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Homes&
Wednesday 31 January 2018
Sail into style
Ocean liners — new
exhibition at the V&A
Page 16 Property
THE MODERN MANSION BLOCK P6 VILLAGE OF THE YEAR P8 NEW TOWN: EBBSFLEET P12 SPOTLIGHT ON WALTHAMSTOW P26
Eugenie’s cottage
in royal commune
SNOWDON/CAMERA PRESS, GETTY
Page 18
London’s best property search news: homesandproperty.co.uk
4 WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 5
Homes & Property | News homesandproperty.co.uk powered by News | Homes & Property
Meet Spacey at the
Stay put … but it won’t stage door
improve your profit
É WHEN we first heard a penthouse
was for sale at the Perspective
Building in SE1, we thought Kevin
Spacey, left, was cutting ties with the
London apartment that was at the
Trophy centre of allegations against him of
A
sexual assault.
RECORD number of home-
home of The House of Cards star is said to
MARC BRENNER
owners are expected to have hosted parties at the home
extend their properties this
year, new research shows.
the week during his time as artistic director of
the Old Vic. However, it transpires
The popularity of exten- Perfect for a that it is actually Spacey’s neighbour
sions is driven by the belief that adding who is parting ways with his duplex.
space to your existing home is a better well-heeled The three-bedroom home, London Eye. But Spacey’s apartment Fancy a Wilde pied-à-terre, Jen?
investment than moving to a bigger
house — and paying the stamp duty such movie buff pictured, on the market with Foxtons
for £2.3 million, is very similar in
has more unusual elements including
a stage door from the Old Vic as its É AS OSCAR WILDE season kicks off
a move entails. some ways to the actor’s apartment. front door. He had to gain special at the Vaudeville Theatre, with
However, the research out today sug- £6.75 million: the present It has two balconies and floor-to- permission from the building’s Jennifer Saunders currently starring
GETTY
gests small-scale extensions, while owner of this home in ceiling windows overlooking the freeholders before having it installed. in Lady Windermere’s Fan, above, a
improving lifestyles, may not be the Barnes, SW13, has used his piece of the flamboyant playwright’s
Homes
money-spinner owners hope. connections in the movie real life surfaces.
The cost of home improvements has industry to help him design A Knightsbridge property which
spiralled in five years, according to the the key rooms based on his was said to be Wilde’s London pied-à-
data from the Building Cost Information favourite film sets. U.N.C.L.E. So what do the landscaped garden. In the terre has come to the market. Spread
gossip
Service, part of the Royal Institution of There’s a Harry Potter grown-ups get? Well, basement is a gym, steam across three floors, the apartment,
Chartered Surveyors. cupboard under the stairs, a 6,125sq ft of space across room and guest suite. Barnes below, in Pont Street, is in a
The cost of materials and labour for Narnia-style secret room in seven bedroom suites, four Village with its boutiques, magnificent Queen Anne Revival
a four-metre by three-metre rear the children’s bedrooms and reception rooms and a restaurants, pretty village house designed by CW Stephens, the
SHUTTERSTOCK
extension increased almost 20 per a sunken entertainment fabulous Smallbone kitchen/ green and pond is on the architect behind Claridge’s and
cent between 2012 and last year, to a room and wine cellar breakfast room, lit by a doorstep. Through Harrods.
national average of £17,753. The cost inspired by The Man from sliding glass wall out to a Winkworth (020 8012 3586). By Amira Hashish A stone’s throw from the fashion
boutiques of Sloane Street and King’s
In demand: the of a modest loft extension went up Road, the three-bedroom home is
Editor:
growing cost of from £18,975 to £21,231 — a hike of Lifechanger RiRi could be your listed for sale with JLL and Savills for
labour has seen 11 per cent. £4.95 million. The star feature is the
Janice the price of “The price rises over the last few of the week cool new landlady Tailor your life, luxurious master bedroom, with a
Morley extending your
home rise
years have been overwhelmingly
driven by labour costs,” explains Chris Great catch for ÉRIHANNA is renting out her West like a style icon
large en suite and dressing room.
The house is next door to a blue
VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk/
rules for details of our usual
dramatically
over five years
Romer-Lee, director of Studio Octopi
architects. “Labour costs had already an angler who Hollywood home. The Work singer,
right, splashed out £1.95 million on ÉA SIX-BEDROOM apartment in
plaque property which was home to
actor-manager Sir George Alexander
promotion rules. When you
respond to promotions, offers or
been rising fast in some skills, such as
bricklaying, as lots of people were lost
can make his the five-bedroom property, below, in
August last year but apparently she
Marylebone that’s as super-sharp as its
former occupant, fashion designer Ozwald
(1858-1918), whose memoirs state that
Wilde was his neighbour. The
competitions, the London Evening to those trades during the global finan- hobby pay tired of it rather quickly and Boateng, is available to rent. playwright was famously arrested in
GETTY
Standard and its sister companies cial crisis years when many people attempted to sell it only two months The celebrity tailor, right, who has dressed the nearby Cadogan Hotel.
may contact you with relevant retired, returned to Eastern Europe or later for £2.02 million. everyone from Graham Norton to Will Smith,
offers and services that may be of re t ra i n e d wh e n b u i l d i n g rate s £1.65 million: the Dukes of She didn’t find a buyer, so she has was the tenant until recently. Mover and
interest. Please give your mobile crashed. Bedford once owned this now opted to rent it out for £11,727 a shaker Boateng, who spent last week in Davos
GETTY
number and/or email address if “More recently building rates have substantial stone farmhouse month. for the World Economic Forum, has a flagship
you would like to receive such increased. Hence there is now a short- in Pavenham, Bedfordshire, The 2,600sq ft house is surrounded store in Savile Row, so the flat in Chandos
offers by text or email. age of skilled labour and increased pay referring to it as an “estate Great Ouse, it comes with while the house has five by hedges so there is plenty of Street, W1, above, was walking distance from
rates. Brexit is layered on top, making cottage”. It has now been half a mile of fishing rights bedrooms of its own and an privacy — just perfect for Rihanna’s work. At a cool £5,000 per week, it is as slick as
Editorial: 020 3615 2650 a bad situation worse and the cost of done up with classy and a 500m landing strip, orangery. You can start fellow A-listers. might be expected, with two dressing rooms, eight
Advertisement manager: raw materials has been increasing.” reclaimed materials and is so guests will be able to earning from day one thanks There is also a guesthouse in the bathrooms, a gym and a lift. It’s a smart addition
Ann Finan Ran Ankory, managing director of ready for a new life as a arrive in style. the hay your land produces grounds with its own bathroom and to Knight Frank’s books.
Advertising: 020 3615 0266 Scenario Architecture, predicts that fishing resort. How you accommodate and the grazing licences you kitchen, plus the obligatory pool and
MLS/REALTOR.COM
Homes & Property, Northcliffe building prices are likely to rise another Set in an awesome 40 them is up to you. There’s can issue. lounge area.
House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, five per cent this year. acres of landscaped 8,000sq ft of splendid Through Michael Graham In the coolest part of WeHo, close to O For more celebrity gossip, visit
London W8 5TT. gardens bordering the outbuildings to play with, (01234 969025). Melrose Avenue, this is the ultimate homesandproperty.co.uk/gossip
O Find Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk star-spotting neighbourhood.
London buy of the week Soak up river views
from your swish roof terrace in Hammersmith
£800,000: a winning
combination of space and
location can be found at this
split-level flat right by the
Thames in Hammersmith,
giving Victorian proportions
of more than 1,000sq ft to
play with across three levels.
A perfect canvas of pale
walls and floors sets the tone
throughout this party pad,
starting with a gorgeous 17ft
master bedroom and en
suite, second bedroom and
bathroom/utility on the first
level.
More clean lines can be terrace, left, where you can
found one floor up across a sit back, take in the air and
generous reception room, enjoy the view towards the
again with a bright, airy feel river.
throughout the open-plan For sale through Purple
kitchen/dining areas. There’s Bricks (0121 396 0867).
ample eaves storage and
doors to a private roof By Faye Greenslade
6 WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 7
Homes & Property | New homes homesandproperty.co.uk powered by New homes | Homes & Property
S A formula
OME of London’s top architects
have got together with experts
in space management to argue
that the answer to creating
more family homes and build-
that works
ing good-looking neighbourhoods is to
bring back the mansion block.
This low-level, high-density home-
building formula has been around for
150 years. It was tried and tested — but
it was abandoned by post-war planners
in favour of sky-piercing apartment tow-
ers and “multi-level” housing estates.
Late-Victorian developers, inspired Modern mansion blocks —
by philanthropist George Peabody’s
flats of the mid-1800s, filled inner Lon-
mid-rise homes that foster
community in well-designed
PAUL RIDDLE
don with mansion blocks and created
some of the streets and homes we love
best today, in Maida Vale, Chelsea, Ken- spaces — are welcomed by
sington, Marylebone and Victoria. From £535,000: Kilburn Quarter, a scheme of flats and duplexes including 50 per cent social housing
Albert Hall Mansions in Kensington Londoners, says Lee Mallett
Gore and Prince of Wales Drive in Bat-
tersea are prime examples.
TOM ROTHERY
More modest but well-loved mansion
blocks appeared in the suburbs, too. So
why did they fade in popularity?
Mini mansion blocks: 81-87 Weston Street near London Bridge, new launch from
Planning rules so often skewer a scheme Solidspace, offers flats with split-level interiors above brutalist-style office space Eric Parry Architects. Available through Chelsea
as it tries to comply with day-lighting, Knight Frank, price on application. Call Barracks:
sun-lighting and street widths while Simone Pagani, senior partner of Gor- 020 3866 9798. On a smaller scale there private flats with
trying to achieve greater densities. But don Ingram Associates, who advise on is Kingwood in Knightsbridge, devel- a mansion block
the new draft London Plan and recent designing for daylighting and rights of oped by Finchatton (020 7349 1120), air in Belgravia
Greater London Authority housing guid- light. “There’s been a massive leap for- which features superbly detailed brick- designed by
ance recommends more flexibility with ward in terms of how we look at the work, also designed by Squire and Squire and
planning schemes. Successful, denser, vision for a place.” Partners and 81-87 Weston Street near Partners
popular blocks, built before today’s Architect Alex Lifschutz, whose firm London Bridge launched by developer
BEN BLOSSOM
regulations, can now be considered a designed blocks for Brent council in the Solidspace last week (020 7234 0222).
reasonable guide to what might be new Kilburn Quarter in South Kilburn, Weston Street is a pairing of two mini-
allowed — provided there are generous NW6, says the mansion block “is about mansion blocks of eight apartments
ceiling heights, windows, shared amen- selling the dream, like an ocean liner”, “Family-friendly homes”: architect within a single architectural form,
ities and architectural detailing. and adds: “A mansion block is like a Alison Brooks’s practice designed served by two cores and designed by
“Instead of using ‘numbers’ to dictate club. It’s more communal.” blocks in Kilburn Quarter AHMM. The split-level interior of all
the density, planners and developers With one- to four-bedroom flats and apartments creates a spectacular open
are now able to look at the vision of duplexes, Kilburn Quarter in Zone 2 is cessful recent estate regeneration volume linking living, dining and work
what’s trying to be achieved,” says regarded as one of London’s more suc- schemes. Large Sixties modernist apart- spaces, expressed externally by the
ment blocks, set back from the streets, block’s L-shaped windows.
are being replaced by mid-rise mansion
ALLAMY
WHAT IS A MANSION BLOCK? linking between them; main living blocks lining existing streets and reflect- PUTTING THE FAMILY FIRST
THERE are features that architects rooms at the front of the block, and ing the mansion blocks of nearby Maida Developer and architect Roger Zogolo-
and developers agree constitute a — very importantly — dual-aspect Vale, linking the neighbourhoods back vitch says London’s smaller “gap” sites
mansion block. These include it
being a “big house” — a mansion.
apartments with windows at the
front and back of the block.
together. Half of these new homes are
for social housing and the remainder Looking for a desirable. They offer family-friendly
homes and there is a massive shortage
Enduring Victorian-era favourites:
Albert Hall Mansions in Kensington
can help solve the housing shortage:
“We don’t have to build up or out. We’re
The model is also defined by
repeated main architectural
Another crucial feature is
generous floor-to-ceiling heights, or
for sale, to build a more mixed commu-
nity and raise capital for reinvesting.
new-build home? of these. They offer a canvas for a new
architectural approach that can be play- homes with up to 2,800. So far 229 have
not building on the green belt. We’re
building in the city’s ‘holes’. It’s a much
elements: an imposing single
entrance per group of apartments;
the volume within apartments,
particularly lower down the block.
From £535,000. See kilburnquarter.
com or call 020 3846 8500 for more.
Start your search ful and more expressive. The Victorians
really had fun with them, drawing on
been completed, of which 103 are social
rent, five for shared ownership and 121
richer challenge and the mansion block
offers distinction and character that is
lift cores that serve two to four flats Extra height and volume on the Arts and Crafts movement. People for market sale. “We could have done it missing from apartment blocks. The
per floor and eliminate long, dark compensate for higher density and POPULAR TO BUY AND RENT love that. Mansion blocks can add value quicker and cheaper building flats, but enjoyment of living in the spaces we’ve
access corridors; street elevations provide a sense of luxury. Mansion Alison Brooks Architects also designed in a way that is underexploited.” we wouldn’t have taken the community created is very different to conventional
that feature a base, middle and top, blocks also have shared courtyards blocks in Kilburn Quarter: “The man- Richard Barrett, head of estates regen- with us,” says Barrett. “It’s the long-term apartments.”
with mansard roofs; bay windows, or green space, and are often near sion block brings graciousness to denser eration, leads the project for Brent quality you get from the mansion block Tom Mann, director of residential
perhaps with sheltered balconies large open spaces, public or private. living,” says Brooks. “Some of the blocks council which is partnering with private that is generating the values and makes development at Savills shares this view:
are nine storeys, so they are dense, but developers to replace about 1,100 the whole scheme viable.” “Planners need to ‘tool up’ to assess
schemes for quality.
At the other end of the spectrum are pri- “It is essential that developers make
vate schemes such as Chelsea Barracks mansion blocks easy to build and that
in Belgravia, the redevelopment by they give people the spaces they’d
Qatari Diar, masterplanned and expect from a house and meet the needs
designed by Squire and Partners and of a family.”
Spectacular
open volume:
RORY GARDINER
split-level flat
interior at 81-87
Weston Street in
Bermondsey
8 WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 9
Homes & Property | Commuting homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Commuting | Homes & Property
A
CTRESS Penelope Keith has
There’s a reason
been scouring the British
Isles to find the best of our
beautiful villages. She’s
this is a winner
been looking for chocolate-
box architecture, bucolic views and
lashings of community spirit — but the
£10,000 prize, to be awarded on Febru-
ary 10 in Channel 4’s Village of the Year
final, will also require an X factor.
The Good Life star and her panel of
If you are thinking of commuting,
judges visited 20 villages in the South-
East last week to find a regional winner
start your search among the finalists £899,950: a four-bedroom house with
a generous garden in Lightlands Lane,
to go through to the grand final. They
chose Berkshire’s lovely Hampstead
of Village of the Year. The winner will Cookham. Call Savills (01628 481 381)
Norreys. Set in the North Wessex Downs soon be revealed. By Anna White The commute: the station at Marden
on the banks of the River Pang, it is a 10-minute drive away, with 58-
TOM PILSTON
impressed them with its village shop run minute trains to Charing Cross.
entirely by volunteers, and its art festi- Season ticket including travelcard:
val, where locals teach new skills. £5,320.
However, in this region there is Up for a charity challenge: Hampstead Norreys’ Walkie Talkie fundraising group
another element that imbues a village COOKHAM
with buyer appeal: being within com- Jackson-Stops estate agent Neil Abra-
muting distance of London. Homes &
Property has picked the rural gems
ham. A group of keen horticulturalists
have entered Woburn into heats for the
Looking to move BERKSHIRE
SITTING in the billionaire belt on the
featured on the show that also offer
acceptable journeys to the capital.
RHS Britain in Bloom awards, and in
preparation local traders are sponsor-
to a rural village banks of the Thames, Cookham’s beauty
and close proximity to London attracted
ing different flower beds, while hang- with an easy record numbers of high net worth indi-
HAMPSTEAD NORREYS ing baskets can be seen swinging from
shop fronts and the red phone box, commute? Start viduals last year. But its most valuable
residents are Her Majesty’s swans, cared
BERKSHIRE: REGIONAL WINNER
DENSE, ancient woods dancing with
which doubles as a very small library.
Unusually, the village also has a lido,
your search on for by local Swan Uppers who, once a
year, gently scoop up the feathered
bluebells are rooted in the 12th century, one of four surviving pools built by families, take them ashore, check them
while Stone Age tools have been the Duke of Bedford in 1911 after for health problems and weigh them.
unearthed in this lovely, historic spot. a small boy drowned in a pond It’s an 800-year-old tradition.
In the centre of the village is a red on the estate. There’s a Miche- Boat making in Cookham dates back
phone box — which the locals fought lin-star restaurant called even further to Viking times, and there
hard to keep — and residents are run- Paris House, and cottages is still a small group of craftsmen
ning an “adopt a grave” scheme to care start from £250,000. restoring boats at the water’s edge.
for the Victorian tombstones, while a The commute: drive seven ing Cranbrook grammar school. The commute: the journey from
former orchid hothouse has blossomed miles to Leighton Buzzard, from Homes here cost five to 10 per cent Cookham station to Paddington takes
into a tropical rainforest with more TOM PILSTON where fast trains run to London more than those in neighbouring vil- less than an hour, with a change at
than 700 species of plant and critter. Euston in 37 minutes. lages. A two-bedroom cottage starts Maidenhead.
Entrepreneur Samantha Betts has her Season ticket cost from £250,000 while a five-bedroom Season ticket including travelcard:
own luxury pet care company which including travelcard: house goes for more than £850,000. £6,188.
includes a canine spa. She and her £6,188.
husband converted an old farmhand’s Regional winner: Hampstead Norreys, Prices start from £400,000 for a bun- £1.05 million: a
cottage into their “forever home”, South-East Village of the Year finalist galow to £15 million estates. GOUDHURST four-bedroom
where they live with their three black It was Elstead’s eccentric events that house with
Labradors. ELSTEAD got it noticed by Channel 4. The Elstead KENT magnificent
“Hampstead Norreys is a lovely place marathon is five-and-a-half miles long, “GOUDHURST is one open views in
to be,” says Betts. “We have a brilliant SURREY while every summer the residents race of the top Kentish vil- Hampstead
community. There’s always something DOWN winding lanes, Elstead is sur- lifesize paper boats around “the moat” lages,” says Rupert Norreys, with a
happening at the local shop, whether rounded by heathland and well-hidden and local pub teams compete in a tug- Newcomb of Jackson- separate
it’s art viewings or produce tasting — multimillion-pound mansions. It sits of-war. Stops. With views over Victorian chapel.
and we all donate extra fruit and veg in between the four key West Surrey The commute: it’s a five-minute drive the Weald, it also boasts Warmingham &
to the shop.” The easy commute, good towns of Godalming, Guildford, Hasle- to Milford (where it’s free to park on a rambling medieval Co (01491
schools and stunning countryside, with mere and Farnham. the road). The earliest train to London high street. 901010)
the Thames and the Berkshire Downs Pubs include The Mill at Elstead, Waterloo leaves at 05.36am and takes Families are attracted
on one side and the Chilterns on the which has the River Wey running 53 minutes. by the tennis, football
REX
other, draw in Londoners. through its beer garden. There’s a vil- Season ticket cost including travel- and cricket clubs,
The commute: it’s a six-minute drive lage poodle parlour, convenience card: £4,700. Won over: Hampstead Norreys’ traditional touches, including and it’s in the catch-
to Goring & Streatley station, from store, hairdressers, cricket club, a good the phone box, charmed Penelope Keith and her expert panel ment for top-perform-
where the fastest service into London primary school and plenty of activities LINDFIELD
Paddington is 47 minutes. at the village hall.
Season ticket cost (including travel- “It’s a living, breathing village,” says WEST SUSSEX
card): £5,300. Knight Frank partner Tim Harriss. THE preservation of Lindfield’s historic
buildings in the lime tree-lined high
street appealed to the Channel 4
judges. “It has bucketloads of character
and over 40 timber-framed houses date
back to the 14th century,” says Charlie
Rosling of Strutt & Parker.
The village was also praised for its
farm, based at Oathall Community Col-
lege, where pupils take a hands-on
approach to agricultural studies.
The commute: it’s but a few minutes’
drive to Hayward’s Heath station with
frequent trains to Victoria in 45 min-
utes.
Season ticket cost including travel-
card: £5,112.
WOBURN
BEDFORDSHIRE
THE Georgian village of Woburn has
strong ties to its stately home Woburn
TOM PILSTON
Abbey, seat of the Duke of Bedford. The
aristocratic family owns most of the
village so it’s rare that freehold proper-
Walkies: Samantha Betts runs Betts Pets in Hampstead Norreys, Berkshire. “We ties come up for sale. When they do
have a brilliant community,” she says. “There’s always something happening” they sell fast and for a premium, says
10 WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property | Personal finance
Unwedded bliss:
cohabitation is
the UK’s fastest
growing “family
type”. But when
it all goes wrong,
there’s many a
bitter row over
who owns what
GETTY
C It’s not always
OHABITATION is the fastest-
growing “family type” in the
UK — more than doubling
from 1.5 million in the mid-
happy ever after
Nineties to 3.3 million last
year. However, couples thinking about
moving in together should also consider
what are likely to be the harsh realities
of splitting up.
Many people enjoying a new relation-
ship don’t want to think about the pos-
sibility that it could all go wrong. You
Cohabiting leaves couples with no legal
might be thrilled that your new partner
is moving into the home you own to
rights if their relationship fails. Family lawyer
share your life and many couples do
indeed live together happily every after,
Graeme Fraser suggests a solution
never bothering to go to the expense
and effort of getting married. might be something else entirely. It will It needs to be enforceable in a court and
But while married couples and civil be a court that will decide what the joint so needs to be drafted by a legal profes-
partners enjoy considerable protection intention was. Demonstrating a joint sional with both parties taking separate
if the relationship ends, none of these intention without a formal document is independent legal advice if possible.
rights apply to couples cohabiting. not easy but it can be done if the couple
There have been no rights attached to clearly discussed the matter and it can A straightforward Cohabitation Agree-
“common law” marriages since 1753. be shown that the non-owning partner ment will cost about £1,000, including
thought they were being promised a VAT, though it could be more expensive
The ownership of the home they shared beneficial interest and had made a for couples with particularly complex
and the value invested in it is likely to financial or other contribution to the financial arrangements.
be the biggest souce of contention when home on that basis. Without a Cohabitation Agreement, a
a cohabiting couple splits. These dis- break-up can produce a shock. One
putes are likely to become more fre- GET IT DOWN IN WRITING mother of two children who had lived
quent as the number of cohabiting The more effective protection against with her partner for more than a decade
households increases. costly and bitter disputes following the was horrified to discovered on taking
A typical living arrangement is where break-up of a relationship is for a couple legal advice following the breakdown
a person already owns a property and to have a Cohabitation Agreement. This of the relationship, that she was not
allows a new partner to move in with can be of benefit to both sides as it sets legally entitled to any share in the fam-
them. In these circumstances, perhaps out who is entitled to what at the end of ily home. Because the property had
surprisingly, there are still a number of a cohabiting relationship, removing been purchased in her partner’s name
ways in which the non-owning partner much of the bickering and uncertainty and she had not made contributions to
could make a claim to a share in the that often follows a split. the mortgage, she was completely
property if the relationship ends. The More than that, it can establish what unprotected.
most common is by demonstrating a each will contribute during cohabita- Even if she took her case to the Family
“beneficial interest” in the home. tion. It can set out who pays what Court, seeking to stay in the family
This could be best demonstrated by a towards household expenditure and home for the sake of their children, she
signed and witnessed document stating even the specific actions that would would have to leave the property once
that the non-owning partner is entitled bring about an end to the relationship. the children reached adulthood.
to a particular share in the property. A Drawing up such an agreement may Resolution, a national organisation
very well-organised couple might pre- seem unromantic but a Cohabitation which represents lawyers who want to
pare such a document in the early days Agreement can offer vital protection to see less confrontation in family law,
of living together. Most don’t bother. cohabiting couples. holds details of family lawyers in your
Even if there is no document, a claim Almost every couple will sit down area. Visit resolution.org.uk/findamem-
can still be made. If the non-owning before moving in together to discuss ber for more information.
partner has significantly contributed how they will divide up household bills
financially towards the home — by mak- and this is the ideal opportunity to dis- O Graeme Fraser is a partner at OGR
ing the mortgage repayments, for exam- cuss drawing up a Cohabitation Agree- Stock Denton and chairs Resolution’s
ple — and it can be shown that there was ment. Think of it as being like life cohabitation committee, which works
a “joint intention” that this would result insurance or a Will: it is not something to improve the rights of unmarried
in them having an interest in the prop- that you would want to use but it offers parents in England and Wales. He is a
erty, then this might constitute the both parties important protection if the commentator on cohabitation matters
required beneficial interest. worst should happen. and co-author of Cohabitation Claims
The extent of that interest could be in However, do not be tempted to draw (2011) and The Modern Family (2012).
proportion to the money invested, or it up a Cohabition Agreement yourselves. Email gfraser@ogrstockdenton.com
12 WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 13
Homes & Property | First-time buyers homesandproperty.co.uk powered by First-time buyers | Homes & Property
ALAMY
E is for Ebbsfleet: giant initial at the
gateway to Kent’s new garden city, right
From £91,000: a 35 per cent share of a two-bedroom apartment at Castle Hill
F
RO M M i l t o n Ke y n e s t o committee, has complained that the
SIMON TAYLOR
Moscow, the “garden city” new homes granted planning permis-
concept of creating model sion are worryingly workaday. The idea
new towns has been the main with garden cities is that they should be
weapon in the battle against Ambitions: Anna Sewell and Anthony Swinden have exemplars of quality volume house-
housing shortages. bought 45 per cent of a three-bedroom Ebbsfleet house building, sustainable and well designed.
The biggest British garden city project Hunnisett claims — and the marketing
currently under way is finally starting
to take shape in the Ebbsfleet Valley, a ‘We’re aiming for full home literature put out by the likes of Taylor
Wimpey and Barratt suggests he is cor-
no-man’s-land swathe of North Kent ownership in 10 years’ time’ rect — that Ebbsfleet is getting standard
EBBSFLEET DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
known by many, up to now, only for its off-the-peg stuff.
international railway station. ANNA SEWELL, a PA, bought a 45 per cent share of a There are also few details about how
Over the next 10 to 15 years, however, three-bedroom house at Castle Hill in Ebbsfleet last Ebbsfleet town centre will develop. The
Ebbsfleet is to become more than a stop summer with her partner Anthony Swinden, 38, a mix of retailers, quality of restaurants,
between London and Paris. It is being delivery driver. “It feels wonderful having a home of our pubs, and cafés, and the aesthetics of Amenities: Castle Hill buyers will have
reborn as a significant new town, with own,” says Sewell, 37. “We couldn’t have afforded a the whole area will make or break this new shops, a school and a park nearby
15,000 new homes on brownfield land home this big if we were buying on the private market. new garden city. A 160ft-tall white horse
close to Gravesend. We plan to increase our share every two years and the designed by artist Mark Wallinger as a for now but hopefully won’t be perma-
That these homes are desperately aim is to own our home outright in 10 years’ time.” “landmark” for Ebbsfleet and nick- nently mothballed on the £2 million cost
needed is not in doubt, and Ebbsfleet’s named the Angel of the South is stalled grounds. A new town needs identity.
No ordinary new town
transport links to the capital make it a
realistic option for priced-out buyers.
Ebbsfleet is being reborn as a garden city with
Unfortunately, the early evidence sug-
gests that quality housing is in short
15,000 new homes with buyer appeal — once
supply. With so much emphasis on
wellbeing and the benefits of good archi-
the architecture’s right. By Ruth Bloomfield
tecture, it is sad to hear dissenting
voices within the council and the com- development, comprising more than the affordability of Ebbsfleet homes.
munity claiming that the new homes 6,000 homes, a market square, shops, This month Clarion Housing Group is
being proposed are deeply unimagina- bars and restaurants, an education launching a tranche of shared-owner-
tive, “off the peg” and predictable. campus and an urban park. Almost ship two-bedroom flats at Castle Hill.
simultaneously, plans were unveiled for This is one of Ebbsfleet’s new neigh-
DON’T SET THE BAR TOO LOW, a £600 million tram system linking bourhoods and as well as homes will
TRY FOR SOMETHING BETTER Ebbsfleet to Gravesend and Dartford. have shops, a school, a community
Builders such as Barratt, Charles centre and a health centre, along with
Church, Countryside, Persimmon, GREAT TRANSPORT LINKS nearby parkland and sports facilities.
Clarion and Wimpey can all build better AND AFFORDABLE HOMES Prices for a 35 per cent share of one of
and are setting the bar too low, it has This new transport network will the apartments, which come with park-
been claimed. Certainly, a major new enhance Ebbsfleet’s already-impressive ing spaces, start at £91,000. Buyers will
town deserves homes that are innova- commuter services. Trains to St Pancras need to raise a £4,550 deposit, and as
tive and stylish. Questions need to be International take less than 20 minutes, well as mortgage repayments need to
asked before it is too late. and those to Stratford take 11 minutes. budget for rent of just over £387 a month
Planning permission was granted in An annual season ticket is costly at and service charge of about £169 a
December for the largest tranche of the £5,364, but this needs to be set against month. Visit clarionhg.com for more.
IT HAS BEEN A SLOW BURN
Right now Ebbsfleet’s future prospects
are hard to assess. The project was
announced in 2014 but recession jitters
and a slow planning process meant the
new homes have only just started com-
ing up for sale.
The Ebbsfleet Development Corpora-
tion, set up by the Government to over-
see the development of what it describes
as a “21st-century garden city”, prom-
ises not only homes but a “vibrant new
commercial centre” with 500,000sq ft
of commercial space, an upgraded bus
network, and Thames-side walkways.
SIMON TAYLOR
As it is a garden city, there will be
seven city parks, along with new
schools. Derek Hunnisett, chairman of
Castle Hill neighbourhood: in Ebbsfleet Garden City, North Kent Enterprise Zone Dartford borough council’s planning
14 WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property | Events
1 2 3
Five things to see in
February By Barbara Chandler
1 TIMBER RISING: VERTICAL VISIONS FOR 4
THE CITIES OF TOMORROW
February 9 to May 19 at Roca London Gallery,
Station Court, Townmead Road, SW6 (020 7610
9503; rocalondongallery.com). Admission free.
COULD wood replace concrete and steel for
high-rise buildings? Yes, suggests this intriguing
show, set in a super-curvy bathroom showroom
designed by the late Zaha Hadid. Architects,
working closely with scientists and engineers,
are experimenting with new “engineered”
wood and in particular cross-laminated timber
(CLT), similar to plywood but stronger.
High- and mid-rise timber structures can, it
seems, combine lightness and strength with creativity and decrease stress,” says Hannah
sustainability, wellbeing and a human touch. Thistlethwaite, Heal’s senior buyer for home.
“Wood is an ancient material that has now So what’s on offer? “Arm knitting” is on
become one of the most modern,” says co- February 8 and 18, priced £55 — you make a
curator Claire Farrow. Pictured is Waugh chunky throw using no needles, just your arms.
Thistleton’s mixed-use block in Dalston Lane, A mindful origami workshop is on February 10,
said to be the world’s largest CLT building, with priced £22. Here, you can fold your own
10 storeys and 121 units. symbolic crane for “hope and healing”.
A massage-oil workshop is scheduled for
2 SURFACE DESIGN SHOW 2018 February 15, priced £20, while ceramic
Feb 6, 6pm-9pm; Feb 7, 11am-9pm and Feb 8, painting, pictured, with Japanese artist Miyu
11am-5pm at Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Kurihana is on February 24, at £25. Finally,
Street, Islington N1 (surfacedesignshow.com; 020 make your own terrarium — and learn how to
7288 6475). Show this paper, get in free. look after it — on March 1 for £40.
BENEATH the spectacular arched Victorian glass
roof are 170 exhibitors of surfaces for the home 5 CRAFT CENTRAL’S WINTER SALE
from traditional carpet, rugs and wallcoverings February 10, noon to 6pm and February 11, noon
to the latest digitally printed porcelain tiles, with to 5pm at Craft Central, 397-411 Westferry Road,
a special gallery for stones from around the E14 (020 7538 0819; craftcentral.org.uk).
world. This is a trade show for interior designers CLERKENWELL’S Craft Central complex of
and architects, but readers showing this paper at designer makers has moved to the Isle of Dogs,
the door get in free. into an intriguing architect-designed wooden
On the first “party” evening, RIBA president shell, pictured, within a huge listed industrial
Ben Derbyshire will lead a panel of experts to building. They’re having a sale and it’s your
debate: “A crisis for the next generation — is chance to explore. Find ceramics, glass, prints,
London just for the wealthy?” textiles and fashion/home accessories from 20-
70 per cent off. Take a break at the pop-up café.
3 BRITISH CRAFT: THE MIAMI EDIT
Until February 23 at The New Craftsmen, 34 North
Row, W1 (020 7148 3190; thenewcraftsmen.com).
LAST month The New Craftsmen, together with
the Crafts Council, curated a show of British
5
talent for the prestigious Miami Art Week — “a
new wave of British making,” says Catherine
Lock, creative director of The New Craftsmen.
Now she has brought the 10 featured artist-
craftsmen to her company’s London gallery.
They’re mainly ceramicists, including Phoebe
Cummings, recent winner of BBC Radio 4’s
Woman’s Hour Craft Prize. Woolwich wood-
worker Sebastian Cox has partnered with
ceramicist Sue Paraskeva from the Isle of
Wight to make a “deconstructed dresser”
pictured, with hanging clusters of china.
4 MINDFUL MONTH
Heal’s, 196 Tottenham Court Road, W1 (0333 212
1915; heals.com/events)
“MINDFUL” is a word that has crept up on us,
with varied meanings. “But for us, this
February it’s a workshop programme to boost
16 WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 17
Homes & Property | Exhibition Exhibition | Homes & Property
Ocean cruising
today: above,
relaxing space
aboard Viking
Cruises’ ocean-
going Viking Star
Luxurious: left,
the sweeping
staircase in the
grand lobby
of Cunard’s
Queen Mary 2
Right: The QE2,
Cunard’s flagship
transatlantic
liner from 1969
until 2004,
retired in 2008
T CRAFTED
HE age of the great ocean
liner conjures visions of government invested heavily in the ship Clockwise from top: first-class pool on
elegant passengers wafting with sleek Art Deco to symbolise the SS Normandie, 1935; Wedgwood De
0N A GRAND
around glittering interiors glamour and élan of its nation. Morgan tile panel, 1905; chair from the
enjoying cocktail hours and Hitler commissioned two ships to Normandie’s first-class playroom; 1930
lavish cuisine, amid shimmering fabrics show off the skills of German industry. study for a luxury cabin on L’Atlantique
SCALE
and stunning decor. A new exhibition Britain’s response, in 1936, was the
Ocean Liners: Speed and Style, at the Queen Mary. Says Wood: “It was a very CRUISE SHIPS FOR TODAY
Victoria & Albert Museum, leads visitors conservative form of ‘modern’, show- Luxury hotel rooms and a ship’s cabins
up the gangplank and right into this casing the Empire and nicknamed ‘The are both skillfully created to make small
exquisite fantasy world. Corinne Julius follows in Beautiful Ship of Wood’.” In the same spaces seem larger. Thirties on-board
Co-curator Ghislaine Wood reminds year the Orient Line’s Orion was the first furniture was built in and streamlined.
us, however, that these enormous ships the wake of the luxury liner British ship to embrace modernism. Today, a snug yet airy Scandinavian feel
were not built originally for luxury and Post war, the Italians commissioned is popular. Both styles are easy to repli-
pleasure, but to carry the huddled style masters at the V&A ships with very contemporary interiors cate and particularly relevant to the
masses emigrating from Europe to the including works by Gio Ponti, Fornasetti smaller scale of contemporary homes.
New World. and Capogrossi. America came up with Wendy Atkin-Smith, MD of Viking
“No one has ever done a show on the streamlined modernism by top indus- River Cruises, says: “Our ships are made
history of liners,” says Woods. trial designers such as Henry Drefyuss to feel spacious and bright but also won-
“Designed by Casson Mann, we have how to promote a dirty and dangerous posters, by building giant display mod- more than 40 per cent of passengers in and Raymond Loewy, while later, in derfully intimate, so textures of lime-
staged it in the most dramatic scenog- 19th-century form of transport into a els of their ships and by publicising the first class, the Normandie presented an 1969, the British produced the QE2, with stone, granite, glass and natural woods
raphy, with more than 250 objects that glamorous, desirable and aspirational luxury passengers could expect. extraordinary vision of opulence and interiors by Dennis Lennon. All relied work with handmade textiles and soft
include wall panels, furniture, textiles, one in the 20th century,” says Wood. National identity and political and grandeur that was unparalleled in the on exceptional craftsmanship to repre- woollen throws to create comfortable,
fashion and elements of engineering, They did it with striking advertising commercial rivalries were played out history of liner design.” The French sent national identity. relaxing areas. Scandi-fresh colours take
demonstrating the amazing craftsman- in the engineering and design of each their inspiration from the sea, sky and
ship and design of the liners. We cover liner as they became ever more luxuri- the earth.” So popular is it, that they’ve
so many stories.” ous and competed to complete the fast- Get the liner look even produced a book, Nordic Style.
E
est crossings. “There was a real politics
FOR MIGRANTS, THEN TROOPS of style,” says Wood. “Ships became Aram Store, 110 Drury Lane, WC2 Skandium, 86 Marylebone High NVIRONMENTALISTS might
AND FINALLY LUXURY LOVERS representatives of national identity.” (020 7557 7557; aram.co.uk) Street, W1 (020 7935 2077) and 35 criticise the detrimental
The exhibition is staged thematically, YOU’LL find a host of Thirties designs Thurloe Place, SW7 (020 3876 2744; impact on ports — with thou-
taking in different epochs in the history From early on the Germans sought to here: Bibendum chair with black skandium.com) sands of passengers decanted
of the liner. Between 1900 and 1914, 11 challenge British maritime power. Their leather seat and chromed tubular SCANDINAVIAN and modernist into a town who have no
million people emigrated from Europe ships, such as the Kronprinz Wilhelm, steel frame, £3,420; Castellar pieces here include a Knoll need to eat or sleep locally — but the
to the States. Liners were also used to were baroque with heavy woodwork. adjustable mirror in chromed steel, adjustable chaise longue, modern holiday cruise is, once again,
service the British empire, transporting The British liners sought a comfortable £1,271; Pailla wall/ceiling lamps in £2,111.40, and Le Corbusier’s LC4 a form of mass transportation. The
troops, civil servants and mail. It was Arts and Crafts luxury, typified by the chromed steel, £236; E1027 side chaise in white leather and chromed Cruise Lines International Association
only at the end of the First World War, De Morgan wall tiles that form part of table with chromed tubular steel steel, £3,228.30. says 145,000 more Britons took an
when the US toughened its immigration the exhibition. In the Thirties the French frame and clear glass top, £580; St ocean cruise, bringing last year’s total
policy, that the liner companies sought went for glamour as in the Grand Salon Tropez rug in hand-knotted wool, V&A Shop, at the museum in Cromwell to nearly 1.8 million.
to develop the luxury market. “The of the Normandie, with its verre églo- £2,660; Blue Marine rug in hand- Road, SW7 (vam.ac.uk/shop)
problem for the liner companies was misé panels like a floating Palace of knotted wool, £1,665, all by Eileen POSTERS include the Normandie, O Ocean Liners: Speed and Style, at
Versailles. Huge, sweeping staircases Gray; Thonet S 411 lounge chair in £30, plus there are Matelot print the V&A in SW7 from February 3 until
£447: Wagenfeld WG 25 GL table lamp allowed women passengers to glide brown leather with chromed frame towels, £40, and the hardback book June 17 (vam.ac.uk/OceanLiners).
by Tecnolumen, at Aram Store, WC2 down them in their finest gowns. “With and natural beech armrests, £2,678. for the exhibition, Ocean Liners, £35. Tickets £18 (concessions available).
18 WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 19
Homes & Property | Our home homesandproperty.co.uk
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by Our home | Homes & Property
W
E CAN’T all live in a
palace but when it
comes to planning the
urban housing of the
future, one grand exam-
ple shows us that well-maintained build-
ings with flexible units for rent that can
appeal to tenants of all ages could be the
solution. Build enough of those and many
more of us could live like royals.
When news of Princess Eugenie’s
engagement to long-term boyfriend Jack
Brooksbank broke last week, the celebra-
tions were much like those enjoyed by
any other young couple: there was an
engagement ring, albeit a £100,000 pink
sapphire sparkler. There were photos of
the happy couple. A venue was announc-
ned — St George’s Chapel at Windsor,
where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
will also marry, in May. So far, so tradi-
tional. What nobody mentioned is how
far ahead of the trend Eugenie, 28, and
wine merchant Jack, 31, will be in making
their marital home in a carved-up old
house that accommodates an extended,
multigenerational family ranging in age
from Princess Charlotte at just two years
old, to the Duke of Kent at 82.
It’s true that Kensington Palace is not
your average London estate. But it repre-
sents a type of shared accommodation
that could be a model for the urban hous-
ALAMY
ing of the future.
PA
Shared amenities: Kensington Palace is a royal oasis in the city, its buildings clustered around the Autumn wedding date: Princess Eugenie and wine merchant
Eugenie, the Queen’s sixth grandchild, tranquil, secluded gardens it is famed for, including the ornamental Sunken Garden, planted in 1908 Jack Brooksbank announced their engagement last week
recently moved into Ivy Cottage from the
four-bedroom apartment she shared with
her sister Beatrice at St James’s Palace. A
three-bedroom house adjoining the rear
of Kensington Palace, Ivy Cottage is close
to two-bedroom Nottingham Cottage,
The royal
where her cousin Harry and his American
actress fiancée Meghan live. Next door to
Eugenie is Wren Cottage, home of the
Duke and Duchess of Kent. These build-
commune
ings are all in a modest two-storey cluster
that once housed palace staff.
Across a communal courtyard is a much
more imposing quadrangle of buildings.
This is divided up into what are officially
called apartments, but are really more
like grand terrace houses. Princess Diana
once lived in apartments 8 and 9 — now
occupied by royal staff — while apartment
10 is the three-storey home of Prince and
It’s the poshest ‘public housing’ project in
Princess Michael of Kent. Britain. With all these royals at Kensington
SNOWDON/CAMERA PRESS
In the adjoining quadrangle are the larg-
Palace, this is multigenerational living
ALAMY/GETTY/PA
est homes in the palace, the 22-room
four-storey apartment 1a, formerly the
home of Princess Margaret and now ahead of its time, says Marcus Field
occupied by the Duke and Duchess of
ALAMY
Cambridge — who spent £4.5 million on
a makeover before they moved in, adding Starter pad:
a second kitchen in a don’t move, improve three-bedroom
moment — and apartment 1, home to the Ivy Cottage, left, Make oneself at granddaughter, Princess Victoria, grand- is paid to the Queen each year to fund the He started it all: bronze of King William
Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. at “KP”, once the home: above, mother of the Duke of Edinburgh, who royal family’s public duties and upkeep III outside the palace. He bought the
Media coverage of this aristocratic home of a palace Nottingham lived there himself with her before he of their official homes. Critics often refer property in 1689 and greatly expanded it
“commune” is often critical, focusing on maintenance Cottage, the two- married the Queen. to this as taxpayers’ money but it’s a grey
what is seen as the indefensible privilege man, will be the bedroom home area: the Crown Estate is owned by the Diana as “KP” — but there are many
of young or minor royals living in palatial first home for of Prince Harry THE AUNT HEAP Queen but managed independently, with positive lessons to learn from it. This big
accommodation at taxpayers’ expense. Princess Eugenie and Meghan In the early 20th century the palace 25 per cent of its revenue going to the old house has been in use by the same
SNOWDON/CAMERA PRESS
Seen from another perspective, the situ- and her fiancé Markle, far left. became so packed with Victoria’s monarch and the rest to the Treasury. family since 1689. It has proved highly
ation not only makes economic sense but Jack Brooksbank. Also living at descendants that Edward VIII called it None of it comes from direct taxation. adaptable over the centuries and has now
also provides an inspiring picture of flex- The couple will Kensington “the aunt heap”. But as the older ones divided well into smaller housing units
ible, intergenerational housing. be neighbours to Palace are Prince died and monarchs had fewer children, GENERATION RENT with shared gardens and parking. We do
Prince Harry and and Princess the number of occupants greatly reduced. Nevertheless, in 2006 it was announced not know what else the residents share.
Kensington Palace, known at the time as Meghan Markle Michael of Kent, And though the likes of Prince Michael of Prince Michael of Kent would begin to Shared facilities make sense — a commu-
Nottingham House, was bought by William the Duke and Kent and the Duke of Gloucester are often pay £10,000 a month rent for his Kensing- nal laundry or heating system, maybe,
III as a country retreat in 1689. Over the and to a sprinkling of retired military men there that she had become queen. In the Duchess of referred to as minor royals, they are both ton Palace home. It has also been like a cool co-housing project.
following century it was greatly enlarged, and staff. The estate had a £12 million face 1880s she was asked by PM Lord Salisbury Cambridge with grandchildren of a king, George V, and reported that Eugenie, who works for At a time when there is a lot of debate
with leading architects Christopher Wren, lift in 2012. The Historic Royal Palaces to consider selling the palace to cut her Prince George, therefore have the same status and rights Hauser & Wirth gallery, will pay a market about loneliness in old age and lack of
Nicholas Hawksmoor and William Kent board called it “waking up a sleeping costs. She said selling any royal home four and Princess to live at the palace as Princess Eugenie. rent for Ivy Cottage; a two-bedroom interaction between generations, let’s
all playing a role in turning it into a palace beauty”. Or was it preparing for a new didn’t look good for the monarchy. Charlotte, two, Other young royals, Lady Helen Taylor house in nearby Palace Gardens Terrace also hope younger royals enjoy mixing
to rival Versailles. It soon became the generation of homeless royals? and Princess and Freddie Windsor for example, have is on Winkworth’s books for £3,142 a with their older housemates. Maybe they
monarch’s principal London home, It was after George III acquired Buck- VICTORIA, WISE AS EVER Eugenie, right of had to find their own digs. month. These rents count as supplemen- eat together, or share an Ocado drop.
replacing decaying Whitehall Palace. ingham House (later Palace) in 1761 that This intransigence turned out to be a wise picture, who will When it comes to the economics of tary income to the Sovereign Grant, but There are other ways in which the set-up
But the State Rooms that occupy the the real age of multi-family occupancy in move, as the use of the palace as a kind live there with funding this historic arrangement the are a drop in the ocean compared with is very modern. Eugenie is now part of
parts of the palace visible from Kensing- Kensington began. Several of his 15 chil- of royal commune has saved subsequent Jack Brooksbank details are complex. The Queen owns the £17.8 million spent in 2016-17 on main- Generation Rent. Like Prince Michael,
ton Gardens are only half the story. dren made homes in carved-out apart- monarchs the exorbitant expense of buy- as newlyweds Kensington Palace on behalf of the nation, tenance of official royal residences. The she can’t sell her house or treat it as a
Behind these formal areas, now open to ments, including the Duke of Kent, father ing London houses for their descendants. but costs of maintaining the building State Rooms at Kensington Palace are run profit-making asset. It is in effect a glori-
the public, lie extensive and more modest to Queen Victoria. Victoria shared a bed- Among Victoria’s own relatives who lived come out of the Sovereign Grant. This is as a separate charity. There will always fied form of public housing, and when
buildings that have long been home to room with her mother at Kensington until at the palace were her cousin Princess the portion of the income from the Crown be carping about royals living at the best the time comes it will be passed on to the
members of the extended royal family, the age of 18, when she received news Mary, mother of Queen Mary, and her Estate — £42.8 million for 2016-17 — that address in London — known by Princess next eligible resident.
20 WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property | Design
MY STYLE
You have to be quite pragmatic about furniture
when you live in an old tower block. We once
had to chop the legs off a chaise longue to get it
in. My girlfriend and I have bought a heap of
Ladderax mid-century modular furniture
that breaks down into small units, so we could
move it up the stairs. Larger cupboards and
cabinets won’t fit, but the minimal aesthetic
suits the linear and boxy aspect of the building.
Of course, leather-based items and projects are
infiltrating the flat. It’s important to have natural
textures and tones in a brutalist environment to
ADRIAN LOURIE
counterbalance the concrete and metal. My
father, Fred Ingrams, is a Fenlands landscape
painter, so we have a few of his works dotted
around to brighten the place up.
Money no object: Otis wants a rosewood and Coolest eatery: Lee Tiernan, above, in his Black MY FAVOURITE POSSESSION LONDON’S BEST LIFESTYLE STORE
suede day bed by BassamFellows — combining Axe Mangal “nose-to-tail” Turkish restaurant in N1 I bought a set of antique leather stitching SCP in Shoreditch has a great selection of
“austerity and extravagance” — for £11,000 Talented designer: fabrics from Carmen Machado, tools on eBay, stamped “Beech and Pond 106 furniture and lighting. I bought a Tala Voronoi
above right. At home: above far right, Dusk by Fred Old Street”, which on researching turned out to light from there that Joe Armitage designed for
Ingrams. Otis has several of his father’s landscapes be an ironmongers on Old Street from 1870- them. It looks great and lasts 15 times longer
1924. There seemed something serendipitous than a normal bulb.
about me finding them, as a leatherworker in
east London 100 years later. They’re beautiful FAVOURITE LONDON LANDMARK
objects and I use them most days. I am always slightly in awe of the Barbican,
simply because of the scale and the Utopian
MONEY NO OBJECT realisation of having a functioning town within
I tend to have phases of obsession when it the City. The Battle of Ideas festival every year
comes to designs and objects. At the moment I there is incredible, especially the debates in the
am particularly fond of a BassamFellows tropical hanging gardens.
suede day bed. It’s pretty perfect in my eyes. I
love the combination of its austerity and COOLEST RESTAURANT
extravagance: rich colour and texture from the Some of my favourite meals have been at Black
rosewood and tan suede, yet such a simple Axe Mangal in Highbury Corner. Run by Lee
form. It would cost about £11,000 . Tiernan who worked at St. John, the famous
Smithfield restaurant, for 10 years, it combines
MOST TALENTED NEW DESIGNER Turkish open grilling, Anatolian flavours with
Carmen Machado has produced amazing nose-to-tail eating. A huge, wood-fired oven over
textiles for seating, made from pieces of plastic the counter makes incredible flatbreads. The
ghost fishing nets that float around in the ocean menu is always stuffed with amazing dishes and
wreaking havoc. They are beautiful and playful, the great cocktails, combined with the sound-
unlike the dreadful plastic plaguing our seas. track of heavy metal, are always a brilliant mix.
My design
London
OTIS INGRAMS
LEATHERWORKER
D
ESIGNER Otis
Ingrams, 28, grand-
son of Private Eye
and The Oldie
founder, Richard
Ingrams, was apprenticed to revered
leather craftsman Bill Amberg and
now has his own East End workshop.
He has just published his first book,
LeatherWorks: Traditional Craft for
Modern Living ( Jacqui Small, £20).
MY HOME
I live in a tower block on a Fifties
estate near Hoxton station. It’s
surprisingly quiet despite the bustle
of Kingsland Road below. We’re on
the seventh of 15 floors and have
wonderful views across the city. The
balcony faces west so it’s beautiful to
watch the sunset over London and
see silhouettes of all the buildings,
which makes me realise how rich and
architecturally diverse the city is,
from the Wren churches to the
Gherkin. It turns out one of my great-
grandfathers, a metalworker, used to
bare-knuckle box in Hoxton Square.
Perhaps some chancy hipster will try
to reinvigorate this tradition.
By Katie LawYou can also read
