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Homes&
Wednesday 7 August 2013
African art goes
Property
contemporary
Design trends
Page 10
NEW HOMES: EAST IS EDEN P4 SLASHING STAMP DUTY P7 HOUSE OF THE FUTURE P22 SPOTLIGHT ON CUSTOM HOUSE P28
A home fit
for purpose
A millionaire working mum’s
super-efficient family house
Page 20
JOHN LAWRENCE
London’s best property search website: homesandproperty.co.uk
2 WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Online homesandproperty.co.uk with
This week: homesandproperty.co.uk
news:
Summer’s property drought Property in partnership with
£799,950: family
homes like this
search
four-bedroom
terrace in Riffel
Road, NW2, are
London buy of the week
becoming hard
to find.
for shopping and partying
O Visit homes £689,950: for a spot of summer entertaining, this
and property. Battersea garden flat is perfect. A slick kitchen with
co.uk/riffel monochrome styling, granite worktops and skylights forms
part of a striking open-plan living area leading to the
LONDON is suffering a property drought — with a garden, while the en suite master bedroom leads to a nice
shortage of homes for sale said to be the cause of the little courtyard. There is also a good-size second bedroom
capital’s steadily rising prices. and a bathroom, plus a useful cellar space. The location is
The latest research shows only 65,000 homes were put ideal for shopping in Battersea Rise and Northcote Road
on the market in London in the first six months of this and for exploring Clapham Common. Through Foxtons.
year — compared with 87,400 in the same period three
years ago. Meanwhile, according to the study from Home. O Visit homesandproperty/buyoftheweekbattersea
co.uk, the number of new homes coming to the market
has fallen by two thirds over just six years. Experts say
that this shortage of homes for sale is the reason London
property prices continue to rise, as buyers both British Out of town buy of the week
and foreign are competing for what is available.
your place by the River Waveney
O Read Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk
£750,000: drift away on the dreamy two reception rooms take full
views of the River Waveney from the advantage of the lovely setting.
hot homes: what can you full-length balcony of this elevated
Norfolk home in Geldeston. An acre of
There is a ground-floor en suite
guest bedroom as well as four
buy with £105m these days? beautifully landscaped gardens stretch
down through woodland to a romantic
further bedrooms upstairs.
A double garage and workshop
£3 million: this boardwalk and private river mooring. complete the package. Through
Scottish island Back at the house, the kitchen is full Abbotts.
can be yours of character with its de rigueur Aga and
with plenty of walk-in larder, while French windows in O Visit homesandproperty/swapgeld
change from
£105 million.
Join our property
Life changer paying guests
spending spree and breathtaking views
THE rumours that Real Madrid may be ready to pay a £695,000: in Wiggaton, Devon, this early 18th-century
record £105 million for Tottenham Hotspur star Gareth thatch comes with an English country garden full of
Bale puts the forward at the top of the transfer market. scented roses, peonies and lavender, and summerhouses
But the super-prime property market is red-hot, too, overlooking the Otter Valley. Winkhouse Farm also has
so join us as we go on a fantasy spending spree with income potential with a converted barn and former dairy
£105 million. The homes we snap up are a £65 million perfect for paying holiday guests, while the cottage itself
London crash pad, a £35 million, 14-bedroom weekend has three bedrooms, drawing and sitting rooms with open
estate in Oxfordshire, and a £3 million, 260-acre private fires and beams, a charming kitchen/dining room and a
island (above) in Scotland, complete with two homes, a conservatory to relax in. Through Strutt & Parker.
helicopter hangar, boathouse, observatory and beaches.
O Visit homesandproperty/lifechangerwiggaton
O For more luxury homes, visit homesandproperty.co.uk Faye Greenslade
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Homes & Property, Northcliffe
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memoryfoamwarehouse.co.uk House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, round, find Casillero del Diablo wines
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EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 3
homesandproperty.co.uk with News Homes & Property
Goldie quits her
Zen den in Malibu A luxury live/
É GOLDIE HAWN and Kurt Russell
work space for
have sold their Malibu beach home.
They have been letting it for £58,000
pop stars
a month while waiting for a buyer
since 2011, when the property was SARM STUDIOS in Notting Hill
listed at £9.6 million. have hosted some of the
The Hollywood golden couple
(right) have settled for £6.1 million for
biggest names in music. Bob
Marley, Led Zeppelin, Queen,
If Liam needs an
the Californian retreat, which Hawn
designed to be über-relaxing, with
the Rolling Stones, Madonna,
Robbie Williams and Rihanna
oasis, his bandmate
Zen-inspired décor and a master (right) are just some who have has a £7m bargain
suite with a private deck overlooking recorded inside the Basing
the beach. They can now jet-set Street building. ÉLIAM GALLAGHER’S marriage to
between their main base in Pacific Originally owned by Island Nicole Appleton (below) may be in
Palisades and Marylebone, where Records founder Chris meltdown after claims the rocker has
REX FEATURES
Hawn’s actress daughter, mother-of- Blackwell in the early a love child with American journalist
two Kate Hudson, lives with her Seventies, it was later Liza Ghorbani, but will he be leaving
fiancé, Muse singer Matt Bellamy. acquired by producer Trevor the marital home? Should he move
Horn who has worked with on, he need look no further than to
superstars Tom Jones and Tina his former bandmate Alan White.
Turner. It is about to be The Oasis drummer is keen to sell his
transformed into nine luxury Knightsbridge home, now reduced in
flats and office studios. But price from £7.5 million to £7 million.
the music legacy won’t be lost Just off Cadogan Square, the
as two hi-tech studios, where 2,800sq ft house comes with two
artists can write and produce bedrooms and a media room where
their work, will be housed on White stores his drum kit and
the lower-ground floor. memorabilia. “This has been a great
This is the ideal spot for pop house for me, but after having our
stars on the lookout for a son we have decided to move to the
central London pad. country for more space for him to
run around,” says White. It’s on the
GETTY IMAGES
By Amira Hashish Got some gossip? books at Brooks Gordon, Liam.
Tweet @amiranews Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/
clabon
On location in
Shad Thames
ÉA PENTHOUSE that’s a hotspot for
celebrity photo shoots is available to
rent in Shad Thames. Daniel Craig
(left) was photographed in the living
room for Men’s Vogue, Clive Owen
posed at the bar for a Three Olives
Vodka campaign, and it made the
ideal backdrop for a glossy magazine
cover featuring Kim Cattrall.
Set in the Anchor Brewhouse
building, it has stunning views of
Tower Bridge, and for £5,000 a week
you get direct lift access and 24-hour
REX FEATURES
GETTY IMAGES
concierge. It is listed with Hamptons.
Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/
anchor
4 WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property New homes homesandproperty.co.uk with
E
AST LONDON has been
scooping gold since its
Olympic-bid success in
2005, with property prices
jumping by £1,000 a month
even today, says LloydsTSB analysis
based on Land Registry Data.
It is hard to believe that an area so
recently synonymous with slum
housing, striking dockers and jellied
eels has morphed into the most
compelling corner of the capital. Not
so much a “district” as a big, and
diverse sprawl stretching from
fashionable Shoreditch through the
Hackney hinterland to the terraces of
West Ham United FC and the
Docklands waterfront, with both
raw and refined neighbourhoods
appealing to homebuyers and renters
attracted by the bright eastern lights.
Up to £10 billion of Olympics-
inspired new infrastructure was
bound to make a difference. Yet From £1,325,000: apartments at 20 Hoxton Square, next to the White Cube art
the full legacy benefits have still to gallery. This penthouse has been snapped up by an American investment banker
be felt.
THE NEW ECONOMY
Hectic and eclectic, young and bold,
east London is at the forefront of the
new economy, spawning digital,
Head east for
Eden
design and creative industries and
becoming the engine of
entrepreneurialism — a place for
fashionistas, finance-sector workers
and families alike. It has a rooted
community of artists, a burgeoning
cultural scene with galleries,
museums and pop-ups, plus new
noted restaurants and fashion
boutiques, homeware stores,
farmers’ markets and designer hotels
such as Conran’s Boundary.
Who would have guessed that East London is on a roll with house prices
Michelin-starred Nobu would arrive
in Hoxton, or that a Ginger Pig growing £1,000 a month. By David Spittles
butcher and a Burberry outlet store
would open in Hackney? create the UK’s first inner-city cluster of independent shops, bars THE GREAT MOVE EAST from Fulham, Putney and even
Textile Building, across the road fashion outlet centre, with more than and eateries that have sprouted up More Londoners now live east of Chelsea. There’s a buzz about the
from the Hackney Empire, one of 70,000 sq ft of retail space for local around Lauriston Road. Blackfriars Bridge than in the west of place, it’s maturing fast and already
London’s oldest entertainment and international brands, a café, Gentrification is spreading to the city. Migration east is continuing is quite sophisticated.
venues, was where Burberry used to restaurant and design studios. Georgian and Victorian terraces, to change the area’s old “Unusually for London, the
manufacture clothes and luxury Work has started to convert railway with houses surrounding London demographics. The east London line business world and the artistic
goods to sell in its West End shops arches in Morning Lane and to Fields and Mile End’s Tredegar extension has opened up areas community happily co-exist, side by
and overseas stores. The factory has replace temporary structures used Square conservation area often previously unknown to many side. Cycling along the canal in the
been converted into 64 apartments by Pringle and Aquascutum with fetching more than £1.5 million. homebuyers and a building boom is morning you’re guaranteed to pass
and is part of the emerging Chatham permanent premises alongside the A fresh wave of residential bringing ever-better new housing. one person going to UBS in the City
Place fashion hub, where design- Burberry factory shop. development is under way at Canary Carl Schmid of estate agent Fyfe and another heading off to their
conscious developer Manhattan Victoria Park, always one of east Wharf, while awesome Royal Docks Mcdade says east is the new west. workshop in Hoxton.”
Loft Corporation and architect David London’s best addresses, is going is poised to become a giant new “A decade ago, east London was a At 20 Hoxton Square, a new
Adjaye are collaborating on a from strength to strength and business district, backed by Chinese place for property pioneers, now it’s development alongside White Cube
£100 million project. The aim is to acquired “village” status due to the investment. attracting buyers with bigger budgets art gallery, the 1,600 sq ft penthouse
Left: smart
pubs, like The
Hemingway in
Victoria Park
Road, are giving
a new village
atmosphere
to E9
Right: sun
worshippers at
the London
Fields Lido in
Hackney
Far right: from
£799,500, flats
at Redchurch
Lofts are in a
chic new scheme
next to über-cool
Shoreditch
House members
club and
REBECCA REID
are aimed at a
young City crowd
(Call 020 7613
4044)
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 5
!! ! !
New homes Homes & Property
!
Glamour push: BEYOND STRATFORD
penthouse living There is a “concentrated focus of
adds cachet to regeneration” in postcodes
Stratford’s new surrounding Stratford, with changes
East Village pushing out to Hackney Wick, West
(above), while Ham and Leyton, according to
the exclusive property consultant Hamptons
Shoreditch House International.
private members The Olympic Park is the largest
club has a rooftop recreational space to be created in
pool and sun Europe for 150 years, while the land
terrace (left). next door, which includes Westfield
Visit shoreditch shopping mall, is a new commercial
house.com centre for east London — 184 acres,
with 13.5 million sq ft of space.
East Village has been unveiled as
the capital’s “newest neighborhood”,
with 2,818 homes and its own
postcode, E20. Shared-ownership
homes start at £67,500. Visit
triathlonhomes.com
Five more new neighbourhoods are
has been bought by a US investment walk to work,” says Helen, 47. “We’ve being built during the next 15 years.
banker, adds Schmid. Prices from no regrets about moving to this side Next up is Taylor Wimpey’s 800-
£1,325,000. Redchurch Lofts, next of London. We thought we might home Chobham Manor and coming
to Shoreditch House members club, miss Harrods and Hyde Park but later is Strand East, a 26-acre
is another new scheme. Prices from there’s so much happening here, waterside scheme with 1,200 homes + +&' +'!+
£799,500. Call 020 7613 4044. with terrific energy on the streets — developed by flatpack furniture ! +! +!+! ! ,&+ !&'+
Helen and Andrew Bridges recently and great places to eat, one of our chain Ikea. The regeneration
moved from Onslow Gardens, passions.” agencies involved hope to attract &!('$ '%+ %&&&
Kensington, to postcode EC1, buying Nick Davies of estate agent Stirling locals and outsiders — affluent
a new two-bedroom flat with a Ackroyd speaks of a “golden triangle” middle-class home buyers as well as
terrace at a scheme called — formed by the City financial low-budget first-timers, plus singles, 0+ +5;1)+/;; 6+2-/6:661)+5+
Clerkenwell Quarter. Prices from district, Canary Wharf and Stratford. couples and families, all living -0+-/1+2+ .:6/+1+-/1
£485,000. Call 020 7749 3800. Within this area lie the hotspots of together in this new eastern “Eden”.
“It’s close to Andrew’s broking Dalston, Homerton, Clapton, '51+ 1+.1+64+-0+/ : -:+-;1661+ 65+
office in Shoreditch so he can now Bethnal Green and Bow.
:0/:-+ 1 1+-0+-9
+5++ +01++-+ 1::+-+1- -)+
‘East London .-+-0+11-6;1
feels fun, lively ;1+-+5.5-;+ -+-1+1 1/10+
and fresh’ +4++-:1+6+*3
CHRISTABEL
BEESON, 23, an !! !! !
events manager for
Grub Club, a pop-up
food company, is a
west London
emigré, switching
from a backwater of !! ! ! !
Victoria — “stale and
expensive” — to a
canalside home in
Shoreditch — “fun,
lively and fresh”.
“My job is to source
unusual spaces and
premises that have a
twist, and virtually all
of them I find are in
'1;+-0+/066+-:8+& .71/++:-64+1;668+; 1411-10+6;-41+016/+
east London, which # 11+:6-.15+!:;6/+"-98+ 4 +* 8
shows how fast-
changing the place is.”
6 WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Affordable homes homesandproperty.co.uk with
S
ITTING slap-bang between
London Bridge and Canada
Water, Bermondsey could
barely be in a handier loca-
tion. So it’s not surprising that
the area is becoming increasingly
trendy, with restaurants such as Zucca
and Alfie’s at the Bermondsey Square
Hotel opening alongside nightspots
such as The Hide Bar. There are great
food shops along Maltby Street, while
treasure-hunting at Bermondsey
Square Antiques Market early on a
Friday morning is a must.
Shortwave, a 52-seat independent
cinema, offers a far more intimate
experience than watching a block-
buster at a multiplex.
And when the White Cube art gallery
moved in, this city fringe was given the
ultimate seal of fashionable approval.
GRAHAM JEPSON
The location is also exceptionally
central. Bermondsey station is in Zone
2, with Jubilee line services to Canary
Wharf in about 10 minutes and Bond
Street in 15 minutes. Trains from South Vibrant and expanding: Bermondsey’s railway-arch market From £50,000: one-bedroom shared-ownership flats at Blueprint, near South Bermondsey station
Check out an area that has it all
Bermondsey railway station take four
minutes to reach London Bridge. All
Fast-paced, fashionable and in a in the £67,000 to £75,000 range. There
are also two three-bedroom flats, ‘It’s a chance
balconies or patios, and there is also a
pocket park in the middle of the devel-
these plus points have already inflated
prices in this firmly up-and-coming
central location, Bermondsey is which will be priced at between
£80,000 and £82,000. The properties
to invest opment, which is handy for the Surrey
Quays Shopping Centre.
area, putting them out of the reach of a great option for young buyers, are part of a development of 127 homes while the The only downside is that it is close
most first-time buyers. Loft apartments — the rest will be sold privately or let area is still to railway lines, with some properties
in former warehouses around Shad says Ruth Bloomfield — on the site of the former Silwood
up and overlooking the track. In an attempt to
Thames and Bermondsey Street regu- Street estate, and are designed by mitigate this, the flats have been
larly sell for £2.5 million. award-winning PRP architects. coming. designed with glazed “winter gardens”,
But for those on a modest budget, “The key thing about these homes is You’re going so residents can enjoy greenery with-
there are still options. Notting Hill that they are in a slightly lesser-known out being deafened by train noise.
Housing (nottinghillhousing.org.uk) is part of Southwark,” says Gordon. “It to get these Priority for the flats will be given to
set to launch 19 shared-ownership is a chance to invest while it is still up homes at a first-time buyers currently living in
properties at Blueprint, a develop- and coming. You are going to get these Southwark, but residents of Bexley,
ment being built 200 metres from homes at a great price, and we would great price’ Bromley, Greenwich or Lewisham will
South Bermondsey station. expect young singles and professional also be considered. Buyers must have
Because the area is already so expen- couples to be the key demographic.” a household income of less than
sive, these homes are being sold as There is much to recommend Blue- £66,000 to qualify for a one- or two-
25 per cent shares to make them afford- print. The site passes the green space bedroom flat, or less than £80,000 to
able to first-time buyers. test, since it is only a short walk from apply for a three- or four-bedroom
The development is due to launch the gates of the Green Flag award-win- home. A minimum income of £31,881
early next month, at which point pre- ning Southwark Park, which has sports will be required for the smaller units.
cise prices will be available, but Wendy pitches, a boating lake and café. Each Later this year, L&Q housing associa-
Gordon, the site’s shared-ownership flat has its own outside space, including tion will offer four shared-ownership
sales manager, says one-bedroom flats homes in its St Crispin’s House develop-
will sell for about £50,000 to £58,000 On trend: art on display at the White ment in Alscot Road, near Bermondsey
and two-bedroom homes will be priced Cube gallery in Bermondsey Spa Gardens (lqgroup.org.uk).
WATERSIDE LIVING
A stylish collection of 1,2 and 3 bedroom apartments
on the banks of the Grand Union Canal.
Prices ranging from £284,950 to £579,950.
& " " * $ "& ! " *
&&" # * " ! *" * !
" ! "( "# " ! %
' ( " "( ("
" )
% "& ! "% %
Prices correct at the time of going to press.
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 7
homesandproperty.co.uk with Stamp duty Homes & Property
GETTING LONDONERS HOUSED
A crisis looms with two thirds of Londoners
already paying the higher-rate stamp duty
Slashing stamp duty is the best way to get Help hard-pressed home buyers:
Naomi Heaton thinks the Government
young Londoners into their first home should follow the example of
ministers north of the border and
says Naomi Heaton, boss of top property rethink stamp duty thresholds
services firm London Central Portfolio
A
S SCOTTISH ministers level at which the three per cent tax hit price, which means they cannot trade
finally do away with stamp kicks in, despite average house prices up either. This freezes the market and
duty and a consultation rising over threefold from £72,900 to prevents first-time buyers from getting
begins in Wales to do the £239,296 since 1997. a look-in.
same thing, it is high time Stamp duty was a tax introduced to As “stamp duty Doomsday” beckons,
the Tories also kept to their election generate revenue from the wealthiest and with average prices within a hair’s
promise and made changes to Britain’s of buyers. According to Nationwide, a breadth of £250,000, the present Chan-
most-hated tax. house worth £250,000 in 1997 would cellor must move quickly to reassess
A crisis looms as the average price of be equivalent to £716,000 today. One the tax banding. While the Govern-
property in England and Wales rapidly could say it was the “mansion tax” of ment’s much-trumpeted Help to Buy
approaches the £250,000 mark — the the Nineties but what equated to riches stimulus package has begun to unlock
point when stamp duty triples from then is no longer the case in 2013. the market, this can only be good news
one per cent to three per cent of the Having dragged more and more if the one per cent stamp duty trigger
purchase price. This increase could see ordinary buyers into its grips, stamp is also raised.
80,000 people a year falling into this duty will soon be an “everyman” tax: Re-evaluating the threshold will give
higher tax bracket, facing a huge just another way for the Treasury to buyers a much-needed boost, allowing
£7,500 tax bill, rather than a somewhat dip into our pockets. home owners to trade up and first-time
more affordable £2,500. buyers to begin climbing the ladder.
It is ironic that it was a Scotsman who NOW FIRST-TIME BUYERS ARE Even the Treasury can make some
first introduced the crippling £250,000 BEING FROZEN OUT money. For every purchase that does
stamp duty tax threshold. Before Across the country, 26 per cent of buy- not happen because of the £250,000
Gordon Brown took the job as chancel- ers now pay more than £250,000 for barrier, the Government earns three
lor, stamp duty was set at a flat rate of their property and in London it is per cent of nothing. For every property
one per cent for all properties sold over 62 per cent. For people who have sale that would go through, due to a
£60,000. In 1997, however, Brown already paid income tax, stumping up kinder stamp duty regime, the Govern-
introduced the notion of stepped another £5,000 of stamp duty for their ment would earn one per cent of some-
stamp duty tax bands, bringing in a family home is not only a double thing: a win-win situation which would
new threshold of 1.5 per cent at whammy but equivalent to another make a real difference.
£250,001. He then raised the charge by 10 per cent on top of their deposit. A government keen to trumpet “fair
half of one per cent every year until Transactions have dropped 32 per taxation” should question how this tax
2000, when it reached three per cent. cent since 1997 and the fall-out, should can possibly bring fairness to a nation
It has stuck at that level ever since. the band not be reassessed, could be of aspiring homeowners, and take heed
In the apparent interest of “fair tax- even more devastating. Not surpris- of the TaxPayers’ Alliance Stamp Out
ation” — but more as a desperate ingly, potential buyers are reluctant to Stamp Duty campaign.
attempt to plug the public finance pay three per cent stamp duty on prop-
deficit — recent years have brought erties above £250,000. Not only is this O Naomi Heaton is chief executive of
ALAN AIKEN
additional thresholds at £500,000, a barrier to trading up but owners of London Central Portfolio, residential
£1 million and £2 million. No move, properties above £250,000 are then experts and fund managers
though, has been made to raise the unable to sell, or only at a reduced (londoncentralportfolio.com).
8 WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Homes abroad homesandproperty.co.uk with
Great outdoors:
Les Gets is in
a sublime Alpine
spot, perfect
for the whole
family to enjoy
S
£588,900: UMMER in the Alps and the
Annapurna living is easy, especially if
offers 44 you are in Les Gets, the small
three-bedroom French village with a loyal
apartments on British following. Small
a rare village- enough to feel cosy, big enough for
centre plot. full-on family-friendly activities and
Through Alpine high enough to have a good winter
Advisors snow record, Les Gets is a winning
Alpine village that — joy of joys — is
only an hour from Geneva airport.
“The appeal is simple,” says Gareth
Jeffries of Winkworth associates
Alpine Property, and a long-term
local resident. “You can’t
overestimate the importance of the
easy access to Geneva. Les Gets is a
pretty Savoyarde village that is truly
year-round. It links directly into the
Portes du Soleil with 400 miles of
skiing for winter and is just above
A small village at the peak of popularity
Morzine, which is at the epicentre of to 1,400sq ft on a rare village-centre
excellent summer mountain biking.” British buyers flock to Les Gets in the Alps, won over plot close to the ski lifts with
Les Gets’ year-round population of
1,300 swells to 16,000 in peak weeks by its year-round charm, says Cathy Hawker underground parking and spa, from
£588,900 through Alpine Advisors.
and its reputation as a very British Winkworth has a new furnished
resort is unfair: 82 per cent of visitors 50 miles of cycle tracks lead across studios for £86,330 to substantial two-bedroom apartment 200 yards
are French, says Gaelle Le Coz of Les green pastures to Switzerland. villas up on the Route des Chavannes from the ski lift in Les Gets for
Gets Tourist Office. The buzzy, The downsides — the resort is on for about £1.76 million. Most buyers, £237,500 and a three-bedroom one
compact centre has 100 shops and the western edge of the Portes du says Jeffries, want a chalet. beside the Perrières piste for
over 40 restaurants and bars while a Soleil and away from the snow-sure £272,000. A newly completed
free bus connects to outlying hamlets. high spot of Avoriaz — don’t seem to VIEW TO A NEW BUILD three-bedroom chalet is £462,000.
For summer visitors there’s an bother its hardcore fans. Property There are good-value chalets at lower
18-hole golf course and well-linked prices are 25 per cent down from prices. Athena Advisors is selling off- CHALET COMFORTS
footpaths suitable for all ability their 2008 highs but remained stable plan homes in Les Gets from British businessman Martin
levels, with plenty of places to stop throughout 2011 and last year. £332,430 for two-bedroom semi- Lightbody bought a plot of land
for a mountainside lunch. The Les Gets properties are 30 per cent detached chalets by the ski lift in Les above Les Gets and has built one of
exceptional Bikepark caters for more affordable than those in Perrières. Twelve apartments in the the resort’s most comfortable chalets.
beginners to advanced riders while Chamonix, ranging from 20-year-old K2 project next door, at the same Grand Corniche is a four-floor
price, sold out this year but the five- light-filled chalet with six en-suite
Luxury life: bedroom penthouse has come back bedrooms sleeping 12 and a further
Chalet Grand to the market for £842,000. four in a small adjoining mazot (mini
ESHomesAndProperty
Corniche offers
Two- to five-bedroom chalets at chalet). Inside there is a snooker
renters six Kilimandjaro, an easy walk to the room, a glass sauna, even a covered
en suite centre of Les Gets, have also sold aluminium slide from the top floor
bedrooms as well
as spectacular
views of nearby
well. The homes are on a slight slope
which provides good views, and start
from £440,370. Annapurna is
into the wine cellar, while the open-
plan living area with wraparound
terrace has views to Mont Blanc.
Mont Blanc perhaps the best of all: 44 three-
bedroom apartments from 645sq ft
Martin chose Les Gets after
considering several other French and
Swiss resorts. Val d’Isère, he felt, was
a long transfer from Geneva, Megève
was attractive but had limited skiing,
while Verbier was too expensive.
“Les Gets was one of the prettiest
villages with access to marvellous
skiing,” he says. “Add to this transfer
from Geneva and very sensible prices
and it was an easy decision.”
Grande Corniche is available to
rent fully staffed and catered from
£10,800 a week through Consensio.
! Find us on CONTACTS
facebook O Athena Advisors: athenaadvisors.
co.uk (020 7471 4500)
O Winkworth France: winkworth.fr
(020 8576 5582)
O Consensio: consensioholidays.co.uk
(020 3393 0833)
10 WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Design homesandproperty.co.uk with
African art is bold,
A
F R I C A N and Western
designers inspired by
traditional materials,
colours and techniques are
working together to create
a new take on African design.
London is alive with African culture
this summer — in the theatre (A Season
in the Congo, at the Young Vic), in music
(next month’s London African Music
Festival) and in an abundance of art.
Ghanaian artist El Anatsui has covered
the façade of the Royal Academy with a
glittering frieze of flattened Nigerian
bottletops. Across the river, Tate
Modern is hosting two major shows of
African artists, and others are exhibiting
at smaller galleries around town.
As part of this surge of African cul-
ture, the work of the continent’s con-
temporary designers is also attracting
attention. Bold, confident and colour-
ful, it is increasingly visible thanks to
the work of individuals and design col-
lectives combining Western skills and
ideas with traditional African materi-
als, patterns and techniques.
Print it: cushions made from The resulting products exude the
Ghanaian fabrics, from £32 at vibrant colours and strong graphics we
Darkroom (darkroomlondon.com)
PICTURES BY KARL ROGERS
associate with Africa, which are also
London is alive with African culture and new major trends in Western fashion and
interiors.
designers creating homeware in vibrant If you want to know more about
African design, a great starting point is
Unmissable: furniture and artwork at Habitat’s Graphic Africa at Platform, SW3
colours and patterns, says Kate Burnett Graphic Africa, an exhibition hosted
next month by high street retailer
Habitat at its Platform gallery on King’s
Road, SW3. This is a capsule collection
of contemporary African designers
who have been brought together
through an initiative called Design
Network Africa (DNA). As well as work-
ing with DNA to create the exhibition,
Habitat has also worked with one of the
DNA designers, Boubacar Doumbia
from Mali, to make a collection of
cushions.
The show represents the second
phase of DNA’s work in Africa, with a
new six-year phase about to start. The
programme is directed by Trevyn and
Julian McGowan, both directors of
Source, a company based in Cape Town
Woven: African basketwork often features deceptively simple geometric patterns Drying: Malian Boubacar Doumbia’s “mud” fabrics feature in a new Habitat range in South Africa which has been export-
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 11
homesandproperty.co.uk with Design Homes & Property
colourful and contemporary On the line:
South Africa’s
Zulu artists and
makers weave
telephone cables
into richly
coloured
baskets, left.
Traditional
weaving
techniques are
used to create
contempory
furniture for the
Graphic Africa
exhibition, right
All done: mud cushions, ready to ship
Earthy colours
with the help
of Malian mud
ing African design to the rest of the The resulting lines, exhibited at this & Design in 2010. Her designs, “a the Congo (hence her company name HABITAT senior designer Rebecca Hoyes
world for more than a decade. They year’s Milan furniture fair, have an merger between African and western La Petite Congolaise — little woman first visited Ghana in November last
oversaw the selection of the 16 compa- aesthetic that is modern but also dis- cultures which always tell an African from the Congo) and she has recruited year to attend a Design Network Africa
nies from 10 African countries from a tinctively African. Products can be story”, will be available by the metre them as part of an international workshop and then returned to Africa
shortlist of 120. “Many of these compa- purchased via Mabeo’s website, and for the first time later this year via her network that helps her find the right to collaborate on a project designing a
nies have unique skills in weaving, are then made to order in Botswana website. textiles for her products. range of cushions for Habitat.
furniture, glass or metal, wood or clay and shipped to customers worldwide Eva Sonaike is also based in London The vibrant colour and pattern of the She worked with Malian designer
and the resulting mixtures of compa- in between six and 12 weeks. and will launch her first fabric collec- textiles, and the confident use of mate- Boubacar Doumbia to design the
nies and materials were intriguing. Here in London there are more tion next month, again available via her rials may hark back to respected African cushions using Bogolon mud fabrics
We’re aiming for a different impression designers and retailers who are bring- website. Of Nigerian origin but born traditions but these designers are from Mali.
of what African design can be,” com- ing their take on Africa to a wider audi- and raised in Germany, Eva trained in creating a new definition for African “We worked with print in a very raw
ments Trevyn. “It’s graphic and fresh ence. Three young female designers, fashion in London and worked as a design that is reaching a much wider form, using mud from the Niger river.
with a very strong narrative.” all with African roots, have looked to journalist before setting up her own but equally appreciative audience. The Bogolan technique is typically
This blend of European and African African printed textiles for inspiration. label in 2009. Her mission is “bringing Malian and well-known for its rich,
design is not only happening thanks to These brightly coloured printed tex- colour to life” and she uses her textiles FIND MORE ONLINE earthy colours,” says Rebecca, who
the efforts of DNA and Habitat, but tiles, often with distinctive modern to cover pouffes and other furniture. O habitat.co.uk loves to explore techniques and
individual designers and companies graphic motifs, have undergone a Her products are sold in London show- O designnetworkafrica.org processes as part of her design work.
are also experimenting with eye-catch- revival in Africa and are increasingly rooms including Samson Soboye’s O soboye.com “Together with Boubacar we have
ing results. In Africa companies like popular and easy to find here. Banke store on Calvert Avenue in Shoreditch, O mabeofurniture.com developed four authentic designs for
Mabeo in Botswana have invited cele- Kuku’s studio is in west London from and she has also exhibited recently in O afriqueauthentique- Habitat which also have a very
brated European and north American where she designs fabrics for use in New York. authenticafrica.com contemporary feel.”
designers such as Patricia Urquiola and accessories and upholstery. Born in Laurence Kanza’s products are also O bankekuku.com
Garth Roberts to apply their skills and Lagos, Banke was educated here and available through Samson Soboye and O lapetitecongolaise.com O habitat.co.uk/Platform_upcoming/
thinking to contemporary products. graduated from Chelsea College of Art on her own site. Her family comes from O evasonaike.com content/fcp-content12 WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Design homesandproperty.co.uk with
4
MANY gadgets are claimed to make Hard floors can be tough to
1 2 life easier, but we’ve tested these clean so save time with the
babies and they really could save you Vorverk VK150, plus an SP530
well over seven hours a week. cleaning attachment (£849; vkdirect.
co.uk). Tests showed it cleaned floors
1
Watering systems are big garden in a third of the time it took to mop,
time savers. Research by Gardena scrub and vacuum. Even if you’re just
shows we spend an average 24 mopping a kitchen and bathroom, it
minutes a week watering plants and will save you nearly half an hour. The
vegetables. Gardena’s Micro Drip Vorverk also uses 90 per cent less
system (from £59.99; visit gardena. water and gets better results.
co.uk) can drip or sprinkle water on Weekly time saving: at least
to flowerbeds, veg patches and even 28 minutes
patio containers. It uses water
5
sparingly and operates with a timer, Cook more quickly. Induction
so once set up you needn’t do a hobs are 90 per cent efficient,
thing. Keep in place permanently while gas hobs are about 50 per
(the black hose lies discreetly on the cent efficient and traditional electric
soil) or temporarily to water plants hobs 55 per cent. That energy goes
while you’re on holiday. into your cooking so induction hobs
Weekly time saving: 24 minutes cook faster; water boils nearly twice
time savers 2
Robotic lawnmowers are ideal for
medium to large lawns and can
even navigate obstacles such as
as fast with induction. Stellar portable
induction hobs (from £84; stellarcook
ware.co.uk) can be added to any
kitchen, saving 10 minutes a day.
Design
Desig
ign trends
ig tre
re
end
nds
s
trees and garden furniture. The Weekly time saving: 70 minutes
Honda Miimo (from £1,990; visit
6
honda.co.uk/garden/miimo) cuts Food processors are great but
little and often, automatically take so long to set up and clean,
mowing several times a week then they rarely save much time.
recharging itself at its base station Üutensil’s kitchen tools save time on
By beside the lawn. The fine
(2-3mm) clippings are
simple cooking tasks such as
whisking or mashing.
Carmel 3 4 scattered on the grass,
5 The Red Dot design
so there’s no box to award-winning
Quin empty. And your Stirr (£15; uutensil.
lawn is always com), a battery-
neatly mowed — as powered automatic
if by magic. pan stirrer, sits in a
Weekly time saucepan and travels
saving: at least in a circle breaking
an hour up lumps to produce
impressively smooth
3
According sauces.
to speed- Weekly time
shower saving: half an
maker Mira, hour
most of us waste at
7
least 30 seconds a day waiting for If you don’t have a
6 7 the shower to come up to the right dishwasher then get one — it
temperature. The Mira Platinum saves so much time. Look for a
Dual (from £790; mirashowers.co.uk) high-capacity machine that’s easy to
has a wireless remote control so load. Research by Intertek UK and
you can switch it on from the dishwashingexpert.co.uk shows that
bedroom. What’s more, an the 14-place setting Caple Di628
eco-mode pauses the shower (£699; caple.co.uk) takes only
once it has reached the desired 10 minutes to load and unload,
temperature so that no water compared with 70 minutes it would
is wasted. take you to handwash the lot.
Weekly time saving: at least three Weekly time saving: four hours
and a half minutes and 40 minutes
! $
#
" %% EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 13
homesandproperty.co.uk with Events Homes & Property
1 Green Printmaking Workshop and
1 Bike Tours, August 25. Depart from 2 3
Greenland Dock, SE16, 10.30am
(07968 717997; artouride.com)
Jackie Blake runs “design and art” bike
tours and workshops. This is a day
along the Thames riverside path on a
stylish Brompton bike, exploring
Greenwich or Wapping foreshores
(depending on tides). En route, learn
how to print “found objects” using only
the sun. Price of £65 is reduced to £50
for readers. All materials, expert
tuition and bike use included. Also
throughout the month, Sunday tours of
street art, plus architecture/design
tours on Mondays and Saturday (£28).
2 Shake the Dust pop-up, open now
until end of September, Gabriel’s
Wharf, 56 Upper Ground, SE1 (07807
4 741073; shake-the-dust.co.uk)
Founder Kathy Shenoy’s fluoro baskets
in vivid shades by African co-operative
Five things to do Wycombe charity Out of the Dark. See
what a team of young people made
with them, restoring furniture with the
help of master craftsmen.
Gone Rural are made from textile
waste, sweet wrappers, grass and
sisal. Also bowls woven from
in August 5 The Future is Here: A New Industrial
Revolution, now until November 3,
magazine covers. By Barbara Chandler The Design Museum, SE1 (020 7940
8790; designmuseum.org)
3 Goodwood House Summer Stubbs and Canaletto. Open Sundays to We’re used to cheap goods on the high
Exhibition, now until the end of the Thursdays, with cream teas in the street made in the Far East, but could
month at Goodwood House, near Regency ballroom. Adults, £9.50; teens 5 that change soon? Yes, says this
Chichester, West Sussex (01243 £4, and under-12s free. challenging show. Prepare to grapple
755000; goodwood.co.uk) with unfamiliar concepts and
Leaving aside the fast cars, this 17th- 4 Out of the Dark, now until August technologies, often shared via the
century home of the Dukes of Richmond 31, Timorous Beasties showroom, 46 internet, allowing local manufacture.
is flaunting its French connections with Amwell Street, EC1 (020 7833 5010 or Look out for the open-sourced design
paintings, furniture and stories, plus the 01494 550286; outofthedark.org.uk) for a sofa from made.com and these
famous Sèvres china commissioned by Here’s what happened when Glaswegian 3D digitally printed Makie dolls.
the 3rd Duke when he was ambassador fabric designers Timorous Beasties Entrance with museum ticket: £10.85
in Paris. See also pictures by George donated fabrics to pioneering High adult; £9.70 concession; £6.50 student.16 WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Reader promotion homesandproperty.co.uk with
Bargain news
Alison
Cork
A shade above Improve your
the everyday outlook with
interior designs bespoke doors
TALENTED textile designer AYRTON BESPOKE builds made-to-
Jayc G Gylsen creates measure high-quality timber French
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Check out a handsome chair readers a 15 per cent discount. All its
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where possible. To offer feedback on any of these companies, email homesandproperty@standard.co.uk with “Bargain News” in the subject line. For more bargains, visit alisonathome.com or homesand property.co.uk/offers
,
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,,* * ( ,' " &&+ 20 WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Our home homesandproperty
49 shades
of grey
and a splash of pink
Self-made millionaire and mother-of-two
Maria Hatzistefanis has designed and carefully
zoned her family’s Notting Hill home for a
super-efficient lifestyle, reports Katie Law
C
OSMETICS queen Maria Lots Road Auctions and Carew Jones
Hatzistefanis and her family in Chelsea.”
are thrilled with the Next to the dining area is a compact
decision they made two galley kitchen. Hatzistefanis says she’s
years ago to move from too busy to cook and her two sons,
Chelsea to Notting Hill Gate. “I always aged eight and 10, eat meals prepared
loved the vibe of this area, with by the nanny downstairs, in their own
Holland Park nearby where I can go separate kitchen and living space. On
running every day, and all the lovely the same lower floor, Hatzistefanis has
restaurants along Portobello Road and also created a lobby with faux zebra-
Westbourne Grove,” she says. upholstered chairs and a leather table.
The 43-year-old Greek entrepreneur “It’s a chill-out area where you can sit
set up her cosmetics company Rodial down in the morning and look at your
after working in corporate finance for appointments. I wanted it to feel like a
Salomon Brothers for three years. She hotel lobby.” Opposite, beneath the
founded Rodial in 1999 with barely stairs is hidden storage — a cupboard
£20,000 and this year hopes the for the boys’ shoes and scooters — and
turnover will hit £15 million. a small home office.
Hatzistefanis and husband, Stratis, Hatzistefanis is candid about the
who is Rodial’s chief finance officer, amount of time she is able to spend Blast of light: key to
had the entire double-fronted five- with her sons, due to the demands of at the rear of house,
bedroom property redecorated, and running a company. “During the week
converted the garage into a utility I don’t see them that much. It’s a
room. The open-plan living area on choice I have made. To succeed in
the first floor has been zoned into business I don’t know that you can
areas for relaxing, dining, watching have a balance. You have to make a
television and having “face to face” decision.”
chats. When it was updated it was Everything she and her husband
repainted in — not quite but almost — have, including the house — which
50 shades of grey with matching John D Wood valued at £5.6 million
simple colour schemes in grey, black two years ago and which the couple
and silver. have spent a further £130,000 on — is a
“We used the whole palette of result of their hard work, including
Sanderson’s Early Dawn, lime-washed buying and selling other properties in
the floors and added custom-made the past. “We’ve both been working
modular sofas, but saved by buying since we were 18 and had zero family
chairs on eBay and re-upholstering money. And, honestly, I’ve done so
In the pink: Maria Hatzistefanis set up her beauty firm Rodial in 1999 with £20,000. them in a grey flannel from Designers many moves I’m done for a long time.
This year she hopes turnover will hit £15 million — but it leaves little time for home life Guild, and by buying side tables from I’d like to stay here.”
Photographs::
Subtle touches: an almost infinite range of greys creates enchanting light effects John Lawrence Reflections: the first-floor dining area looks spacious thanks to a mirror-panelled wall
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 21
y.co.uk with Our home Homes & Property
MY FAVOURITE HOME
MEMORABILIA ►
I found this black jewel-studded skull
telephone in a heavy metal shop in Los
Angeles. This started my fascination
with skulls as decorative objects.
Maria
Hatzistefanis
◄ A GREAT PLACE TO ESCAPE
Fee Fee La Fou HQ is a great urban
oasis. It’s a really edgy design shop
based in Dalston, complete with
wall-to-wall neon prints and selling
everything from jewellery to
homeware. It’s where I buy
colourful, fun cushions and framed
prints from independent designers
as gifts.
MY LAZY
SUNDAYS ►
A yoga session at
the Jivamukti
Centre in Notting
Hill, before
indulging in an
espresso in Books
for Cooks, and
then a delicious
roast chicken
lunch with the
family at Pizza
East (right).
◄ THE DESIGN OBJECT THAT
I COVET MOST
o the home’s “liveability” is its bright, open-plan living space on the first floor, above, which is fed with daylight by the conservatory I would love to get the iconic Pucci
, below left, and reached via the dramatic staircase from the ground-floor hallway, below right, next to a hotel-style lobby Rive Droite Swivel Chair. I love the
colours and patterns of Pucci and the
way the designs evoke the whole mood
of the Swinging Sixties.
MY SECRET SHOP ►
I love Pitfield in Shoreditch. It’s like an
Aladdin’s cave for homeware and is
perfect for sourcing interesting pieces
and one-of-a-kind statement furniture,
from unique candles to amazing fabrics.
HOT NEW DESIGNER
I came across interior designer Erica
Deam when I saw her Topographic
design for a residential property in
Marylebone. It was very striking, with
wood panelling and varying levels
throughout the property. She picked
up the 2012 Janine Stone Young
Interior Designer Award and I think we
will see great things from her.
FAVOURITE RESTAURANT ►
Sketch is always a winner when it
comes to design. From the Alice in
Wonderland tea rooms to the retro
toilet pods, it’s such a gem of a space in
Covent Garden. It’s one of my favourite
places to have a drink.
22 WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2013 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Architecture homesandproperty.co.uk with
Is this the house
of the future?
Flexible
Cheap
Green
Stylish
A brilliant answer to London’s
housing shortage will launch
in the courtyard of the Royal
Academy this weekend, Speedy: a Homeshell flat-pack house will be
7-T-LTD
built in the Royal Academy courtyard this weekend
reports Philippa Stockley
W
HEN is a house not just extremely popular with their inhabit-
a house? When it’s ants. The big windows set flush to the
also the tip of a hous- walls allow plenty of light into the spa-
ing revolution: that’s cious interiors, and the structures are
what the Homeshell energy-efficient and soundproof.
house, being built this weekend in the Newnham council has just announced
courtyard of the Royal Academy, aims that it is to build 40 Homeshells.
to be. Plans are also afoot to build lots more
Designed by architects Rogers Stirk in association with the YMCA (one of
Harbour+Partners (RSH+P), it will the biggest social housing providers in
become the showpiece of Richard the UK), using a design called YCube.
Ro gers’s Inside Out exhibition These will be so flexible they can be
currently running at the Academy. tailored to individual need. As Par-
Homeshell, designed over seven tridge says: “Homeshell is very excit-
years by architect Andrew Partridge of ing, it is very immediate.”
RSH+P, and built in association with Building affordable and sustainable
construction company Coxbench, is homes fast could help tackle London’s
KATSUHISA KIDA
intended to provide flexible, cheap, housing shortage — the two factories
sustainable and sharply styled housing. currently making Homeshells in the UK
Delivered four weeks after ordering, it can each manufacture 780 a year with
comes in flat-pack form on a lorry and only 30 staff. But land must be freed
is assembled to be waterproof in 24 up to put them on. Mayor Boris John- boom after the Second World War, to Versatility is answer the challenge, and Homeshell
Tried and tested: hours. Visitors will be able to watch son says he may use compulsory meas- replace swathes of bombed homes. key: Homeshells was born.
versions of the one being built in the RA courtyard. ures to release more land for homes. Those simple houses, intended only are built around What is so special about Homeshell
Homeshell built Homeshell is made of cement-like But while these prefab houses are for a few years, were hugely popular a robust central is that each house has a similar core,
at Oxley Woods, panels fixed to a sustainable Scandina- distinctive and innovative, the basic and lasted for decades; some still sur- core, while with stairs and utilities. Added on to
Milton Keynes vian softwood timber frame, and is idea is much older. The first prefabs vive. In Germany, Huf Haus, and the room sizes and that is a part with living rooms that can
are popular with highly insulated. In 2007, an earlier were built in Australia in 1837. In Brit- less-well-known but very innovative exteriors can be be endlessly varied. Similarly, the out-
occupants who version was built in 10 variants, at ain, in 1855, engineer Isambard King- company Weber Haus, have been varied to suit. side look can range from ultra-modern,
like their energy Oxley Woods on the outskirts of Milton dom Brunel designed a prefab hospital building high-spec sophisticated flat- The modules can to traditional, to green walls — though
efficiency and Keynes, with Taylor Wimpey. More for 1,000 patients, which was shipped pack homes since the Sixties. They also be stacked sadly one of those hasn’t been built yet.
room flexibility than 100 homes went up and are now to the Crimea. The UK had a prefab come on lorries and go up in two days into medium-rise The modules can also form mid- or
— here, as well as in Germany. and high-rise high-rise blocks.
Innovative architects such as Richard blocks The house going up in the RA court-
Rogers have been interested in modu- yard won’t be fitted out inside — it is a
lar and prefabricated housing for dec- shell, but with floors indicated, so you
ades. Rogers’s 1968 design for a “zip-up” can imagine it however you like; and
house was influential. So was the 1968 perhaps it’s the supreme versatility of
house that he and his then wife, Su, these houses — along with their green
designed for his parents, currently on credentials and the speed at which they
sale for £3.2 million. Its clean, modular can be constructed — that is their best
form and flexible interior also has selling point.
elements of this genre.
Mainstream UK interest got a fresh INFORMATION
boost in 2005 when John Prescott, fol- O Inside Out runs at the Royal
lowing the Barker Report of 2004 that Academy, W1, until October 13,
highlighted a housing shortage, (royalacademy.org.uk). The Homeshell
announced a competition to design a will be on view in the courtyard free
house for £60,000 (the price was based from August 13 to September 8.
on the land being free). Homes & Prop- O Richard Rogers’s house for sale can
KATSUHISA KIDA
erty ran its own competition and exhib- be viewed at homesandproperty.co.uk/
ited the results at the Homes & Property rogers
Show 2005. Richard Rogers’s practice O Boris Johnson’s Vision 2020 for
linked up with developer Stanhope to housing can be found at london.gov.ukYou can also read
