Interiors: White tiles are boring. Impress your house guests with a waterproof wallpapered loo instead March 31, 2017 Don’t underestimate the power of a well-dressed bathroom. During a dinner party, all your beloved guests will need to excuse themselves at some point. “Oh, wow!” you’ll hear them cry. “I love your loo!” Little room, big impact. For too long all-white sanitaryware and plain walls have been safe, a by-word for boring. “People now [...]
Interiors: Get a sneak peek at the furnishings behind London’s new private members’ clubs March 25, 2017 London is abuzz with a raft of new private members’ clubs. From The Devonshire Club through to Nick Jones’s grandiose venture on Poultry, The Ned, they all offer something unique, many now with hotel rooms attached. One way of differentiating themselves is through their interior design. Modern members’ clubs are informal, comfortable and on-trend. We [...]
Porsche 964 Carrera RS review: Tim Pitt lets Porsche’s road racer off its leash, but is this the ultimate 911? March 20, 2017 The Porsche 911 is the greatest sports car ever made. There, I’ve said it. This Darwinian survivor has evolved over five decades, transcending humble VW Beetle origins and shrugging off attempts to replace it. From air-cooled originals to today’s turbocharged Carrera, every 911 is iconic, idiosyncratic and unfailingly brilliant to drive. But which is the [...]
International Day of Happiness: 10 things to do to ensure you live a happy life March 20, 2017 Leading a happy life has proven to be a challenge and statistics show we are no happier now than we were sixty years ago. So as it’s International Day of Happiness today, perhaps it's time to take matters into our own hands.. Action for Happiness is a movement of people committed to building a happier [...]
Holiday Homes: The property market in Lisbon is so hot right now, it’s being called ‘the California of Europe’ March 17, 2017 One of Europe’s most beautiful cities is also now one of its most vibrant and dynamic. For decades Lisbon’s development and historic architecture was neglected, but things are looking better for the city, tourism is up, unemployment down, and foreign money is bringing in new investment. One of the drivers of this surge in vitality [...]
Embracing Italy’s culinary heritage on a journey from Florence to the stunning Riviera March 17, 2017 As welcomes go, my arrival into Genoa airport will take some beating. In my experience, airport transfers usually involve a 45 minute purgatory of cabs or shuttle buses. However, there I was, driving along dream-like coastal roads with a soundtrack of classic Italian standards. An appropriately bespoke introduction, given I would spend the next week [...]
Opinion: Here’s how to negotiate a lower rent if you’re living in London and throwing half your salary down the drain March 17, 2017 In the past six years, rents in London have increased by 23 percent, while the average salary has only inched upwards. Overall, under-30s are now spending almost 60 percent of their income on rent. With many of us facing the prospect of being pushed further and further out of the capital, it’s crucial we take [...]
Property of the Week: Ingleton Street in Stockwell used to be a garage – now it’s a £750,000 party pad March 17, 2017 Thirsty punters sitting outside the Crown and Anchor on Brixton Road often stop and stare at the building opposite on Ingleton Street. Who can blame them? It looks like someone has attempted to hide an architect’s studio by covering it in doilies. “It’s a self-confessed vanity project,” says Marlon Lloyd Malcolm, director of sales at [...]
Focus On Twickenham: Families flock to TW1 for period houses, riverside walks, and a 25min commute March 17, 2017 As the Six Nations tournament comes to a close this Saturday, all eyes are on Twickenham. This leafy south west London suburb may buzz with life around match days – with the thoroughfare between Twickenham station and the stadium getting particularly boisterous – but the rest of the time, it’s the picture of modern, aspirational [...]
Money can buy you happiness – at least according to Londoners March 17, 2017 The old adage maintains that “money can’t buy you happiness” but many Brits – and Londoners in particular – disagree, according to research conducted by VoucherCodes and YouGov. A survey of 2,181 people found that Brits need to earn an average minimum of £39,942 per year to be happy, about 45 per cent more than the [...]