Mansion blocks are real British antiques that can command impressive prices July 9, 2015 Most people think of estate agent hyperbole as a modern affliction. After all, what’s a contemporary house viewing if it isn’t peppered with “generous” reception rooms stocked with “state-of-the-art” smart systems in “vibrant” neighbourhoods? In fact, we may have the Victorians to blame for this, starting with the “mansion flat”. The term was coined in [...]
Lighting designer Paul Nulty on how to make the most of a garden terrace July 9, 2015 DECIDE WHAT MOOD YOU’RE GOING FOR While daylight offers balanced illumination and “makes sense”, night time illumination evokes a series of subconscious responses from intimacy to fear. The first question you should be asking is, “how do I want myself/my guests to feel?” Illumination of all corner spaces creates a sense of opening up and [...]
Chelsea’s house of Cold War secrets at 19 Upper Cheyne Row: Former spy’s home includes a bar that was funded by MI5 July 9, 2015 This semi-detached family house in a quiet corner of Chelsea seems inconspicuous enough, if a little dated on the inside. But it’s actually the scene of an impressive feat of British espionage that may have averted World War III. Nineteen Upper Cheyne Row has starred in numerous Cold War TV dramas over the years, [...]
Focus on St James’s: The home of the English gentleman July 9, 2015 In many ways, St James’s resembles the City. Sure, there aren’t any skyscrapers and it’s not half as old, but it’s SW1’s commercial hub and barely anyone lives there. As proud purveyors of men’s garments since the Victorian age, it boasts such prestigious names along Jermyn Street as Turnbull & Asser, Alfred Dunhill, while St [...]
Private view: On the market in St James’s this week July 9, 2015 BEAU HOUSE, SW1Y Prices start at £2m A collection of seven apartments ranging from one to three bedrooms fashionably located above Daks in Jermyn Street. Developers Dukelease and Oliver Burns say the design takes inspiration from Beau Brummell, a Regency style icon, whose statue still resides on the same street. Due for completion in 2016. [...]
Calling first-time buyers to Telegraph Works, Greenwich: The historic transatlantic cable factory being turned into new homes July 9, 2015 A CGI of the building. Apartments from £300,000 A little-known factory that sits near the Greenwich Docks once played an instrumental role in US-UK relations. Now developers are hoping it’ll establish a new relationship between this neglected former industrial site and first-time buyers in London. Around £120m has been invested to build 272 [...]
Contemporary luxury comes to the North Bank: The Westminster penthouses that are challenging traditional power architecture July 9, 2015 Westminster has drawn the pious and powerful for a millennia, but the only homes to service them seem to be stuffy period numbers with no central heating and little natural light. Sure, there’s plenty of Old England charm in a Georgian terrace, but it’s hardly the height of modern luxury anymore. Interiors from the [...]
As the first homes go on sale in Canary Wharf: Is this the death of the commute? June 25, 2015 Since its inception in the 1980s, Canary Wharf has come to epitomise modern business. But until this week, no one could live there. The Canary Wharf Group, the development company responsible for the entire estate, has unveiled its first show home this week – and City A.M. has exclusive pictures of what’s inside. So whether [...]
Cezary Bednarski’s Notting Hill home: Don’t buy your dream house, build it June 25, 2015 In the 1970s, Cezary Bednarski’s home was a derelict playground for undesirables filled with needles, rubbish and used condoms. The 109sqm plot of land was the site of a demolished Victorian house and an eyesore in the quickly-gentrifying neighbourhood of Notting Hill. The council finally decided to sell it off at auction, where it caught [...]
Return of London’s mansions: The former homes of aristocrats are being converted June 25, 2015 It isn’t often that a prestigious street in London falls out of favour. You won’t see a regeneration of Eaton Square or the King’s Road any time soon. But Connaught Place, a handsome street lined with Georgian mansion blocks overlooking Hyde Park, was the Belgravia of pre-war London and it’s experiencing a resurgence in popularity. [...]