 8811 2336


Homes & Property Commuting homesandproperty.co.uk with

Moving out? The handy way is EssexIn a new series on where to find a Help to Buy commuter home under £600,000, Ruth Bloomfield discovers this county has quick train links to London and is brimming with possible buys

southern leg of the annual V Festival, plus one of the biggest village greens in England, and Stock is a quintessen-tial English village with great pubs.

Children from these villages have access to Chelmsford’s top-performing state secondary schools, King Edward VI Grammar and Chelmsford County High. There are plenty of shops, bars and restaurants in town, plus first-rate sports facilities and Stansted airport 20 minutes’ drive away. If you want to live in town, the nicest part is Old Moul-sham, just south of the centre, where Regency and Edwardian houses sell for between £400,000 and £600,000.

SEASIDELEIGH-ON-SEALeigh-on-Sea has London’s nearest beach, and trains from this down-to-earth former fishing village take just 45 minutes to Liverpool Street. An annual season ticket costs £4,236.

Old Leigh is the prettiest part of town, speckled with fishing boats, and the area is earning itself something of a reputation as a 21st-century artists’ colony. The town has a small but sandy beach, a village-like feel, and a fun — as opposed to stuck-up — annual regatta, while Old Leigh, with its cobbled streets and clapboard cottages, has some lovely traditional pubs to explore. There are also plenty of seafood restaurants, or you can sample the day’s catch direct from the town’s cockle sheds.

There is also a good choice of schools: Leigh Infant School and West Leigh Junior School are rated outstanding by Ofsted, while Westcliff High School for Girls and Westcliff High School for Boys, half a mile away, also received top marks from the Government’s schools watchdog.

It is not hard to see why one recent survey anointed Leigh-On-Sea the UK’s second-best coastal location, after Christchurch in Dorset.

The average property price in the town is £258,415, up 5.82 per cent in the past year according to Zoopla. Value here is strong. Property ranges from fishermen’s cottages in the town centre, selling for between £200,000 and £300,000, to detached Twenties family homes on the popular Marine Estate from about £400,000.

FROM the fake-tan charms of Brentwood to the Quaker roots of Saffron Walden — and everything in between — the sheer variety of Essex means

there is something in this much-maligned county for everyone consider-ing a move out of London. With up to £600,000 to spend under the Govern-ment’s Help to Buy low-deposit scheme, there’s certainly plenty of choice.

MARKET TOWNSAFFRON WALDENThis medieval market town, with its strong Quaker influences, has old-fash-ioned allure in spades. Its wonky, timber-framed cottages are delectable, the march of the chain store has been largely repelled and there are traditional tea shops and pretty pubs aplenty.

You can be in the City in less than an hour, but there’s easy access to the countryside, too. There are independ-ent shops around Market Square and in King Street, and top-grade schools

include RA Butler Academy, St Thomas More Catholic Primary and Saffron Walden County High. Property ranges from Tudor onwards, and the average price is £334,229, up 2.28 per cent in the last year according to Zoopla. For £600,000 you could expect to buy a four- or even five-bedroom period house in the town centre.

The nearest station is Audley End, a couple of miles from the town centre, and you can be at London Liverpool Street in just under an hour. An annual season ticket is £3,728. On the down-side, there’s a lack of nightlife — although Cambridge is at hand — and an expanded Stansted airport could increase flightpath noise.

VILLAGE LIFEPLESHEY, STOCK, DANBURY AND WRITTLEChelmsford is a commuter favourite, with Liverpool Street about 40 minutes away by train and an annual season ticket costing £4,472. But smart buyers should forget the town and opt for one of the lovely local villages. In Pleshey, Stock, Danbury or Writtle you could buy a modern four-bedroom house from £500,000, or a similar-size detached period property from £600,000. If you are willing to travel a little further, Felsted, on the River Chelmer, has four-bedroom detached period cottages from £500,000-plus.

Pleshey was a best-kept village award finalist this year, Danbury residents can walk and ride on vast National Trust-run Danbury Common, Writtle residents have a front-row seat for the

ESH

om

esA

nd

Pro

per

ty

Find us on facebook

£575,000: three-bedroom Castle Cottage in Pump Lane, Pleshey

Visit homesand property.co.uk/pump

£595,000: a charming four-bedroom thatch with large gardens, just outside Saffron Walden in the village of Radwinter

Visit homes andproperty.co.uk/radwinter


Homes & PropertyAffordable homes

We’re off to Wem-ber-ley

Homes in new up-and-coming districts are within reach of young Londoners using Help to Buy, says David Spittles

DEPOSIT HURDLE IS BEHIND US AT LAST

FIRST-TIME buyers have to be more enterprising than ever in their search for an afford-able home. Help to Buy is fuelling the property market

and prices are rising faster than incomes. So despite mortgages being more plentiful, buyers are having to settle for cheaper locations — not always further out — and consider shared ownership as a way of getting on the ladder.

Housing associations are keeping the property dreams of young Londoners alive by launching affordable homes in up-and-coming areas such as Wembley, where a new 85-acre district is being built around the famous stadium.

WELL-CONNECTEDA more diverse range of amenities, previously a missing ingredient, is being added to the well-established sporting and concert venue. Brent council wants Wembley to become the focus of the borough, and has pinned its colours to the mast by relocating to a glistening new town hall at the site. And the capital’s first designer outlet with more than 80 shops has opened.

Stadium Reach is the latest apart-ment scheme to be unveiled. Two-bed-room flats cost £264,500, or £119,025 for a 45 per cent share, which requires a deposit of £5,591. Call Network Living on 0844 809 9148.

Served by four Tube lines — the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines — Wembley is one of the capital’s best-connected spots, offering

quick and convenient links to central London. It’s 26 minutes to Baker Street, for example. Wembley Central in the town centre, a regeneration zone half a mile from the stadium, is another new development. Sitting alongside and above Wembley Central train station are 155 apartments set around a public square. One-bedroom flats are priced from £235,000 and are available under

Help to Buy, requiring a deposit of £12,000. Call 0844 371 1301. This part of the Help to Buy scheme, which offers government-backed equity loans of up to 20 per cent when purchasing a new-build property from a participating developer, has been overshadowed by the wider-ranging second phase introduced last month. Nonetheless, developers continue to trumpet the

benefits of new homes and launch stylish apartments that qualify for Help to Buy equity loans.

Most people are likely to repay the loan when they sell the property. If the property has increased in value, the amount to be paid back to the Government will be proportionately higher.

Take, for example, someone buying a £300,000 flat with a £225,000 mort-gage, using five per cent savings and receiving a £60,000 equity loan. If the property sells for £340,000, the equity loan would have increased to £68,000. After paying off the mortgage and equity loan, the buyer would be left with £47,000, minus estate agency and other fees.

Buyers have to apply through par-ticipating housebuilders and HomeBuy agents. Visit homebuy.co.uk.

Help to Buy apartments are cheaper in the commuter belt. At Kings Park, Essex, prices start at £136,000, requir-ing a deposit of £8,500. Harold Wood, the local train station, is Oyster card territory, with a 33-minute train service to Liverpool Street station, and due to get a boost as it is on the Crossrail route opening in 2018. Call Countryside Properties on 01708 348578.

JOE KOSZULINSKI and Katie Merry, both 26, took advantage of the Help to Buy low-deposit scheme to land an apartment at The Filaments, a former gas mantle factory in Wandsworth town centre, where prices start at £350,000.

The couple, who have been renting in Putney, will take possession of their new home next month.

“We had almost given up hope of being able to buy because the deposit hurdle was just too high,” says Joe, who works for a West End advertising company. “Help to Buy made it possible.” Buyers need to raise a

deposit of at least five per cent of the value of the property and can borrow a further 20 per cent on an interest-free basis. The maximum equity loan available is £120,000. After five years, the loan ceases to be interest-free. It attracts interest of 1.75 per cent from year six, rising annually by RPI inflation plus one per cent.

You could also purchase from Weston Homes using Help to Buy. Its King’s Island development, a converted flour mill on the banks of the Grand Union Canal in Uxbridge, has two-bedroom flats from £272,995. Call 01895 232049.

First-time buyers: Katie Merry and Joe Koszulinski are moving to Wandsworth

From £119,025: for a 45 per cent share of a two-bedroom flat at Stadium Reach, the latest Wembley apartment scheme unveiled

JAM

ES E

MM

ETT/

SPA

DA

PR


Homes & Property Homes abroad homesandproperty.co.uk with

JUST picture it: sun, sea and security in a millionaires’ favoured playground. Owning a holiday home in sophisticated Barbados might be an indul-

gence but today it is also expected to pay its way. New buyers on the Caribbean island want easily manage-able homes with affordable running costs and good rental potential. In other words, they are demanding a cost-effective investment with an element of luxury — but without the outrageous costs.

“We are seeing more buyers who want an enjoyable holiday home where they can avoid too many of the spiral-ling operational costs,” says Terry Hanton of Altman Real Estate Group. “At all price points but especially at the more affordable end of the market, buyers who are happy with the pur-chase price are looking increasingly hard at the running costs.”

SOUTH-EASTERN BEAUTYThe Crane Resort on the island’s windy south-east coast, 10 minutes from the airport, is one of Barbados’s longest-established and best-loved hotels, and its half-mile, pink sand Crane Beach is a beauty. It is 40 minutes away from the upmarket west coast action but it is well-established with its own under-stated elegance, family atmosphere and many loyal fans.

The Crane operates as a 252-room hotel and also sells its one- to three-bedroom apartments, from one week a year for £8,000 to whole ownership from £351,200. The price includes full furnishings and all buying and selling costs.

The 40-acre site includes pools, tennis courts, gym, spa and four restaurants, plus a good selection of shops and full hotel concierge services. Apartments are generously sized, from 1,200 square feet, with terraces and colonial-style furniture.

This was the first resort in Barbados to introduce the concept of shared ownership and it prides itself on having the lowest annual fee of any compara-ble resort. Two thirds of apartments

are sold and there is an active resale market, with winter weeks particularly in demand. The average profit for all resales over the past six years has been 6.5 per cent, says sales manager Tristan Blades, while the rental pool has always covered all expenses for every week for every owner.

“We guarantee three per cent net rental return for three ears,” says Blades. “People buy here because they see it as good value — and more and more they want the turnkey aspect, a holiday home without hassles.”

EASTERN BEACH HOUSESThe Crane’s owner, Paul Doyle, intends to follow this success with his next project, the Beach Houses at Culpepper on the less-visited east coast.

Doyle owns 50 acres of land on this wilder Atlantic coast adjacent to a

national park and 10 minutes from The Crane, and has begun building 87 single-storey, studio to three-bedroom beach homes.

These modern homes have pale porcelain tiles, limed wood floors and wide walls of glass looking out to sea. The attractive, pared-back style is thoughtful with clever, self-contained lock-off studio units that allow rental returns to be maximised.

Shared ownership starts from £8,280 for one week per year in a 1,100sq ft studio, and from £22,380 in a two-bed-room, 3,000sq ft beach house with pool. Full ownership starts from £522,500.

The first homes are due to be com-pleted next year, and there are plans for a boutique hotel, spa, gym and two restaurants. A total of 75 buyers have already invested.

WEST COAST CLASSClose to multimillion-pound beach-front villas on the super-smart west coast, affordable apartments with built-in rental returns are proving popular with buyers. Beach View in St James close to Holetown is a new 36-unit condo hotel in three acres of grounds selling two- and three-bedroom fur-nished apartments from £308,600.

Owners must join the rental pool and can use their apartment for only three months of the year. There is an on-site property manager and the units will operate as a hotel.

Nearby one- to four-bedroom apart-ments with sea views at Lantana are priced from £179,340, while a pretty, three-bedroom townhouse at Heron Court, just minutes away from the beach, is priced at £340,130 — all avail-able through Altman.

SOUTH COAST VALUEThe south coast provides a livelier vibe and property prices almost half of those on the top-dollar west coast. St Lawrence Gap is loud and touristy but the mile-long street has a good choice of restaurants, nightlife and shops.

Ocean Two on Dover Beach is a smart four-star hotel with 72 one- and two-bedroom flats with communal pools, gym and a restaurant. If owners choose to put their flats into the rental pool, the properties must be available for nine months of the year. From £231,440 to £494,100, through Altman.

CONTACTSThe Crane and Culpepper Beach Houses: craneresorts.com (00 1 246 423 6220). Altman Real Estate: through Savills (savills.com; 020 7016 3740).

£342,980: a three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse at Mango Court, St James, on the west coast. Through Altman

From £522,500: for studios to three-bedroom homes at Beach Houses, next to a national park at Culpepper

From £8,000: for one week per year shared ownership at The Crane Resort, which has one- to three-bedroom apartments. Whole ownership starts at £351,200

A Caribbean dream you can afford

Barbados becomes a far more realistic proposition when holiday homes there can earn a regular rental income, says Cathy Hawker

Favourite spot: Crane Beach, perfectly positioned on Barbados’s south-east coast, is where the calm, turquoise seas of the Caribbean meet the lively Atlantic ocean

ALA

MY


Homes & Property Design homesandproperty.co.uk with

Will Hobhouse

By Katie Law

My deMy deMyMy deMyMy dedeedoLondooLonLondLonoondndodo

My design London

SHOPKEEPER

WILL HOBHOUSE, who took over as chairman at Heal’s in July last year, describes himself as

a shopkeeper. But he’s a shopkeeper on a rather grand scale with a colourful entrepreneurial history, having been involved with high street names such as Tie Rack, Le Pain Quotidien, Jack Wills and Whittard’s.

Now he is enjoying the challenge of restoring the vision of Ambrose Heal to the Tottenham Court Road department store. Here he tells us of his secret shop, where to buy the best mojito in town and why he covets a Barbara Hepworth sculpture.

WHERE I LIVE During the week we live in the heart of Soho. My wife Kate is chair of Fortnum & Mason and a trustee of the Garfield Weston charitable foundation, so we need to get everywhere easily, and we love Soho because we can walk or bike. The house is right next to every sort of café and restaurant and surrounded by life in all its forms. We share it with a random selection of our five children, aged 15 to 22, depending on who is around.

FAVOURITE COLOURS FOR THE HOMEWhite, white, white and off-white for the walls and neutrals for the furniture. Colour should come from cushions and rugs, which are blue, blue and blue — although indigo is the current favourite. Naturals are best for me as I love seeing the character and the grain of the timber on our wooden furniture. The same goes for the floor in my office, a leather floor from Bill Amberg.

FAVOURITE PIECE OF MEMORABILIAOur bathroom windowsill has shells, rocks and pieces of wood picked up from beaches and holidays around the world. My favourites are the grey pieces of wood gnawed by beavers in Algonquin Park in Canada, where we have big family holidays.

MOST COVETED DESIGN OBJECTA stone sculpture by Barbara Hepworth. I love the way she created such characterful, organic designs from stone just with a hammer and chisel. They’re so full of thought and skill.

BEST-KEPT SECRET SHOP Sigmar on King’s Road. It’s filled with wonderful vintage pieces of mid-century modern and Scandinavian furniture. The last thing I bought there was a beautiful Forties light fitting which we have hanging at home in the dining room. Their lighting range is inspiring.

MY FAVOURITE MUSEUM The British Museum. Its Ice Age art exhibition was extraordinary, with carvings and objects that could have come from a contemporary art show. The passion and depth of knowledge among the staff is also completely humbling.

Favourite restaurant: Villandry’s porridge and fruit is a hit For memories: a beaver-gnawed piece of wood from Canada

Coveted object: Barbara Hepworth’s 1959 work Head (Mykonos) Opus 87


Homes & PropertyDesignhomesandproperty.co.uk with

THE MOST INTERESTING NEW DESIGNERSimon Hasan, whose love of craft and British craft traditions manifests itself in a terrific use of mixed materials including wood, glass and leather. His work sits somewhere between art, craft and industrial design, and I hope we are going to be selling it at Heal’s soon.

SECRET ESCAPE Regent’s Park early in the morning. I like to run among the trees and smell the grass. On the weekends I escape to the river valley near our house in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire and go running with our four dogs.

MY FAVOURITE RESTAURANT I always have the porridge and stewed fruit at Villandry when I have breakfast meetings. I love the leather banquette seating and simple, elegant design at the front — and the way the atmosphere seems to change throughout the day.

MY VISION FOR HEAL’S We intend to restore Heal’s to its rightful place as being at the centre of British design and craft, and to follow Ambrose Heal’s vision for London homes and the place Heal’s has in them.

A PERFECT EVENING OUT IN LONDONI’d start with mojitos in the downstairs bar at Mark Hix — they are the best and it’s so glamorous — and then have dinner at Robin Birley’s club in Mayfair, 5 Hertford Street.

They have managed to find a great mix of modern and vintage design, furniture and art which sit very well together.

Top tipple: mojitos at the downstairs bar, far right, at Mark Hix’s restaurant

New designer to watch: Simon Hasan works with wood, glass and leather

Secret escape: an early morning visit to Regent’s Park just to smell the grass

NIC

K H

OLT


Homes & Property Architecture homesandproperty.co.uk with

When two became one in Clerkenwell

A warehouse bachelor pad was too small for married life, so the answer was to buy the flat downstairs and expand, says Philippa Stockley

TWENTY years ago, a young City worker, Andrew James, bought a Clerkenwel l warehouse shell, when Clerkenwell was not the

trendy, affluent, cultural hub it is today. “There were lots of old men in the pubs,” recalls Andrew, now in his forties.

His 800sq ft oblong bachelor pad, with a row of big industrial windows down one side, was fitted out in New-York warehouse style, all brick, and wooden floors, and split into three cube-shaped rooms. But by the time he met his Canadian wife, Flora, the couple wanted more space and a style upscale. They looked around town. “But we liked this building,” says Andrew. “So I said, ‘Why don’t we ask the neighbours?’ And the guy directly below was interested in selling.”

That piece of luck was in 2010. After a quick purchase, they set out to find an architect who could connect the two homes into one big duplex. “We just Googled,” Flora says simply, “and made a shortlist of three. One wanted to do it the Chelsea way, with marble. But another was Phil Coffey, on the upsurge before he won his awards — and he’s just round the corner.”

Their new architect was getting known for pared-back yet warm-feeling designs using light, glass, an elegantly restricted materials palette and svelte lines. From the outset there was a consensus between the three on the overall desired look. So Andrew and Flora were happy to take months get-ting every detail just so, before the build began. Honed black basalt floors and bathroom walls, full-height doors and bespoke white units and cup-boards throughout would unify the apartment. Plus a top-quality, seamless finish — everywhere.

But the big questions were, how to con-nect the two flats, and get the very best out of the double space in terms of lay-out, light — and storage, indispensible for a slick look. Those things were the essence of their brief to Coffey.

“We didn’t want it to look like two boxes slapped on top of each other,” Andrew says, “and I always had the

idea of a glass floor.” In the lower flat, which would have enclosed bedrooms, they needed a corridor running the length of the apartment. “But in this country, corridors tend to be dark.”

The solution was a long glass strip of floor/ceiling running the length of the corridor and over part of the staircase. The glass becomes an exciting part of the floor in the living area upstairs, allowing ample light down to the bot-tom half of the duplex. This glass insert

punches above its weight, unifying and illuminating the whole apartment Originally, Coffey wanted the glass to run on, right into the end guest bed-room, but this is where client and architect briefly diverged, for, to Andrew and Flora, the idea of people in the guest bedroom gazing straight up through glass at anyone in the kitchen above — or vice versa — didn’t seem quite right.

The stylish solution was to put a strip

Chic and functional: the Poggenpohl kitchen, complete with island, is equipped for the keenest of cooks but sits very happily in the open-plan upper floor

Do look down: the striking floor/ceiling glass strip, contrasting with black basalt, reveals a wall of white storage cupboards running the full height of both levels


Homes & PropertyArchitecturehomesandproperty.co.uk with

Our top tipsFlora: “If you have stone floors, always have underfloor heating.”Andrew: “Don’t let your architect rush you. We didn’t start building for almost 10 months, and it drove Phil nuts. And hold your architect to account on storage. You’ve got to bring practical living that suits you into the equation.”

Get the lookArchitect: Phil Coffey

(coffeyarchitects.com)Basalt floor: stonell.comBathroom basalt wall tiles:

norstone (norstoneuk.com) Joinery: AbbeyWood Projects

(abbeywoodprojects.co.uk)Metal cupboard D handles: d line

(dline.com)Kitchen: Poggenpohl.com Main contractor: 600Cell (600cell.

co.uk)Recessed stair light channels and

floor uplighters: Deltalight.comCorian bathroom washbasin:

NotOnlyWhite (notonlywhite.com/)Bisque Finn radiator: Bisque.co.ukEames plastic chairs: 1950, blue, by

Vitra (vitra.com)Eames Butterfly Stool: Vitra, as

aboveHarry Bertoia wide diamond chair:

(red, collector’s item)

of mirrored ceiling in the guest bedroom exactly where the glass might have run. This is clever, and also bounces light around, adding to the airy feel of the apartment. But there was almost a disaster: Andrew and Flora came in to find their otherwise brilliant builder preparing the entire bedroom ceiling for mirrors. The builders, Flora laughs, seemed relieved to be put straight. “But, in a very English way, they hadn’t wanted to say anything.”

While it took seven scale models to decide the layout, the strength of this ultra-chic home lies in its clear lines. On top of that, finish, detail, and thoughtfulness are everywhere. On both floors, the long, windowless back wall carries floor-to-ceiling cupboards with elegant matt metal handles, per-fectly colour-matched to the all-white, quartz-topped Poggenpohl kitchen. Since Flora loves to cook, the kitchen has everything you could desire, but sits very happily in the open-plan upper floor, functional yet benign.

Downstairs doors fold back flush into wall recesses, so that when open you don’t even notice them. And the light-ing, controlled in every room by a Lutron system, is so sophisticated that if you forget to hit the downstairs lights, you can do it from panels in every area upstairs, including the bathroom. Andrew says what really surprised him with the new-builds they looked at was that “they still had those flicky, on-off light switches — and we thought, ‘Oh, come on, guys.’”

Unified look throughout: bespoke white shelving and bedroom storage

Turned on: the duplex lights can be controlled from a panel in every area

Photographs: Timothy Soar


Alison Cork

Homes & Property Reader promotion homesandproperty.co.uk with

Bargain news

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.

THIS chaise chair from Zedhead Designs, finished in black and gold stripes, is made to order and comes either left- or right-arm facing.

It is usually priced at £340 but for a limited period only, Homes & Property readers can claim a 15 per cent discount, reducing the price to only £289. The chair measures W36in X H29in.

To claim your offer or to see the entire range, visit zedheaddesigns.com or call 07597 752386 and use code BGChair before November 20. Allow two to four weeks for delivery.

GET yourself over to the annual sale at Chelsea Textiles, taking place between November 13 and 16. Featuring a selection of hand-embroidered fabrics and bedcovers, this year will also see the launch of the company’s new range of Provence-inspired botanical cushions. Other items available with discounts of up to 80 per cent will include unique samples, handmade and hand-painted furniture, accessories and ready-to-hang curtains.

For more information, visit chelseatextiles.com or call 020 7584 5544. Visit the sale at Chelsea Old Town Hall, King’s Road, SW3. Open from 11am-7pm Wednesday, 9am-7pm Thursday/Friday and 10am-5pm Saturday.

NEWLY launched at Alison at Home is the Avignon French range of occasional chairs. Hand carved from sustainably sourced mango wood, both the carver armchairs (W55cm x D53cm x H100cm) and the chairs (W44cm x D53cm x H100cm) are upholstered in pale putty-coloured cotton. The carvers cost £215 and the chairs are £165.

To order, call 0800 011 4793 or visit alisonathome.com, for delivery in mid-December.

MAKE this a stylish Christmas with a visit to Occa-Home where you’ll find a selection of delightful seasonal decorations, tableware, gifts, cushions and throws.

The luxury e-tailor houses more than 150 of the world’s most desirable brands in furniture, lighting and homeware,

all perfect for creating a warm and inviting interior this winter.

Readers benefit from a 10 per cent discount on all products in the Christmas Collection.

To claim your offer, visit occa-home.co.uk/christmas or call 0844 879 4258 and use code CC10 before November 13.

Snap up fabulous fabrics in the sale

Sensational seasonal goodies Sitting so pretty

IF YOU’RE looking for a modern flueless fireplace, look no further. The Ulysses Flame II freestanding bioethanol glass fire from Bio Fires has a built-in fragrance diffuser that will create the sense of a real log fire. Usually priced at £295, readers benefit from a £125 discount reducing the price to just £170.

The first 50 readers to order will also get a free bottle of fragrance — Blazing Wood Fire Aura Oil. Visit biofires.com or call 020 7724 1919 before November 13 to claim your offer, using code ES-5-11. While stocks last. Delivery included.

A cosy, freestanding fireplace to transform your room

Choose a chaise that oozes style


Five things to see in NovemberBy Barbara Chandler

1 2

Homes & PropertyEventshomesandproperty.co.uk with

1 HANDMADE IN BRITAIN 13 Friday to Sunday, Chelsea Old Town Hall, King’s Road, SW3 (handmade inbritain.co.uk; 020 7286 5110).GET ahead for Christmas at this modern art and crafts fair. Buy from more than 100 designer-makers, commission a bespoke piece for your home or a special gift, and see a new graduate showcase. Meet a group of ceramicists, textile and glass artists, plus wood, leather and metal workers, including silversmiths, along with fashion designers (scarves, gloves, hats, socks, jewellery and more). Tickets: £7, £5 concessions. Show this paper for two-for-one entry.

2 CELEBRATION OF ARCHIVENow until November 15 at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, SW10. Free entry (dcch.co.uk; 020 7225 9166).ARCHIVES are the bedrock of many upmarket fabric/wallpaper firms, and this free event shows them off in seven strikingly original settings. For example, design studio Carden Cunietti is doing a retro bar, above, and Christopher Moore (thetoileman.com) has used a fabric showing King George III with his many children, in dark sepia on linen. It is essential to book for curated tours tomorrow at 11.30am and 2pm — call 020 352 1900. Mercedes courtesy cars connect with Olympia.

3 WINTER FINE ART AND ANTIQUES FAIRNow until Sunday at Olympia, Hammersmith Road, W14 (olympia-antiques.com). SEE Agatha Christie’s silver and Humphrey Bogart’s drinking glasses, plus works by Archibald Knox and Sir Thomas Lawrence at this famous fair, which draws 22,000-plus visitors to view pieces from 110 top British dealers. Tickets: £13 in advance, £15 on the door. Reader offer: for two for one tickets, show this paper and quote code ES2013. Asian Art in London has the same dates. Check asianartinlondon.com for work-shops, lectures and demos.

4 FLUNG: THE UP-SIDE OF DOWNNow until the end of the month at Sketch, 10 Conduit Street, W1 (020 7659 4500; sketch.uk.com).ABANDON shopping and pop into this design-led eaterie for a coffee and surreal “disruptive design”, with five installations from four cutting-edge European designers who literally turned the tables and added dripping vases and sensational suspended chairs. It’s curated by the enterprising gallery 19 Greek Street, W1 (19Greekstreet.com) — pop round there for more avant-garde ideas. Also see the restaurant’s room by Turner Prize winner Martin Creed, and visit the famous pod loos.

5 SELVEDGE WINTER FAIRNovember 29-30 at Chelsea Old Town Hall, King’s Road, SW3 (selvedge.org).Selvedge is a popular bi-monthly specialist magazine, with an international fanbase. Its fairs mix textiles and high-quality craft from designer-makers and entrepreneurs, selling from more than 100 stands.

Find handmade yarns, fabrics by the metre, craft kits, dressed dolls, bunting, vintage linens, Welsh blankets, rugs, antique sari quilts, embroidered napkins, appliquéd cushions, jewellery, handbags and much more.

A pop-up café serves delicious food, too.

3 4 5

JAM

IE M

CGR

EGO

R S

MIT

H


Homes & Property Interiors homesandpropertyhomesandproperty

High lightsWarm and welcoming or sleek and functional — light makes a style statement, says Barbara Chandler

LONDON’S big style story this autumn is “statement” lighting — fabulous fittings in stand-out materials, shapes and colours that radiate

design before you even turn them on. “Whether it’s artisan and hand-crafted, a design classic or contemporary and cutting-edge, lighting is now a focal point, off and on,” says Lucio Longoni, buyer for Heal’s stunning new lighting department on Tottenham Court Road, W1.

Even Guggenheim Bilbao architect Frank Gehry is in on the act with an exhibition of fish lights.

When lights burst into life, glowing, shimmering and sparkling — they create a magical transformation you simply don’t get with any other product.

A new wave of British designers — from glass blowers and metalworkers to woodworkers and ceramicists — are crafting individual lights, while medium-size design outfits can use workshops and factories for batch production.

WHERE TO SEEK THE LIGHTVisit the studio, shop and restaurant of Tom Dixon, renowned king of copper, at 344 Ladbroke Grove, W10 (tomdixon.net), discover Lee Broom cut crystal lighting at 95 Rivington Street, EC2, or drop into the Oxo Tower on the South Bank, SE1, to find Innermost (innermost.net). For Italian wit call in at Alessi, 22 Brook Street, W1.

Meanwhile, the humble lamp shade has been raised to an art form — witness the striking abstracts of graphics studio Parris Wakefield (parriswakefieldadditions.com).

GRAND STYLE, MODEST BUDGETBig stores do budget style brilliantly. Look for industrial aluminium and even concrete, plus burnished copper and bronze, or try the craft look with rattan, string and crochet. Replace a jaded pendant with a glittering chandelier. Bulbs are big and sometimes exposed in wire frames, with chunky, coloured flexes and a co-ordinating ceiling rose for pendants. Bhs is worth a foray into W1. B&Q has a flagship store at New Malden in Surrey (020 8336 3500),

and its professional Homefit lighting installation service costs from £69 (diy.com). Ikea pinches pennies with panache — how about large (45cm) coloured paper globes for just £4? Habitat is über-stylish (SW3, W1, and NW3), with lighting bars at Mini Habitats in many Homebase stores.

MODERN CLASSICSSpecialists abound. Try Geoffrey Harris, SW11, and Mr Light, SW10, while Best & Lloyd and Christopher Wray are on and near King’s Road, Chelsea, and Hector Finch is round the corner on Wandsworth Bridge Road.

Today’s design classics are from the Thirties onwards. A shining example is Italian Achille Castiglioni’s Arco lamp, first brought to Britain in 1964 by Zeev Aram in a little modernist outpost on King’s Road. Still a staple at Aram’s huge store in WC2 today, it is endlessly copied.

For Scandinavian classics such as the Artichoke with 72 metal “leaves” by Poul Henningsen — c1930 in glass and 1958 in metal — go to Skandium in Brompton or Marylebone (skandium.com). Also visit the great Italian design pioneers of Flos, sharing a showroom with Moroso at 7-15 Rosebery Avenue, EC1, and Artemide at 106 Great Russell Street, WC1. And don’t forget our own inimitable Anglepoise, (anglepoise.com), updated with LEDs.

HOW TO DESIGN WITH LIGHTFollow the rule of three. First, have general light to move around by —switched on either at, or near, the door to the room. Use dimmers to soften the mood when required.

Secondly, add task lights for doing things by: everything from reading the newspaper to preparing vegetables is better with a decent light.

Third come the highlights, for a picture, for example, or for an architectural detail in your home.

Sally Storey is London’s light queen at John Cullen on King’s Road (020 7371 9000). Plug in lights for instant updates, she advises: “Install an uplighter in a dark corner, or under a staircase, or shine it through a fern to cast shadows. Or add a dedicated reading light.”

Clamp lights to shelves, and lay glowing spheres on the floor.

DOWN WITH DIMDo a “light bulb audit”, Storey says. Bin those dim compact fluorescents or poor-quality LEDs, so cold, flat and depressing. “Buy quality LED bulbs with a colour temperature of at least 2700K and a colour rendition index (CRI) of at least 95. Light candles and light the fire for extra light layers.” Vintage-style “squirrel” bulbs have clusters of super-warm carbon filaments inside blown glass shapes. From £6 to £35 at branches of Ryness.

“Choose lights that can be moved, adjusted or angled,” adds Peter Bowles, founder of Original BTC at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, SW10 (020 7351 2130). “Then you can improvise with ease.” And consider materials: “Bone china glows, prismatic glass intensely sparkles, whilst metals contain the light and add an industrial flavour.” He’s just launched the Beadlight — utility meets luxury with top-quality LEDs embedded in flexible, leather-covered arms.

Clockwise from top left: King Edison Lamp by Mineheart, £480 (mineheart store.com); pendant light clusters from Bhs (bhs.co.uk), from £130; Prunis Round Lamp, £1,674.60 and matching shade in hand-embroidered silk, £750, from Fromental (020 3410 2000); MMG table lamp, £320 at Mini Moderns (minimoderns.com and at East London Design Store, 6a Ada Street E8, 020 7254 3760); Squint Limited small table lamp for Heal’s, £500 (heals.co.uk)


y.co.uk with Homes & PropertyInteriorsy.co.uk with

Original: BTC Cosmo pendant lamps in bone china, £209 (originalbtc.com)

Pair: Ollamp pendant lamp and pot, by DeGross, £100-£120, for Heal’s (as before)

Shoal: see architect Frank Gehry’s latest fish-sculpture lamps at the Gagosian Gallery, W1, from tomorrow (gagosian.com)

Clockwise from right: Morup pendant shades, £4 each, from Ikea (ikea.com); Yellow Orbit Lamp Sculpture by designer Amy Holloway, £280, available from The Longest Stay (thelongeststay.com); bird lamp from the I Love Animals range by Pier Paolo Pitacco, £129, from Alessi (alessi.com); Zaira table lamp, £34.98, available from B&Q (as before)

For close work: Torno extendable desk lamp, £24.98, available at B&Q (diy.com; 0845 850 0175)

Above: Raft furniture shops excel at plug-in lamps with clean lines. From left to right are the Belledonne floor lamp, £355; Somme table lamp, £175; Punched Iron lamp, £116, and Taurion floor lamp, £289. Find London shops at raftfurniture.co.uk or call 020 8450 5078

JOSH

WH

ITE/

JW P

ICTU

RES

.CO

M


Homes & Property Our home homesandproperty.co.uk with

The woman who went out to buy a Porsche and came home with a flatWhen kids came along Kirstin Contraoudas and her husband didn’t want to move. It just took lateral thinking, says Luke Tebbut

Photographs:: ANDREAS MIKKEL

KIRSTIN CONTRAOUDAS wanted a Porsche. It was top of her wish list when she arrived in London in 1999. “My dream was to own an

old 356, like the one in Top Gun, so I went to a showroom and on the street I saw a sign, ‘Lofts for sale’,” she says. “So I bought the flat instead.”

Born in Germany, raised in Trinidad, educated in America, Kirstin had no idea how anchored her life would become. Fast-forward 14 years and both life and the flat — in a former laboratory building in west London converted into apartments in the late Nineties — are unrecognisable. Gone is the interior from her bachelor girl days, when she had a billiard table custom-ised as a dining table and an aquarium in the wall. The only thing that remains is the soaring, double-height living space, nearly five metres tall.

The big change started when she met her husband, Haris. “I’m German, he’s Greek and he works for a French bank,

Lateral thinker: Kirstin Contraoudas extended the family flat sideways

The living room: Kirstin and Haris created a 40ft living/dining/kitchen area by knocking into the flat next door. “It was a little painful, for my half at least, because I’d only done it up 10 years earlier. I had to look away,” says Kirstin.

Get the look: Flexform’s grey Victor sofa is available at Interdesign. The cushions are from The Conran

Shop. The black LC2 sofa is by Cassina. The Wassily chairs by Marcel Breuer for Knoll are available at Chaplins. Marc Sadler’s Twiggy floor lamp for Foscarini is available at The Conran Shop. The coffee table is custom-made with a concrete top by Paul Davies Design. For a similar table, try Interni. For patchwork kilim rugs, try Unique Rugs.

also keeps an Advent wreath with a candle for each Sunday in December, which they light with afternoon tea and German treats. “Germans have a lot of traditions and food is very important in our family,” she says. “I have a huge cookbook collection.”

One of the best things about their home is the ready-made community of other loft-living mothers and children. “The whole building grew up at the same time, so we can have play dates without leaving home,” says Kirstin. “I made a best friend and she is now Aris’s godmother.”

See more of Dominikus Stark’s work at dominikusstark.de. For details of Dinesen flooring, visit dinesen.com

so you can imagine the jokes we get,” says Kirstin, who at the time was a project manager for residential refurbishments.

Haris moved in, Kirstin became preg-nant with their son Aris (now joined by brother Alexandros) and the studio flat felt small. Rather than move on, Kirstin and Haris, who love open-plan living, decided to think laterally and look into the possibility of knocking through to the apartment next door. “The manag-ing agent wouldn’t give me the owner’s name, but I managed to charm it off the guys at the front desk.” It turned out he was in Canada and Kirstin found him online in Canada’s White Pages and called. “I think he was shocked, but he said, ‘I’m a businessman. Make me an offer.’” Which they did — and a price was agreed.

With the deal sealed, the couple hired German architect Dominikus Stark to help them re-imagine the space. The job took nine months. The flats were completely gutted, the interior was rebuilt, and they had a home nearly twice as big, with a living/dining/kitchen space that stretches nearly 40ft wide, flanked on either side by separate zones for child space, and parents. All the walls are white and the floors are super-size planks of Dinesen Douglas fir. “I really wanted a living, breathing natural material in the space, to give it character,” says Kirstin.

An olive tree — which marks the line that once separated the old flats — gets swapped each December for a 10ft Christmas fir. “We hoist it up on to the balcony with a rope every year, at the start of the month,” says Kirstin, who

The kitchen: “We love to cook,” says Kirstin. “And it’s great having the island. When Haris comes home or friends visit, we can cook and talk together. It’s very social.”

Get the look: the kitchen worktop is by GetaCore. Try John Porter Worktops for similar. Appliances from Miele and Gaggenau.

The master bedroom: Kirstin and Haris’s double-height bedroom overlooks the Thames and has the mezzanine bathroom above it, sealed off behind soundproof glass. A collection of framed family photos decorates the wall.

Get the look: the bed is custom-made with fabric from Sahco. The bed linen is by Peter Reed. The LC4 lounge chair by Le Corbusier/Jeanneret/Perriand for Cassina is available at Aram Store. The BL6 wall light is by Bestlite from Gubi. The photo frames are from Ikea. The curtains are custom-made with Brian Yates fabric. The flooring is Dinesen Douglas fir.

Styling: CPHNEST

The full version of this article appears in the December issue of Livingetc, out now


buy itBuy it: garden gear

Pattie Barron

Go up on the roof to get a natural highFrom penthouse terraces to the 40th floor of a Barbican tower, one designer is king of the high-rise London garden

SPORTSWEAR technology is applied to a new range of garden clothes from Genus designed to move with you when you bend, stretch, kneel or sit — and keep you comfortable whatever the weather. The lightweight, stain-resistant trousers are showerproof, with knee and seat protection, plus pockets. The jersey, in duck egg blue or orange, has extra-long sleeves and thumb loops for wrist protection, and a scooped hem to keep the back warm and covered. A windproof gilet has a fleece lining and front and back pockets. The range comes in men’s and women’s sizes. Prices start at £49 for the jersey, but quote code HP2013 when ordering at genus.gs or on 01285 740004 by midnight on December 3 and get 20 per cent off all the range.

Homes & PropertyOutdoorshomesandproperty.co.uk with

MEET Amir Schlezinger, t h e m a n w i t h t h e monopoly on designing London’s most beautiful roof gardens. Over the

past decade he has created more than 100 high-rise outdoor spaces that not only perch on some of the city’s most exciting new developments, but also complement its ever-expanding skyline.

“First and foremost is to work with the view, framing the landscape,” believes Israeli-born Schlezinger, who framed the view of nearby St Paul’s Cathedral from a penthouse terrace in the City by craning in a ginkgo biloba

this summer, at a cost of £18,000, to create the ideal low-maintenance solu-tion, first replacing impractical white pavers with hardwood balau laid across the width, to both visually widen the space and easily follow the curve. A small floor area of glamorous black granite crystal defines the suntrap at one end and is divided from the deck-ing by an LED strip that lights up at night. “The granite is very expensive,” says Schlezinger, “but as it is for such a small area, it’s a no-brainer.”

As he does in all his projects, Schlez-inger designed the containers to suit the space: in varying shades of grey, powder-coated steel planters have hollowed centres that are dramatically illuminated at night. One large, round, white con-

tainer, designed to echo the white Saarinen Tulip table visible through the windows, is a garden in itself. With built-in irrigation and drainage, a ring of light-ing around the base, and conveniently set on castors, it houses a trio of red-barked birch trees, mulched with perfect white Japanese pebbles. “Attention to detail, is paramount in a confined gar-den space because the eye scans every-thing close-up,” says Schlezinger.

The foliage in the planters is ever-green and weatherproof, maximising on contrasts of shape and texture, so that bushy, fragrant thymes are inter-spersed with the rounded leaves of bergenia and spiky bronze carex grasses as well as hart’s tongue ferns. At the suntrap end of the terrace, a

line-up of fragrant lavender Twickel Purple will soon form a low hedge; at the other end, a trough of boldly striped Phormium cookianum Cream Delight and elephant-eared Bergenia Dumbo makes a striking full stop.

However, it is at night, when the four lighting zones flick on automatically, that the terrace looks its most dynamic, a fitting match for the vibrant, ever-changing city landscape it overlooks.

See Amir Schlezinger’s website, mylandscapes.co.uk, for more contemporary gardens and roof terraces

Weatherproof: new Genus garden wear keeps you comfortable and cosy

Sparkling detail: the far corner of the terrace is defined by an area of black granite crystal, edged with an LED strip

To boldly grow: elephant-eared Bergenia and variegated Phormium make dramatic partners in a customised planter

High impact: strong, simple lines rule in Amir Schlezinger’s rooftop designs

CLIV

E N

ICH

OLS

GA

RD

EN P

ICTU

RES

CLIV

E N

ICH

OLS

GA

RD

EN P

ICTU

RES

CLIV

E N

ICH

OLS

GA

RD

EN P

ICTU

RES

tree, laid the boards of a hardwood deck on Grosvenor Waterside’s roof garden to follow the line of Chelsea Bridge and, on a series of roof terraces at Tempus Wharf, installed customised “wave” planters to emulate the Thames beneath. On the 40th-floor roof terrace of Barbican’s Cromwell Tower, concrete blocks hampered the view, so Schlezinger designed a movable plat-form as a podium to facilitate gazing at the Gherkin and other landmarks.

If there isn’t a fabulous view, he might create an eye-distracting jungle of plants, or even borrow the neighbour-ing trees, focusing the lighting on those to create an eye-boggling vista at night. And if he’s designing a roof garden on the lower terrace of a duplex, he might

plant a tree so that, over time, the leafy canopy will provide a green view at both levels. “Because of new technology, modern terraces can look like real gardens, with raised beds, real grass and trees,” says Schlezinger. Proof positive is the four-hole putting green of grass — albeit artificial — and sleek waterfall to distract from city hubbub, on a pri-vate Battersea penthouse roof garden.

The lawyer on the sixth floor of Clerk-enwell’s imposing Ziggurat Building had simpler needs for the small, slim terrace that curved around the living area of his new apartment. He wanted an outdoor space that looked terrific all year round from both indoors and out, yet needed little upkeep. It took Schlezinger and his team three weeks


A £500 million regeneration scheme for London’s Jurassic ParkIt doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that this vibrant south-east London area, full of affordable homes, is rising again, says Anthea Masey

SpotlightCrystal Palace

Green space: Thicket Road from Crystal Palace Park. Many of the large Victorian mansions in streets around the park have been converted into highly prized flats

Retro heaven: shop assistant Shelley models some of the vintage wear at the Bambino emporium in Church Road

Born again: a new exhibition centre, recreating the Crystal Palace, is to be part of a £500 million regeneration scheme

MAYOR Boris Johnson descended on the lively south-east London suburb of Crystal Palace last month to announce

Chinese funding for a “new” Crystal Palace to be built on the site of the original Victorian building that housed The Great Exhibition in 1851.

The Shanghai-based ZhongRong investment group plans a giant glass-house the size of five football pitches and six storeys high, likely to house a hotel plus conference and exhibition centres. It could also pave the way for the much-needed restoration of neigh-bouring Crystal Palace Park.

The Joseph Paxton-designed palace, which was moved to the area in 1854 after the exhibition in Hyde Park, became the world’s first “theme park” and hosted 20 FA Cup finals. But it burned down in 1936. While today’s local residents are delighted by news of the reconstruction, right now they would like someone to sort out the traffic that blights the “Crystal Palace Triangle”, the town-centre trio of streets where recent regeneration has been most obvious since the London Over-ground line arrived.

Community groups saw off earlier unsympathetic plans for the palace

site, and there is much excitement about the likely reopening of a beauti-fully tiled subway — the only part of the building to survive the flames.

Until it adopted the name of its land-mark building, Crystal Palace was known as Upper Norwood. High up on a hill it has some of the best views in London northwards to the City and south over open countryside to the North Downs. The area has suffered from being located at the boundary of five boroughs — Bromley, Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Croydon — but this has given the town an independ-ent spirit that has kept high street chains away while allowing quirky pubs, res-taurants and shops to flourish.

WHAT THERE IS TO BUYCrystal Palace developed from the mid-19th century with the arrival of the two stations and rail companies bring-ing tourists to the area. Many of the large Victorian mansions around the park have been converted into highly prized flats but large Victorian houses remain in family ownership in the Fox Hill con-servation area between the town centre and Crystal Palace station. Estate agent Tyrone Eneh of the local Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward branch calls Crystal Palace a multicultural village with

boutiques, bars and restaurants that for a long time was overlooked but is now increasingly sought after.

The most expensive home currently for sale in SE19, the Crystal Palace post-code, is in Beulah Hill. The seven-bed-room detached early Victorian house with a separate coach house is on the market with KFH for £2.25 million. In the Fox Hill conservation area two-bedroom Victorian cottages start at about £500,000 and four-bedroom houses start at about £800,000. The area attracts: Tyrone Eneh says it’s a happy hunting ground for first-time buyers with one-bedroom flats starting at about £220,000. Since the

arrival of the East London line in 2010, the area has become popular with young professionals and couples work-ing in the Canary Wharf banks. Staying power: the search for good state secondary schools drives some families out to the home counties.The best roads: in the Fox Hill conser-vation area these are Fox Hill itself, Belvedere Road, Tudor Road and Cintra Park — they are also an easy walk from the station. To the north, Crystal Palace Park Road has magnificent houses turned into roomy flats. Shops and restaurants: the Triangle of roads in the town centre — Westow Hill, Westow Street and Church Road

— has a good selection of independent shops and restaurants as well as a large Sainsbury’s. Worth looking out for are: The Milkhouse Candle Co; Simon Carter, a small menswear chain with other branches in Mayfair, Bloomsbury, Wendover and Ilkley; Blackbird Bak-ery; the Crow on the Hill bookshop, and the Living Water Satisfies café.

Also try Good Taste for cheese and wine; Numidie, a French-Algerian wine bar and bistro; long-standing local res-taurant Joanna’s; The Exhibition Rooms restaurant and cocktail bar, for modern British food, and traditional Italian res-taurant Lorenzo’s. Newcomer The Crystal Palace Market is an all-day

Homes & Property Property searching homesandproperty.co.uk with


CHECK THE STATS

The best schools

The latest housing developments

The Crystal Palace renting scene

How this area compares with the rest of the UK on property prices

Smart maps to plot your property search

GO ONLINE FOR MORE

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

NEXT WEEK: Walthamstow. Do you live there? Tells us what you think about it @HomesProperty

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGEThis is Joseph Paxton, who designed the Crystal Palace. But which other great Victorian built the palace’s famous water towers?Find the answer at homesandproperty.

co.uk/spotlightcrystalpalace.

■WHAT HOMES COSTBUYING IN CRYSTAL PALACE (Average prices) One-bedroom flat £202,000Two-bedroom flat £276,000Two-bedroom house £370,000Three-bedroom house £478,000Four-bedroom house £677,000

Source: Zoopla.co.uk

RENTING IN CRYSTAL PALACE (Average rates)

One-bedroom flat £905 a monthTwo-bedroom flat £1,179 a monthTwo-bedroom house £1,349 a monthThree-bedroom house £1,635 a monthFour-bedroom house £1,910 a month

Source: Zoopla.co.uk

£299,950A TWO-BEDROOM flat in a Victorian conversion on Whiteley Road with a garden and a garage and close to transport links. Through KFH.

Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/whiteley

£459,950THIS three-bedroom detached house in Beulah Hill features a big kitchen/diner and a garage. Through Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward.

Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/beulah

£469,950A SPLIT-LEVEL maisonette with three bedrooms close to Crystal Palace Park and a range of shops, bars and restaurants. Through Foxtons.

Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/gipsy

£634,950THIS four-storey Victorian end-of-terrace house in Woodland Hill has three bedrooms, period features and large rear garden Through KFH.

Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/woodland

To find a home in Crystal Palace, visit:homesandproperty.co.uk/crystalpalace

High ground: Crystal Palace has great views north to the City, above, and south across open countryside

brasserie that is opening a butchers and fishmongers soon. Church Street is full of “curiosity” shops and at the antiques market in nearby Jasper Road, many people make a beeline for top mid-century furniture dealer Designs of Modernity in the basement.

Vintage Hart sells vintage clothes from Thursday to Sunday at the White Hart pub and there is an antiques and vintage market in Haynes Lane, with an outside Saturday food market. The Secret Garden is a well-stocked garden centre behind Sainsbury’s by Westow Park, and of the growing number of gastropubs, The Sparrowhawk in Westow Hill is among the best.

Open space: listed, 200-acre Crystal Palace Park was created when the palace moved from Hyde Park. It has many much-loved features such as lifesize model dinosaurs, a children’s zoo, a fishing lake and a café.

LEISURE AND THE ARTSThe National Sports Centre in Crystal Palace Park offers a host of sporting facilities including a 50-metre pool. The fourth annual Crystal Palace Inter-national Film Festival finishes on Sat-urday with a comedy night hosted by local resident, comedian Mark Steel. And there is live jazz every Sunday at The Grape & Grain pub.

Travel: Crystal Palace station is on the East London Overground line and the journey to Canary Wharf, changing at Canada Water, takes about 22 minutes. Trains to London Bridge and Victoria take about 26 minutes. The station is in Zone 3 and an annual railcard costs £1,424. The No 3 bus connects Crystal Palace with the West End, terminating at Oxford Circus. Council: Tory-run Bromley has Band D council tax this year of £1,313.08; Lambeth (Labour-run) is charging £1,228.29; Southwark (Labour-control-led) is charging £1,215.14; Tory-run Croydon’s charge is £1,474.39, and in Labour-run Lewisham it’s £1,363.35.

Monster draw: created in the 1850s for Crystal Palace Park, where they remain on display today, these dinosaur sculptures were the first in the world and count as Grade I-listed buildings

Independent shops: Crystal Palace Parade, two minutes from the train station and handy for good local pubs and restaurants

Photographs:: Graham Hussey

Homes & PropertyProperty searchinghomesandproperty.co.uk with

amp is a serious problem affecting thousands of UK homes. It stains walls, rots woodwork, spreads mould, causes paint to blister and

wallpaper to peel off. Damp looks unattractive and smells musty. It also poses a potentially serious health risk – particularly for people with rheumatism, asthma and other respiratory conditions.

into peoples’ hearts as they often worry about the mess of re-plastering and the disruption that usually comes with a new damp proof course. Traditional damp proofing used to be the only choice, but this is no longer the case and you do not need to fear damp proofing any longer. We offer a no mess, no fuss method, that removes excess moisture, once and for all.

Not only is it environmentally friendly, convenient and simple, it is also suitable for almost all buildings. Unlike traditional damp proofing there is no need to move furniture or go to the expense or inconvenience of re-plastering and redecorating. In fact it is installed from the outside of the external walls so there’s no need to even move furniture inside your home and the way it works is also completely different”.

The principle is simple: remove the moisture and you get rid of the problems caused by damp. Schrijver does this by installing a serious of small handmade elements into the external face of the wall. Moisture

is drawn out of the wall into these elements and then carried into the air outside by natural ventila-tion. There are no chemicals, no need to replaster or redecorate and no mess – just a permanent solution to the problems caused by damp.

The Schrijver System can be installed in brick, stone, cob and breeze-block walls as well as solid brick and cavity walls. It is suitable for both new-build and period properties, and even buildings of special architectural significance, inlcuding wind-mills, castles and churches. Since 1976, the system has been successfully installed in more than 30,000 homes across Europe.

The Schrijver System was developed in the Netherlands, where 60 per cent of the population lives below sea level. No wonder the Dutch lead the world when it comes to damp control. In most cases the system takes no more than two days to install, and all the work will be carried out externally by one of our own teams of engineers. Schrijver does not employ subcontractors.

We know our system really works – providing a permanent solution to the problems caused by damp. That’s why, unlike conventional damp proof treat-ments, Schrijver offers a lifetime guarantee.

“I am delighted with the Schrijver System. It was incredibly painless to have it installed, no mess, no hassle and people arrived on time. But the most important thing is that it really works and to be free from damp is absolutely wonderful.”

Mrs B from Wattisfield

“We are very happy that we found a much better and green alterna-tive in your special bricks – not only do they look good on the outside of the property, but they work like a dream. Thank you.”

Mrs L from London


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

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

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

Can I cross this remortgaging minefield?

QI’M TRYING to remortgage but the valuer is insisting on a letter from my local council confirming that

my flat is residential and not live/work. I have contacted the council but had no reply. My solicitor says I must call them but maintains the flat is residential. However, the valuer won’t accept his word.

Can you please help me identify the quickest way to verify whether a property is residential or live/work?

AYOUR flat is likely to be leasehold and your lease should confirm whether the property is to be used for live/

work or purely residential purposes.Your solicitors have assured you

that the flat is definitely residential. It is unclear if these solicitors acted for you when you first bought the flat or whether they act for you on your remortgage, but in any event their comment suggests they have your original lease, or a copy. Either ask them to release the original to you or ask for a copy. Once you receive this

read it carefully. There is likely to be a schedule towards the end which will list various restrictive covenants and other obligations by which you, as the lessee, will be bound. Look for a covenant requiring the flat to be used for residential purposes or alternatively for living and working. You or your solicitors should provide the valuer with a copy of the lease confirming the position.

Remember that the terms of the original lease could have been

changed by a deed of variation — for example, changing use from live/work to residential. Any such deed of variation should be noted on the register of title, so obtain an office copy of the register of your leasehold title from the Land Registry.

Finally, obtain from your local planning department a copy of the planning consent for the building. Conditions in the consent should state whether the flats in the building are for live/work or residential use.

Q I AM buying a mews house newly converted from stables. I am getting a mortgage but my solicitor says the seller must produce either a Professional Consultant Certificate or a

building warranty to keep the lender happy. The estate agent says none of this is necessary because the house is a conversion rather than a new build. The seller can’t provide these documents, though building regulation issues have been resolved and a completion certificate has been issued. What should I do?

A WHILE not a new build, the house is a new conversion which has never been occupied. If your solicitor cannot persuade your lender to proceed without a certificate or warranty, the

seller should be asked to obtain, at their own expense, a retrospective building warranty, sometimes known as a completed house building warranty policy. The cost is likely to run into several thousands of pounds.

Some solicitors are unaware that retrospective warran-ties are available, so your solicitor may have to help the seller’s solicitor in this regard, and the warranty provider will have to be acceptable to your lender.

The warranty provider will give a quote and the seller must pay them the appropriate fee, after which a site audit/inspection will be carried out. If the surveyor is satisfied with the build quality a policy can be issued, provided the seller meets the cost of the premium. The property will then be mortgagable and you can proceed with the purchase.

Fiona McNultyOUR LAWYER ANSWERSYOUR QUESTIONS

Homes & Property Ask an expert homesandproperty.co.uk with


MONDAYIt’s a few weeks since I completed my half marathon. The experience was hugely rewarding, raising £4,160 for Great Ormond Street children’s hospi-tal, beating my target of £1,500 and reminding me how privileged I am to live and work in such an amazing city.

I arrive at work today, my eyes still watering from the high figures we achieved last week. Property price rises over the last 18 months are remarkable and there’s little sign of this trend falter-ing, but you never really know for sure. Although central London properties experience peaks and troughs, as physical assets they will always have value. Compared to stocks, which are volatile, the risk is much lower, so I can see why they’re so sought after.

Today I value an entire building in Soho with habitable upper rooms that have lain empty for 10 years. It is amaz-ing situations like this still occur. I advise the owners on the best course of action and I am sure they’ll be very

satisfied, given the exceptional rent prices we have been achieving.

TUESDAYI arrive at work to find that my trusty PA, Jane, has bought me my favourite smoothie. She goes through the busi-ness she’s been dealing with recently. I’m blessed to have someone so effi-cient so I can spend more time with clients and customers.

I walk past several sites today that have developments planned for the near future. Ridgeford Properties was recently announced as the chosen buyer for developing Moxon Street car park in Marylebone. I’m looking forward to its proposal for this space,

particularly as it is opposite my son’s school. Great Portland Estates has also received planning approval to rede-velop Rathbone Place, which will inc lude 42 ,000sq f t o f re t a i l , 217,000sq ft of offices and 162 apart-ments in the heart of the West End. This developer, too, has produced some outstanding local schemes.

WEDNESDAYEvery year our longest-serving tenant comes in to sign, then we grab a quick lunch. I enjoy hearing how her career has blossomed and she’s fun too. I remember her as a young Spanish

student looking to secure a flat in a portered block for added security. Nine years later, she’s in the same flat and every year threatens to buy but ends up renewing. Will this be the year? I’ll let you know!

It’s our important quarterly key rec-onciliation today, which ensures all keys we are responsible for are secure. I’m reminded of a “lost and found” incident when I first started as an agent — putting a set of keys on the dashboard of my car, one slipped off the ring and down the heater grills. Fortunately, the landlord replaced the key but a week later another car bumped mine and, as if by

magic, the lost key fell out of the heating system and landed at my feet.

THURSDAYWe’ve been recommended to a gentle-man who is showing me round his father’s two-bedroom flat. I measure up and take time to explain the market and how the selling process works, as it has been a while since his father moved — the son is 65 and the father is 99.

Halloween last week produced no trick or treaters. With a high density of flats, I think the concept is lost in central London. I was armed with treats in readiness — but my son has since profited.

FRIDAYOne of our landlords, for whom we manage multiple properties, previously told me she doesn’t keep her agents for very long as they normally do some-thing wrong. Having acted for her for five years now, we must be doing well. She calls me and I pre-empt her, joking we haven’t had “that” conversation yet. She jovially says that “unfortunately” she has “nothing to complain about” — a huge compliment.

Our accounts manager, Nicole Lomas, is celebrating her 10-year anniversary this week. She always works extremely hard and her conscientiousness is second to none. It’s time to head for a drink with the team to celebrate her milestone.

Diary of an estate agent

A tale of lost and found as keeper of the keys is left feeling the heat

Jonathan Hudson is a director of Hudsons Property, based in Charlotte Street, W1 (020 7323 2277).

Homes & Property Inside story homesandproperty.co.uk with


Find many more homes to rent athomesandproperty.co.uk/lettings

The accidental landlord

Trust your gut instinct — the foolproof way When you believe your tenant can cover the rent but references suggest otherwise, a guarantor calms the jitters, says Victoria Whitlock

£430 A WEEKIn Regent’s Park Road, Primrose Hill, NW1, John D Wood & Co has a recently refurbished, open-plan, second-floor apartment with a good-size double bedroom with en suite available to rent.

Visit homes andproperty.co.uk/rentregents

WHAT do you do when you think you have found the perfect ten-ants for your property but a reference report

urges you to decline them? Should you go ahead and let them move in — or tell them to find somewhere else to live?

I suppose it really depends why they failed the referencing. If it is because they have got county court judgments against them or a history of bad debt, then I would definitely turn them away. But tenants can fail for other reasons, such as their previous landlord not bothering to confirm their address, or, quite often, because their income is too low in comparison to the rent.

After weeks of trying to let a property I found a lovely tenant, but she wasn’t deemed acceptable by the referencing agency because her salary was a little shy of twice the rent, which was the very minimum required to pass their “affordability test”.

I could have said: “Bye-bye, on your way,” but I wanted to go with my gut instinct and let her have the flat anyway. I considered asking her to pay six months’ rent in advance and a two-month deposit, then, as long as I inserted a six-month break clause in the tenancy agreement, I could boot her out with two months’ notice if she defaulted on the rent in the second half of the term.

However, this seemed a bit harsh, given her meagre salary, so instead I asked her to provide a guarantor and her mum obliged.

A guarantor promises to cover the

rent if the tenant won’t or can’t pay, and they are also legally bound to refund the landlord if the tenant causes any damage to the property or does a runner with the furniture. Essentially, the guarantor takes on all the respon-sibilities of the tenant.

To be any use at all, a guarantor must be based in the UK and ideally they should be a homeowner or at least have

sufficient income to cover the rent. A letting agent recently tried to fob me off with a tenant who was offering to put up his father as a guarantor, even though the father was French and living in Paris. Now, I’ve nothing against Frenchmen, I think they’re rather splendid, but if the tenant had defaulted on the rent and Papa had given a Gallic shrug, I knew it would be nigh on impossible to recover any money via the French courts, so I said: “Non, merci,” to that suggestion.

Even with a UK-based guarantor I thought it might be tricky sorting out the paperwork, but actually it was easy-peasy. I ran a separate credit check on the tenant’s mum and downloaded a Deed of Guarantee form which I found

on this fab website, Property Hawk (propertyhawk.co.uk), which has lots of other documents for landlords, many of them free.

I emailed a copy of the deed, along with a copy of the tenancy agreement, to the mum for her to sign, scan and email back to me.

Two things to remember with a Deed of Guarantee: it must be signed BEFORE the tenancy agreement is signed by the tenant, and the guaran-tor’s signature MUST be witnessed. I am told that it’s fine to accept digitally signed documents, which helps if the

guarantor doesn’t live locally. Guaran-tors don’t sign the tenancy agreement itself, but they should see a copy so that they know exactly what they are agreeing to.

Then all you have to do is attach the Deed of Guarantee to the tenancy agreement signed by the tenants — and cross your fingers that you never have to use it.

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

Homes & Property Letting on homesandproperty.co.uk with


Homes & Property New homes homesandproperty.co.uk with

Smart mo

The word from the streetDavid Spittles

A new stage for Covent Garden

Wapping’s on the way back

ONE place in London where demand for homes is guaranteed to outstrip supply is Covent Garden. For many

people, it is the beating heart of the capital — lively and individual, it buzzes with the excitement of opera, ballet and theatre, and its world-famous piazza attracts 45 million visitors a year.

A steady trickle of new developments and conversions is widening the choice, bringing swish apartments to the neighbourhood’s historic colonnaded market area, above fashion boutiques, tucked away

in cobbled passageways and in listed buildings. In tandem with this are moves by the district’s main landowner, Capco, to push Covent Garden upmarket, with a luxury retail quarter alongside the craft stalls.

In Bedford Street, 17 apartments with contemporary interior design have been created in a splendid Georgian building boasting ceilings four metres high.

The same developer, Dukelease, has also launched nearby Hop House, with 28 apartments and a duplex penthouse at the top. Prices from £695,000 to £4.5 million. Call EA Shaw on 020 7420 3050. Coming

LOFTS in Victorian school conversions are among Wandsworth borough’s best homes. Alas the supply has dried up — but school redevelopments are creating new apartments. The Schoolyard on Eltringham Street is a scheme of 119 flats in crisp, contemporary-design low-rise blocks, close to Wandsworth Town station, the Common, and Nappy Valley hotspots such as Northcote Road and Michelin-starred Chez Bruce restaurant. Prices from £335,000. Call 0844 406 9288.

to Covent Garden soon is Capco’s The Beecham, a former Lloyds Bank branch converted into grand apartments, while a major

LONG-DELAYED refurbishment of historic warehouses aims to take Wapping back to the slot it occupied in the Eighties — as Docklands’ most fashionable quarter.

Before the rise of Canary Wharf, Wapping was the number one address for riverside living. Nowhere else could match its charm and maritime authenticity — the Georgian gem of St Katharine Docks; the cobbled high street with its famous inns and listed wharves including Execution Dock, where the Admiralty used to hang pirates.

But when the money men moved to Canary Wharf in the Nineties, developers switched their

attention to the Isle of Dogs, where sites were plentiful and profits fatter. Wapping was thrust into quiet isolation and, as time moved on, it was left behind, with little improvement to its restaurant and retail scene.

After decades of neglect, a listed river-facing warehouse next to Wapping Underground station is being converted into 37 loft-style apartments and penthouses. The building at 136 Wapping Wall will have a grand, hotel-like foyer plus a private communal roof terrace and street-level commercial space.

Prices from £995,000. Call Galliard on 020 7620 1500.

From £995,000: for riverside flats at 136 Wapping Wall

Swot up on buying a new apartment

From £335,000: apartments at The Schoolyard in Wandsworth


Homes & PropertyNew homeshomesandproperty.co.uk with

SUCH is the expected demand for apartments at Riverwalk, along from Tate Britain on Millbank, that buyers are being invited to register ahead of the official launch in January.

A Sixties office block has been bulldozed to make way for two new buildings, one 17 storeys high, connected by a central podium, providing 113 apartments.

A street-level restaurant and gallery are also planned, while the site includes Locking Piece, a bronze sculpture by Henry Moore. Call Knight Frank on 020 7861 5499 for more details.

Riverwalk is a runaway success

Picture yourself living in Tudor Gothic grandeur

HEART OF ART TURNER WINNER SELLS STUDIO

On Millbank: along from Tate Britain, Riverwalk flats and their Moore bronze

development project is in the pipeline between Long Acre and King Street, comprising a 50-home residential and retail scheme. The

ambitious plan will open up listed courtyards and create a pedestrian walkway across Floral Street to the piazza.

Contemporary in Covent Garden: a Bedford Street apartment

CROSS-DRESSING Turner Prize-winning potter and now acclaimed Reith lecturer Grayson Perry is selling his Walthamstow workshop after 12 years in the once-unglamorous east London district.

The two-storey end-terrace property in Spruce Hills Road comes with permission to return it to residential use — a shrewd move, according to Perry.

“I’ve moved out just as Walthamstow is becoming gentrified. My work is done,” he says.

Estate agent Currell is inviting offers above £225,000. Call 020 3222 5555.

It’s all go in the “Stow” right now, with the

unveiling of a new statue of film legend and one-time local Alfred Hitchcock, a green light for the controversial redevelopment of the famous greyhound stadium, and the first town-centre designer apartments.

The area looks like a decent investment bet. Prices are among the lowest in London and transport links are good — it’s in Zone 3 on the Tube and there are 17-minute Overground trains into the City. Flats priced from £199,995 are selling like hot cakes at a scheme called Metro Pads above Walthamstow Central station. Call Strettons on 020 8509 4457.

£225,000-plus: Grayson Perry’s Walthamstow workshop

LIVE like a lord in Wiltshire at Malmesbury’s Burton Hill House, a delightful listed mansion built in Tudor Gothic style, split into three grand homes of up to 5,888sq ft, with all the period features intact and ripe for a modern makeover.

One has a double-height octagonal entrance hall and a stained-glass window bearing the coat of arms of a previous owner, while another has a sweeping oak staircase with gallery, and the third comes with a ballroom. Offers in the region of £675,000 for each property. All set in magnificent landscaped grounds. Call Butler Sherborn on 01993 8222325.

£675,000: Wiltshire mansion homes

Documents

EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2013 1 Homes · House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, London W8 5TT. news: £4m to live in Hackney, the rising property star of the east ... a converted