Professional Documents
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The Vision: Beautiful Euston: Homes Property
The Vision: Beautiful Euston: Homes Property
Beautiful Euston
Page 6
The big
drawer
Martino Gamper
at the Serpentine
Page 12
Homes&
Property
Wednesday 5 March 2014
Londons best property search website: homesandproperty.co.uk
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Homes & Property Online homesandproperty.co.uk with
By
Faye Greenslade
This week: homesandproperty.co.uk
VISIT homesandproperty.co.
uk/rules for details of our
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Homes & Property, Northcliffe
House, 2 Derry Street,
Kensington, London W8 5TT.
news:
Now you must tell lenders how
much you spend on the kids
Read Ruth Bloomfields full story at homesandproperty.co.uk
Or buy a collection from our shop and save 64
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FROM next month, tough new regulations will make
home buying even more difficult for beleaguered
Londoners who already face a shortage of available
properties, the nightmare of sealed bids and rapidly
rising prices.
Borrowers will be required to disclose all their monthly
outgoings from credit card and student loan
repayments to season ticket costs and how much they
spend on child care or school fees before they can be
given a mortgage.
Experts say the Mortgage Market Review, drawn up by
the Financial Conduct Authority, will inevitably lead to
more buyers being refused mortgages or being offered
much smaller amounts than they need.
Win spectacular perennials
695,000: in Much Hadam, Hertfordshire, The Stores
a glorious village home dating from early Tudor days
enjoys a prime setting, useful in its former life as, youve
guessed it, the village corner shop and tea room. Now a
2,700sq ft four-bedroom home, it could happily convert
back to a nice little earner, with the added sweetener
of a self-contained annexe you could let, plus a garage.
Through Savills.
675,000: this Chiswick mews house is rather more than a
bit of all white thanks to its W4 location, close to the
Thames in the heart of Strand on the Green. A simple
palette of whites runs throughout its open-plan kitchen and
dining space and the 19ft reception room all perfect for
entertaining. There are two bedrooms, one en suite,
and Kew Palace and Gunnersbury Tube are both only 10
minutes away. Through Faron Sutaria.
Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/buyoftheweekmews
TO ENTER
For a chance to win a pack of 72 perennial plants, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/offers
before the end of March 19. Usual rules apply, see homesandproperty.co.uk/rules for details.
London buy of the week
a bit of all white in Chiswick
Out of town buy of the week the
coach house of a grand country pile
Life changer a sweet deal in
store at ye olde corner shop
A NEW collection of 72 beautiful
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Weve teamed up with quality plant
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saving 64. To buy, and to see the full
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Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/
outwick
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EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014 5
Hustle to get your
ofer in, Jennifer
Got some gossip?
Tweet @amiranews
HOLLYWOOD actress Jennifer
Lawrence and her English actor
boyfriend Nicholas Hoult, above, are
said to be eagerly house hunting in
Hampshire. It is perfect timing for
American Hustle star Lawrence, who
plans to take a break from filming for
the rest of the year.
A seven-bedroom mansion on the
market for 2.75 million in Little
London, Andover, could be right up
their street. Designed by Peter Huf,
the brains behind German pre-fab
architecture practice Huf Haus, it is
thought to be the largest example of
timber and glass housing in the UK.
The breathtaking space is filled with
light and surrounded by nature, with
deer often spotted in the grounds. It
could be the perfect country escape
for this cool young couple.
Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/little
Abbey ending for a Beatles fan
A heady brew of styles by Jocasta Innes
By Amira Hashish
Homes & Property News homesandproperty.co.uk with
TO CELEBRATE the
Beatles 50th anniversary
this year, Sir Paul
McCartney and Ringo Starr
reunited for a special US
concert before an audience
including Johnny Depp,
Tom Hanks, Kate
Beckinsale and Sean Penn.
Who knows what other
anniversary surprises the
pair have up their sleeves?
But fans with big budgets
can mark it by spending
2.39 million on a three-
bedroom flat overlooking
the iconic north-west
London zebra crossing
pictured on the cover of the
bands Abbey Road album,
inset left. Listed with Green
& Co, the flat has three
balconies, far left, with
great views, an indoor
swimming pool and 24-
hour concierge. Its a pad to
twist and shout about.
See homesandproperty.
co.uk/abbey
ONE of East
Londons funkiest
homes is for sale. The
Brewers House, built
by the Master Brewer of
Spitalfields in 1820, was
lovingly restored by
Jocasta Innes.
The late designer
decorated it in a
classical yet eclectic
style, with stippling,
stencilling and check-
pattern floorboards.
It is home to her son,
the writer and historian
Jason Goodwin, who
has put the four-
bedroom gem on the
market for 2.3 million
with Hamptons.
Next to the Rag
Factory, which is used
as a filming location for
MTV, Newsnight and
The Culture Show, its
in a creative hotspot.
Old Spitalfields Market
is just around the
corner, where US
actress Mischa Barton,
right, has a boutique.
Visit homesand
property.co.uk/brew
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6 WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property New homes homesandproperty.co.uk with
Euston,
we dont
have a
problem
A super-terminal will be the
X factor that transforms Euston
into a fabulous new district with a
triumphal arch. By David Spittles
C
HANCELLOR Geor ge
Osbornes backing for a new
super-terminal at Euston
paves the way for a com-
plete redevelopment not
only of the station, but of the whole
neighbourhood the kind of radical
makeover that has made Kings Cross
a shining example of the power of
regeneration.
Euston is already a vital entry point
to London. Earlier plans to demolish
the existing station as part of the HS2
high-speed rail project were dropped
last April after protests, but a full-scale,
radical rebuilding is back on track.
It could transform what is widely
considered a horrible station set in a
crushingly uninspiring neighbour-
hood. Instead, the Eustonvision.com
consor t i um promi ses a l i vel y
quarter, with new homes, shops and
offices, integrated with Kings Cross
Central, the new district emerging fast
up the road.
Euston has been a place to pass
through rather than live in. Office
towers loom over car-clogged Euston
Road, which is the congestion charge
boundary and one of the capitals least
pedestrian-friendly thoroughfares. Yet
even today, there are positives. A short
stroll from Euston are the village-like
backstreets of Fitzrovia, Marylebone
and Bloomsbury, plus all the land-
scaped grandeur of Regents Park a
giant back garden for locals.
Few places in Britain are better served
by public transport, with trains to
everywhere from Paris to Perth. And
once HS2 is up and running, long-dis-
tance commuting will be revolutionised.
From Euston, it will be quicker to get to
Birmingham 49 minutes than to
many M25 commuter towns, while
Manchester and Leeds will be within 75
minutes of the capital. And by 2026
Japanese-style bullet trains will arrive.
Eustons revamp chimes with London
Mayor Boris Johnsons policy for many
more new homes to be built around
and above transport hubs.
The unloved station dates from 1962.
This could turn a horrible
station set in a crushingly
uninspiring neighbourhood
into a lively new quarter
Impressive
vision: this
proposed
masterplan
shows how the
station could be
rebuilt with an
open plaza and a
new Euston Arch
150,000: for a
quarter share of
a at at Origin
Housings
Constable Court,
below, in Kings
Cross Road. Call
0800 068 8990.
Below right,
grand local
buildings include
Cornwall Terrace,
of Regents Park
From 980,000:
apartments in
The Triton
Building, below
right, part of the
Regents Place
ofce and
residential
campus on the
north side of
Euston Road. Call
020 7993 7397.
Below, the new
Facebook HQ at
Regents Place
It replaced the Euston Arch, a classical
1837 portico, which campaigners want
reinstated as a spectacular monument.
The available railway land covers 15
acres, big enough for a Canary Wharf-size
project. Early proposals envisage four
million square feet of space, including
hundreds of new homes.
Perfectly located to benefit from all
this regeneration, new homes are
already part of the local mix at Regents
Place, a big office and residential
campus which includes Facebooks
new HQ. The project scooped top prize
in the Mayors London Planning Awards
this year and despite its corporate feel
with 14,000 employees, it has become
a convivial hub with restaurants, cafs,
a food market, art studios and a theatre,
plus a public space for performances,
art installations and events. The Triton
Building is one of the new residential
towers, offering 94 apartments includ-
ing a pair of spectacular penthouses,
with 999-year leases (homesand
property.co.uk/regents). Call Jones
Lang LaSalle on 020 7993 7397. The
estate is managed by British Land,
which offers a concierge service and
24-hour uniformed security.
Sir Terry Farrell, the main architect
of Regents Place, has also devised an
area masterplan that includes a public
park with trees and water sculptures
on decking above Euston underpass.
If it comes to fruition it would help to
unite neighbourhoods either side of
the current divide. The area south of
Euston Road, between Great Portland
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014 7
Homes & Property New homes
Street and Tottenham Court Road, is
about 30 per cent more expensive than
the northern side.
Redevelopment of listed Elizabeth
Garrett Anderson Hospital for
Women has greatly improved a for-
merly rough patch moments from the
station. Occupying an entire block, the
scheme comprises 47 homes, a shiny
new headquarters for the Unison
union, a gallery and exhibition space.
Despite the disparate elements, the
buildings are brought together by a
village square concept an open,
public atrium, with glazed cafs and
restaurants allowing clear views in and
out to the street. The shared-ownership
and rental homes are managed by
Origin, a local housing association
whose roots in the area go back to the
Twenties, when it was set up to provide
accommodation for railway workers.
Priority is given to key workers and
people already living or working in
Camden borough. Call 0800 068 8990
or visit originsales.co.uk to identify
homes and book viewings online.
The station redevelopment will entail
bulldozing some nearby council hous-
ing, but Camden council is insisting on
replacement affordable homes.Euston
needs massive redevelopment, it truly
is a horrible station, says local resident
Paul Wright, who travels by Tube to his
job at a tech company in Victoria.
PERIOD GEMS
Euston is sprinkled with fine period
buildings such as the defunct National
Temperance Hospital, which the area
masterplan seeks to make the most of.
The district also has strong academic
and charitable links, with numerous
university buildings and medical cam-
puses, including Wellcome Trust. This
settled backbone gives the area char-
acter amid the scurrying commuters.
Euston properties, in the NW1 post-
code, typically range from 300,000
to 1.75 million, according to estate
agent Foxtons, which is selling flats,
including a three-bedroom duplex with
roof terrace, at a new development in
Chalton Street. Call 020 7973 2020. By
contrast, homes in Marylebone, only
moments away, range from 485,000
to 3.25 million, while those in Lisson
Grove, an edgy patch just north of
Euston on the Maida Vale border, cost
from 275,00 to 449,950.
DISTRICTS TO WATCH
Between Euston and St Pancras, Somers
Town is worth watching. Now largely
council estates, it is regarded as a lost
quarter and is being targeted for new
private housing. When first developed
in the late 18th century it was envisaged
as a middle-class address but suffered
when the London and Birmingham
Railway cut through the area in the
1830s. Another micro spot to watch is
around Drummond Street, best known
for Indian restaurants, where gentrifica-
tion has started.
Developers are also scouting for sites
around the northern tip of Euston
towards Mornington Crescent and Cam-
den Town. Michael Stone, of estate agent
Greene & Co says: The regeneration
ripple is rolling. We are seeing a surge in
demand, particularly from graduates,
young professionals and buy-to-let inves-
tors. Over time, the area will entice
more people out of the West End.
Find a home in Euston: visit
homesandproperty.co.uk/euston
Return of an old favourite: a replacement Euston Arch could include some of the
original stonework, which was dumped in an east London river in the Sixties
Radical rebuild: how the new Euston
super-terminal could look. Chancellor
George Osborne backs redevelopment
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The Bloom is a development of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom
apartments in bustling Shepherds Bush with Private Sale
apartments launching 8 & 9 March. Underground parking
available to select apartments.
To nd out if an apartment at The Bloom is right for your
life call 020 7603 1384 (Quote ES5) or visit the-bloom.co.uk
Scan
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8 WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Commuting homesandproperty.co.uk with
Theyre splashing the cash
Ruth Bloomfield discovers three towns for new commuters where
regeneration will bring added value to the homes they buy
D
ESPITE its good schools,
reasonable house prices
and great commuter loca-
tion, Bracknell in Berkshire
has always been the poor
relation to its neighbour, affluent
Ascot, largely due to the ugliness of its
Sixties town centre. This, however,
could turn out to be Bracknells year.
The northern side of the town centre
is in the throes of a 750 million regen-
eration project which will see Marks &
Spencer open an 80,000sq ft shop.
Other confirmed new arrivals include
a 12-screen Cineworld Cinema and
restaurants including Carluccios.
Comer Homes has put forward plans
to knock down the former 3M office
block a giant yellow-clad eyesore,
derelict since 2003 and build 300
flats and leisure facilities including a
gym and restaurants.
Improving the heart of Bracknell
could be just the boost the town needs,
as it already scores highly in other
areas. Train journeys to Paddington
take from 55 minutes, and you can be
at Waterloo in a fraction over an hour.
An annual season ticket costs 3,392.
By home counties standards, Brack-
nell is highly affordable. The average
property price is 261,009, up a
healthy 5.6 per cent in the last year,
says Zoopla property website.
In smart satellite villages around the
town you could easily spend up to
4 million on a country house with all
the trimmings, but in town, 500,000
would buy a four- to five-bedroom,
detached, modern family house.
Find a home in Bracknell: visit
homesandproperty.co.uk/bracknell
GRAVESEND: 120 MILLION PLAN
FOR HOMES AND BUSINESSES
The centre of this North Kent town is
in line for 120 million regeneration
creating 330 new homes and some 800
jobs. A hotel, cafs and restaurants are
planned by developer Edinburgh
House, and there will be a new market
square and a community centre. Work
is due to start this year and will add to
Gravesends not inconsiderable
charms, which include a swift com-
mute and affordable homes.
The town centre already has a reason-
able mix of independent shops and
chains, a market several days a week
and plenty of cafs and restaurants,
Bracknell: 750 million is being spent bringing new homes, shops, jobs and leisure facilities to the Berkshire towns centre
825,000: left, a
three-bedroom
maisonette at
Cranbourne Hall,
Winkeld,
Bracknell (homes
and property.co.
uk/cran)
185,000: a two-
bedroom at at
Melbourne Quay,
Gravesend (homes
andproperty.
co.uk/mel)
A
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EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014 9
Homes & Property Afordable homes homesandproperty.co.uk with
Follow the value-for-money pioneers
Harlesden is shaking
off its gritty past as
young media and
City workers find
homes below the
stamp duty threshold,
says David Spittles
H
EADI NG nor t h f rom
Paddington up bustling
Harrow Road is a demo-
graphic journey through
London: past prosperous
Maida Vale, a place where Parisians
would feel at home, through unassum-
ing Kensal Green reasserting itself as
a neat address for young families
priced out of Queens Park and on to
gritty Harlesden, one of the cheapest
Zone 3 addresses.
Once avoided by home buyers
because of its gang crime and notoriety
as the murder capital of England,
Harlesden is changing and the areas
new potential is slowly being recog-
nised.
Among the newcomers are BBC staff
and junior City workers in search of
housing association fair rents, shared-
ownership deals and flats priced below
the 250,000 stamp duty threshold.
225M REGENERATION
Harlesden still has a hard urban edge,
but the town centre is getting a facelift,
part of a 225 million regeneration
initiative that is seeing Stonebridge
council estates grim towers replaced
by 1,400 mixed-tenure low-rise homes
and a community hub.
Spring is the latest phase of homes
at the reincarnated estate, called New
Stonebridge Park. It offers a mix of
studios, apartments and three-bed-
room houses priced from 220,000.
Development is due for completion
next year, and the centrepiece is a
distinctive rotunda apartment building
with communal roof terrace and set in
the proposed site of a transport super-
hub for Crossrail and HS2, that will one
day set the seal on regeneration here.
There are plans for up to 24,000 new
homes, 50,000 jobs and a new Queens
Park Rangers football stadium.
Find a home in Harlesden: visit
homesandproperty.co.uk/harlesden
DISCOVERING DOLLIS HILL
Beyond Harlesden is Dollis Hill. This
solidly suburban enclave, connected
by the Jubilee line to central London
and Canary Wharf, is being discovered
by smart singles and young couples.
Conversion of a listed Victorian
school, Shortcroft Mead Court in
Cooper Lane, has spawned affordable
homes with a difference. Prices start
at 275,000, or 68,750 for a 25 per
www.camer|ch.co.uk
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014 15
Homes & Property Renting homesandproperty.co.uk with
The renters
handbook
Generation Rent used to a home for now,
not for life is booming in London. A timely
new book by Joanna Thornhill is packed with
tips on how to turn a rented property into a
stylish home. Barbara Chandler previews
the handbook for renters with design in mind
L
ONDONER Joanna Thornhill
has lived in a dozen rental
properties so far and she is
only 33. Drawing on her
experience as a stylist for
magazines and advertising, she wrote
a book which comes out in April called
Home for Now (Cico Books, 16.99),
featuring 15 real-life homes and packed
with quirky ideas for making rented
property beautiful
This bright and breezy manual goes
way beyond cushions and throws, with
everything pressed into low-cost, quick
and easy makeovers, from discarded
packaging and leftover paint to hand-
me-downs and finds from charity
stores, junk shops and skips. It will
appeal also to first-home owners whose
funds have been swallowed by huge
deposits. Projects at the end of each
chapter guide cash-strapped novices
through DIY projects.
Thornhill herself has just scrambled
on to the first property rung, sharing
a two-up two-down terrace house in
Walthamstow with her TV producer
boyfriend.
Everyone needs a proper home,
however short term, she says. If you
dont have somewhere you love to
come home to, life gets very bleak.
Her ideas, full of colour, joy, wit and
love, are not expensive and are often
portable, in the best more-dash-than-
cash tradition. Her top tip is to ask the
landlord first. There may be a plethora
of printed restrictions but landlords
can be very flexible, and may even
share some of the cost. Ask if you can
paint a wall, put up a blind or curtain
tracks, lay down a few paving slabs,
and so on.
An essential for the author is her own
box of personal treasures, always first
to be unpacked: Photos, pictures,
cushions, ornaments, mugs, cooking
stuff these mean home to me.
IN THIS room a
well-travelled
leather suitcase
creates a novel
basis for a
temporary
DJ station, with
space to store
lesser-played
records inside.
Joanna Thornhill
says: You dont
always have to
use bona fide
furniture in
every room in
fact, making do
with what you
can get your
hands on is
often part and
parcel of the
homes-for-now
approach.
CREATE extra
kitchen storage
with an old crate
that you can
perch on a
worktop or on
top of your
fridge. The
authors tip:
Organise the
space with extra
cup hooks
inside.
Thornhill,
below, has rented
a dozen different
homes, and
compiled her tips
along the way.
DISGUISE obtrusive appliances, such
as a boiler like this one, with a piece of
wallpaper, wrapping paper or even a
pretty tea towel. Thornhill adds:
Double-sided tape should do the job
on metal or plastic surfaces like this.
Be careful not to block any vents.
LET your ladder do double duty as
storage, and just clear it when needed.
An old wooden ladder works best,
says Thornhill. Make sure its sturdy
with well-fixed steps.
CHEAPER than cupboards, buy and
paint an old wardrobe, then fit it with
shelves for instant storage. Thornhills
tip: Look out for a basic shelving unit
which you could simply stand inside.
20 WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014 EVENING STANDARD
Pause for reflection
in the bedroom
with mirrored tables
ENJOY a light-enhancing set of two
mirrored bedside tables, each with
three drawers.
My Furniture offers a wide array of
mirrored pieces for the home, all
arriving fully assembled for
convenience, and with a 12-month
warranty for peace of mind.
Readers are offered a generous 40
discount on the pair of Lucia bedside
tables, reducing the price from
299.99 to 259.99. Each table
measures H65cm x W44cm x D44cm.
Visit my-furniture.co.uk or call 0115
9000 405/0800 092 1636 to claim
your offer, using code LUCIA-ES01
before March 14.
Alison
Cork
gain news gain new Barg gg a Bargainneww Barg g Barg BBarg rg ggg wwss
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 homesand
property@
standard.co.uk
with Bargain
News in the
subject line.
For more
bargains, visit
alisonathome.com
or homesand
property.co.uk/
offers.
NET CURTAINS
Could net curtains like the ones
Granny used to twitch be about to
trend? If Norman is using them, the
answer is probably yes.
Im continuing the feminine,
tongue-in-cheek theme and I dont
think net curtains are used enough.
There are some really nice patterns
out there and Im not ashamed to say I
got these at Rolls & Rems in
Lewisham, where you have to fight
the OAPS for the best pieces, he says.
LIGHTING
Norman fixed shaded wall lights all
the way down the walls for uniform,
clear light. For softer, more romantic
lighting above the bar, he draped
white linen napkins over simple coolie
shades. In the basement, he put up
enamel shades but wanted them to
look vintage so took a hammer and
lightly bashed them first.
VELVET DOOR CURTAINS
Dramatic yet practical, hanging heavy
velvet curtains round the front door
creates a theatrical entrance and
keeps out the draught. I love the
drama of it and its often used in Paris
and New York but never in London
I dont know why, he says.
FLOORING
The flooring, the sides of the bar and
some of the table tops are all made
from little maple planks that have
been reclaimed from Chelsea
Barracks. Norman bought them from
DDS Demolition, a timber yard near
Monkton in Margate.
W
ALKING into
Polpetto, Russell
Normans latest Soho
eaterie, its hard to
imagine that just a
few months ago the space was a
soulless concrete box. Today, with its
genteel net curtains, duck egg blue
distressed plaster walls and scuffed
wooden floors, it looks and feels like
an authentic Venetian bcaro the
traditional type of bar that can be
found all over Venice serving small
plates of food with wine.
If youve been watching Normans
BBC2 series, The Restaurant Man,
where he advises amateurs how to set
up restaurants, youll know hes as
passionate about getting the look right
as he is about serving good food. Since
he made hanging a row of bare light
bulbs a trend that is now ubiquitous,
he has had to move on, and he has
gone in a rather surprising direction.
WHAT NORMAN DID
INSPIRATION
Venice was the starting point. It is a
city of outstanding beauty that is
crumbling. You can touch the buildings
and feel them falling to dust. I wanted
that feeling of glorious decrepitude,
which is what takes my breath away
each time I go there, he says.
WALLS
Norman commissioned special
effects plasterers to create a series of
distressed finishes, including
layering scraps of lace into the
surface for a feminine touch and
buffing it to give it a sheen. They
added Farrow & Balls Pale Powder
into the mix, and finished up with
streaky rust marks under the lights to
look like watermark damage.
CEILING
Adding to the intimate atmosphere is
the low, pressed tin-tiled ceiling
based on tiles used in 19th-century
New York as fireproofing. It gives the
place a faint saloon bar atmosphere
and Norman, who buys them in the
US, gets them treated here by metal
worker Bela Pasztor, who dons a
rubber suit to dip them in caustic acid
to get that rusted, distressed finish.
Romantic glow:
Norman draped
white linen
napkins over
simple coolie
shades, below,
for subtle
lighting behind
the bar
Echoes of Venice,
right: nets,
distressed
plaster walls and
wall lights bring
the feel of a
traditional
Venetian bar to
Soho at Russell
Normans latest
restaurant,
Polpetto
Gare Montparnasse wall lamp: 89
plus p&p from thefrenchhouse.net
Look up: tin ceiling tiles, right, 19 each
from a range at rockettstgeorge.co.uk
By
Katie
Law
Homes & Property Interiors homesandproperty.co.uk with
C
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Photographs by:
Carol Sachs
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014 29
Pattie
Barron
Stay indoors and enjoy the outdoors
Indoor gardenings the latest buzz for urbanites with no outside space. Isabelle Palmers guide shows how its done
B
URY those dusty houseplants
indoor gardening is the
cool way to bring flowers and
foliage into the urban home.
While looking out on her two
tiny, plant-packed balconies in West
Hampstead, Isabelle Palmer thought:
What if you wanted that little bit of
green, but didnt have any outside
space at all?
This thought prompted Palmer, who
founded The Balcony Gardener, the
online merchandise shop for small
outdoor spaces, to dream up imagina-
tive ways of bringing the outside
indoors, so that you both enhance your
home and connect with nature.
Glass vessels allow you to watch, as
well as house, living worlds, says
a shop window. She turned her
Victorian fireplace into a Victorian
fernery and laid a carpet of velvety
mosses, interspersed with driftwood,
on the hearth.
Containers are as important as the
plants. Palmer stocks up on regulation
terracotta pots and paints them dark
slate so they chime with contemporary
interiors, and enlivens simple zinc pots
with a band of cerise craft paint around
their rims, thus jazzing up the simplest
foliage.
In the kitchen, a French wine crate
makes the perfect package for prov-
enal herb plants; in the office, a Kentia
palm looks dynamic set off by an indus-
trial-style metal container.
If you dont have floor or table space,
be inventive and create a hanging gar-
den, says Palmer. Where you might
expect to see two lamps hanging above
a dining table, she has suspended two
slatted wooden boxes, holding trails of
ivy and flower-scattered periwinkle. A
trio of green-glass wine bottles, their
cavities filled with compost and moss,
hang along the kitchen window, foliage
cascading from their sliced-off bases,
while beyond the kitchen doors, small
raspberry and kiwi bushes hang out-
side, right side up, their roots bound
Japanese-style with sheet moss and
garden twine the hanging fruit
gardens of Hampstead.
Isabelle Palmers new book, the
House Gardener (CICO Books) costs
25, but Homes & Property readers can
buy it for 18 incl p&p by calling 01256
302699 and quoting code GLR 9OA.
Tropical forest,
above: group
orchids in bright
jungle colours
together to
create an exotic
tableau
Herb garden,
right: a French
wine crate
makes a perfect
display case for
provenal herbs
Woodland
dell, far left: a
disused replace
becomes a green
corner with
mosses and ferns
Balcony
gardener, left:
Isabelle Palmers
limited living
space inspires
her to push the
boundaries
Flirty cocktail,
right: a long-
stemmed outsize
glass is wittily
planted with
pitcher plants
Homes & Property Outdoors homesandproperty.co.uk with
30 WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014 EVENING STANDARD
Spotlight
Maida Vale
2,725,000
TUCKED away in Elgin Mews South, a quiet
cobbled street, this four-bedroom house is set
over three floors. Through Goldschmidt & Howland.
Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/mews
945,000
A LOWER ground-floor flat with three bedrooms, a
big reception room and patio in Lauderdale Road,
near the shops in Maida Vale. Through Foxtons.
Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/laud
650,000
ELEGANT two-bedroom first-floor flat in a period
conversion in Elgin Avenue, with smart kitchen
and high ceilings. Through Marsh & Parsons.
Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/elgin
575,000
THIS one-bedroom flat with an open-plan
reception area is on the top floor of a period
house in Randolph Ave. Through Pembertons.
Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/rand
To find a home in Maida Vale, visit:
homesandproperty.co.uk/maidavale
Homes & Property Property searching homesandproperty.co.uk with
Moor in Little Venice and
unleash your inner poet
The canalside enclave
Browning called home
is loved today by stars
and yummy mummies
for its stucco elegance
and secret gardens,
says Anthea Masey
Waterside white
stucco: homes in
the picturesque
enclave of Little
Venice are
among the most
desirable in
London and
favoured by
celebrities
Flowers and food: a gardening mecca,
Clifton Nurseries in Clifton Villas has
its own popular caf, The Quince Tree
O
VERHUNG with trees and
lined with houseboats,
Little Venice, one of the
prettiest places on the
London canal network, is
where the poet Robert Browning came
to live on his return from Italy after the
death of his wife, Elizabeth Barrett
Browning, in Florence in 1861.
His house in Warwick Crescent now
a block of flats was around the corner
from his sister-in-law Arabellas home
in Delamere Terrace. He visited her
there every evening.
The tranquil stretch of water where
the Grand Union Canal meets the
Regents Canal and veers off to Pad-
dington Basin is known as Brownings
Pool. The island in the middle was
reputedly planted with trees on the
poets orders. However, there is some
dispute as to whether he or Lord Byron
coined the name Little Venice.
With its white stucco mansions and
canal views, Little Venice is Maida Vales
most desirable enclave and is much
loved by celebrities. Houses overlooking
the canal or one of the communal gar-
dens start at 6 million.
The most expensive house currently
for sale in Little Venice is a five-bed-
room, semi-detached, white stucco
property backing on to a communal
garden with tennis courts and a
childrens playground in Randolph
Road. For sale at 10 million, or about
2,500 a square foot (homesand
property.co.uk/randolph).
The name Maida Vale was adopted
from The Hero of Maida, a pub in
Edgware Road that opened in 1810 four
years after British General Sir John
Stuart defeated Napoleons forces at
the battle of Maida in southern Italy.
WHAT THERE IS TO BUY
Maida Vale is a place of great contrasts
with prices ranging from 800 per
square foot to over 2,500 within a
half-mile radius of Warwick Avenue
Tube station.
The white stucco houses and terraces
in Little Venice, many with communal
secret gardens to rival those of Notting
Hill, are among the most desirable in
the capital. Danny Daggers of the local
branch of estate agent Knight Frank says
there is an exceptional appetite for
homes here. We have queues of house
hunters and it is beginning to attract
international buyers who appreciate
the ease with which they can get to Hea-
throw airport on the Heathrow Express
from nearby Paddington.
North of Little Venice, in Maida Vale
proper, there are period conversions,
wide roads lined with spacious two-
and three-bedroom mansion flats and
large blocks of Thirties flats along
Maida Vale itself, which is part of the
A5. The flats are about 1,000 a square
foot. A two-bedroom 757sq ft mansion
flat is for sale at 770,000, a little over
the 1,000 mark (homesandproperty.
co.uk/wymering).
The wide range of valuations between
flats in most-favoured Little Venice to
the more mixed area south of Shirland
Elegance: the attractive homes of Formosa Street, Little Venice, are handy for Warwick Avenue Tube
Photographs::
Graham
Hussey
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014 31
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Whose heart got broken at a Maida
Vale Tube station? The picture is a big
clue find the answer at homesand
property.co.uk/spotlightmaidavale
CHECK THE STATS
The best schools
The best shops and restaurants
The latest housing developments
How this area compares with the
rest of the UK on property prices
Smart maps to plot your property
search
More legal
Q&As
Visit: homesand
property.co.uk
Can I stop tree hugger stealing my light?
Q
I LIVE in a terrace house
and all the gardens have
trees at the bottom which
have been pollarded or
replaced over the years. However,
one neighbour refuses to touch his
original 100-year-old plane tree.
Despite writing to plead with him
and offering to share the cost of
having it cut back, about six houses
surrounding him get no sunlight in
their gardens in the afternoons. Is
there anything we can do?
A
THIS is a common problem
that can be difficult to
resolve. The first thing to do
is to contact your neighbour,
which you have already done with no
success.
It is not possible to acquire an
easement in the form of a right to
light to a garden although it is
possible to acquire a right to light to a
defined aperture, such as a window.
Your complaint seems to be a lack of
light to your garden generally rather
than to a specific window or
windows. There is sometimes
confusion about whether the local
council can help in these matters.
If a high hedge is blocking out light to
a house or garden, a complaint can
be dealt with by the local authority
under the Antisocial Behaviour Act
2003. However, the high hedge has to
consist of two or more evergreen or
semi-evergreen trees or shrubs
in a line, so this doesnt apply in
your case.
If the tree was unsafe and the
neighbour refused to do anything
about it, the local council could
tackle the problem and could bill the
neighbour for its costs.
There is little more you can do
apart from considering moving
if the lack of light really affects your
wellbeing.
Neighbour disputes, even if they
are eventually resolved, can be very
draining and upsetting and should be
avoided wherever possible.
Q
WE HAVE just purchased a ground-floor flat
and we wish to extend into the rear garden,
either by building a conservatory or a
single-storey extension. Do we need written
permission from the freeholder? The flat is leasehold.
A
I would hope that during conveyancing you
discussed your plans for extending with your
solicitor and were given appropriate advice.
However, the terms of your lease will list
restrictions, stipulations and covenants relating to the flat.
You need to ensure the garden is part of your property
and that you do not just have an exclusive right to use it.
There is likely to be a covenant stating you must not make
any structural alterations to the flat without the prior
written consent of the freeholder, and look out for any
covenant stating the garden must only be used as a
private garden, and not for any other purpose, including
building on it.
If the garden does belong to you and the written consent
of the freeholder is required, you should contact them and
establish their requirements for granting consent. Even if
you own a share of the freehold, this should be done
formally. It is likely you will have to agree to meet the
freeholders costs associated with granting consent, such
as legal and surveyors fees. Plans must be drawn and you
must apply for any necessary planning, listed building and
building regulation consent. A deed of variation, which
varies the terms of your lease, may be needed depending
on the size of the extension. It would be very unwise to
proceed without the freeholders written consent.
Fiona
McNulty
OURLAWYERANSWERS
YOURQUESTIONS
Homes & Property Ask the expert homesandproperty.co.uk with
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EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014 35
Homes & Property Inside story homesandproperty.co.uk with
MONDAY
We have some fantastic new instruc-
tions on our books which I can start to
show this week.
The absolute pick of the bunch is a
Grade II-listed studio house in Holland
Park. Rare to the market, and with
enormous ceiling heights of 24 feet, an
open-plan reception room and feature
floor-to-ceiling windows allowing
plenty of bright, north-facing light to
flood in, this lovely property would
make the perfect pad for an artist or
for anyone with a bohemian streak.
Kensington is a great place to work,
with the richness of its architecture and
the diversity of its demographic. In just
one street such as Bedford Gardens you
can see Regency, Edwardian, late-Vic-
torian and Sixties architecture sitting
side by side a wonderful snapshot of
London through the ages.
TUESDAY
I spend the day arranging back-to-back
viewings for an off-market family
home in Kensington. This means we
dont publicly advertise the property
on our website or portals, so that
everything is kept as private as possible.
This is a service we provide for our
high-profile, wealthy clients selling
central London homes with very high
price tags.
WEDNESDAY
The rear tyre on my moped blows on
the way to work. I manage not to fall
off and after a swift visit to the nearest
garage and a speedy tyre repair, Im at
my desk. Soon Im taking a call from
the solicitor who tells me that a pretty
little mews house weve been market-
ing has just exchanged. Then I finally
get to do what I love most viewings.
Its my favourite part of the job.
THURSDAY
The market is moving very swiftly at
the moment . We are due to exchange
on a charming three-bedroom house
this morning. A flurry of emails is
exchanged and we all hold our breath
while we wait for the contracts to be
signed and the deposit monies to go
through. Its always a nervous moment,
no matter how many deals you have
under your belt, but everything goes
to plan and I use my lunch break to
grab some euros and an anniversary
present for my wife as we are off to
Rome for the weekend.
FRIDAY
Im taking a half-day off for our Italian
trip so I get into the office early to take
a few phone calls . The first two are the
type to bring a smile to any estate
agents face. Two of the prospective
buyers who I showed houses to on
Wednesday have bid. On the way to the
airport another one comes through.
Great week!
Diary of
an estate
agent
House huntings
like a fascinating
tour of London
through the ages
Tom Wilton is a sales negotiator
with Strutt & Parker, based at the
Kensington office (020 7938 3666).
1,350 A
WEEK
THIS handsome
five-bedroom
house in
Dundonald
Road, NW10, is
available to rent
through
Queens Park
Partnership.
Visit homes
andproperty.
co.uk/
rentdundonald