Brik Property Magazine - Summer 2015

SUMMER / 15 London Property & Lifestyle Magazine

WHAT NOW?

THE POST ELECTION PROPERTY MARKET

The Wireless HiFi System

Sonos Your Home

Contents

ISSUE 22 SUMMER / 15

PROPERTY MARKET

NEWS & INTEREST

MORTGAGES

Business as usual

BRIKOLAGE

market reforms

Marc Da Silva

Coen van Leeuwen

Alistair Hargreaves

07

12

16

INTERIOR & DESIGN

INVESTMENT GUIDE

BUYER’S GUIDE

KNOW MORE

MISSION KID-POSSIBLE

PAST OR PRESENT

MYTH BUSTING

Tax valuations

Rowena Vaughan

Marc Da Silva

Josh Woodfin

Fraser Maldoom

18

22

24

30

GADGETS

BUYER’S GUIDE

LANDLORD GUIDE

INTERIOR & DESIGN

The House of Tomorrow

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

GOING GREEN

OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Josh Woodfin

Justin Quirk

Andrew Hankinson

Kate Thornston

32

34

36

38

DEVELOPER SHOWCASE

INSPIRATION TRANSMISSION

PRETTY LITTLE THINGS

DEVELOPER SHOWCASE

PROPERTY GALLERY

14

20

40

46

Brik Magazine is published by Brik Property Ltd (Brik) and the opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of Brik, the editor, publishers or their agents. Articles and other information in this magazine are as up-to-date and accurate as possible, at the time of publication, but no responsibility can be taken by Brik for any errors or omissions contained herein. Responsibility for any losses, damages or distress resulting from adherence to any information made available through this magazine is not the responsibility of Brik or their agents. All property descriptions and photographs contained within are for guidance only and are not necessarily accurate or comprehensive. All content Copyright © 2013 Brik Property Ltd. All rights reserved.

brik.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS

04

Marc Da Silva

Ben Littlewood

Property Journalist

Co-founder, Brik

Property journalist, Marc Da Silva, has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things property having written for a range of publications, including the Daily Mail, Daily Express, Sunday Business Post and A Place in the Sun, amongst others. PG 07, 22

Being a co-founder of Brik and also having run a London based property magazine in the past, Ben knows a thing or two about the world of property, with over 9 years experience in the field.

He couples this first hand knowledge with a creative background to give unique insights on all things bricks, mortar and design. PG 12

Coen Van Leeuwen

Alistair Hargreaves

Columnist

Mortgage Expert

Coen is a design aficionado, arguably the product of his Dutch roots and being an avid reader, and debater (should you encourage him) on design philosophy. His designer eye misses little and is always in search of design nirvana, be it in interiors, architecture, product or the digital realm.

PG 12, 20

Alistair is an Executive Mortgage and Protection Consultant with John Charcol, specialising in High Net Worth and complex deals for both residential and buy to let. Being in the financial services industry since 2004, Alistair worked for banks, building societies and mortgage brokers, seeing both the good times and the bad times. PG 16

Rowena Vaughan

Fraser Maldoom

Andrew Hankinson

RJV Designs

Capital Chartered

Journalist

Rowena studied interior design at London’s prestigious Chelsea School of Art (UAL).

She has over 20 years’ experience refurbishing everything from a simple residential bathroom to the Crockfords Casino Mayfair.

PG 18

Fraser knows pretty much everything there is to know about London property stock, being a Chartered Surveyor with nearly 30 years of South West London experience and Director of local firm Capital Chartered Surveyors and Valuers. PG 30

Andrew Hankinson is a freelance journalist who travels the world writing about everything from construction to comedy. His work has appeared in publications including The Guardian, GQ and Wired, and his debut book is being published in February 2016. PG 36

Josh Woodfin

Justin Quirk

Kate Thornston

Journalist

Writer / Editor

Magenta Pink Interiors

Josh Woodfin is a writer and editor with nearly 10-years experience including credits with the Guardian, House, Esquire, and numerous other high-profile magazines and websites. His interests include antique maps, cooking with fish, and post-apocalyptic thrillers. He once beat Usain Bolt in a race...with an 80-meter head start. PG 24, 32

Justin is a London-based writer and editor, whose work appears in The Guardian, Times, Sunday Times and AskMen. He is also the founder of NO UFOs, a photographic book publisher. PG 34

Kate Thornton is a partner at Magentapink Interiors. She formerly worked in a Barristers’ Chambers but having renovated several houses of her own decided to re-train and set up Magentapink Interiors in 2010 with friend and business partner Veronica Lucey. PG 38

live cook sleep

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149 St Johns Hill London SW11 1TQ | 0207 078 9912 | enquiries@espressodesign.co.uk | www.espressodesign.co.uk

Property Market

Business as usual The Conservatives’ shock election victory should provide continued stability and growth in the housing market.

WORDS

Marc Da Silva Property Journalist

Bob Young, CEO of Fleet Mortgages, commented: “There are clearly a number of positives for the housing and mortgage market from this Conservative Party victory, not least the fact that the Tories tend to be far less interventionist than the Labour Party which means they are unlikely to meddle in the housing market, particularly the private rental sector.”

The Mansion Tax is dead Ed Miliband proposed higher Stamp Duty rates for foreign buyers, effectively discouraging foreign investment. He also planned to introduce a Mansion Tax that would have penalised homeowners at the high-end of the market, and would also have had implications on lower rungs of the property ladder as the added tax burden got passed down in higher valuations on cheaper stock.

The FairHomeTax Campaign has been working tirelessly, lobbying MPs to recognise that Labour’s

Mansion Tax idea was flawed.

Howard Cox of the FairHomeTax Campaign said: “We spoke with 34 Labour MPs in the last three months and it was clear that these politicians were nervously split on their support of a Mansion Tax and thought it could even influence voters to sway from Labour.”

Thankfully, the Mansion Tax is now not an option and this should see the return of more homebuyers, providing a further boost for the market, especially in London and particularly above the £2m level.

WHAT YOU WOULD’VE PAID ANNUALLY IF MANSION TAX HAD BECOME LAW £50k £40k £30k £20k

£2.0m £3.0m £4.0m £5.0m PROPERTY VALUE

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With the general election looming and speculation that interest rates would rise in early 2015, the residential property market was widely expected to grind to a halt during the first half of this year. With the election now over, and with no signs that the Bank of England will increase rates any time soon, the anticipated pre-election hit to the housing market, although once serious, is now buried. Property sales and transactions slowed in the months running up to the election from as far back as May 2014, but now that David Cameron has swept back into Downing Street after the Conservatives secured a dramatic and unexpected election victory, winning their first outright majority in parliament since 1992, the uncertainty that hung over the housing market has disappeared, and many property experts are anticipating greater activity in the market from now on.

Confidence and stability result in a buoyant economy and this will have a significant impact on the property market. Under a majority Conservative Government, both

the sales and rental markets are set to strengthen, fuelled by higher demand from buyers and tenants, which should leave vendors and landlords in a very strong position.

STOP START MARKET The effect of the up-coming election was felt in both transactions and prices which took a heavy hit from as early as May last year. The confidence in the market quickly fell away as the rumbles of some of Labour’s policies, such as the Mansion Tax, started to come out. Fearing the worst buyers decided to stay away, expecially above the £2m level.

GOOD FOR ION M AN S X A T

OWNERS Probably the most publicised potential gotcha’ for owners over £2m. Now the planned annual levy has been binned, this is no question great news for property owners in the upper tier of the market.

GOOD FOR

Y P DUT STAM EIGN R O F FOR RS BUYE

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G LETTIN S EE F T N AGE BAN

BUYERS? Everyone knows that London property is a safe harbour for overseas money. Increasing stamp duty for these buyers would have reduced the amount of investment in the upper echelon, weakening the free market place. Conversely though this have made property cheaper for UK based buyers.

GOOD FOR

LANDLORDS RESTR ICT L AN D SLORD S TA X R ELIEFS

T RE N S P CA

Landlords would’ve been the biggest victim of the planned changes as Labour tried to reduce the overhead and increase the safety for tenants.

A noble cause no doubt.

However there are many who saw their planned interventions as having the exact opposite desired effect on the market.

GOOD FOR

TENANTS? With more and more people forced to rent, protecting tenants is of course a good idea. However the proposed 3 year tenancy would have arguably reduced the number of properties on the market and therefore driven up rents.

As many owners decide to rent their property for less than three years, this law could have increased vacant properties.

Property Market

Labour’s plans A rather anxious private rented sector (PRS) breathed a sigh of relief the morning after the general election after it was clear that Ed Miliband’s Labour Party, with its ill-thought-out housing policies, would not be forming the next government.

It is widely believed that Labour’s plans to cap rents, ban letting agent fees, make three-year tenancies the norm, and restrict tax relief for landlords who do not keep properties to basic standards, would have had an adverse impact on the PRS.

While acknowledging that Labour had tenants’ “concerns at heart”, Richard Lambert, CEO at the National Landlords Association (NLA), points out that their policies would have almost certainly backfired because they did not “understand the economics of supplying private housing to rent”. He believes that these changes would have made the housing crisis “worse, not better”, and could have deterred many people from investing in the buy-to-let market which in

and cash, and that trend looks set to continue.

Following the Conservative election triumph, there are now signs of renewed confidence in the property market, offering a much needed boost following months of uncertainty and the threat of Labour’s policies.

“Buy-to-let property represents a sound investment in an asset class through which individuals or institutions can achieve significant and sustained returns”, said Peter Grant of Grant Property Investment.

Growing demand Demand for property is set to soar in the coming months, on the back of greater consumer confidence. This is not solely due to the post-election feel-good factor.

Greater demand from purchasers is also being fuelled by Britain’s economic recovery, higher employment levels, a rise in real wages, and record-low mortgage borrowing rate. Furthermore, the Help to Buy ISA and the Help to Buy Scheme have been extended until 2020, providing many more prospective buyers access to homeownership.

High returns Among the growing volume of potential buyers are buy-to-let investors, which is unsurprising given that rental prices are increasing and buy-to-let mortgage rates are cheap. Buyto-let landlords have benefitted from a booming property market, earning returns of up to almost 1,400% since 1996 - capital growth and returns combined - beating returns on all other mainstream investments, including commercial property, UK government bonds, shares

% RETURN ON GOLD VS RENTAL PROPERTY

1,400%

1,400%

1,000%

600% 196% 200%

1996

2015

Silver landlords The recent overhaul of the pension system that enables over-55s to withdraw money from their retirement savings could lead to even more people investing in property, with government figures suggesting that one in three homes will be owned by private landlords by 2032. Ben Burge of housebuilder, Larkfleet Homes said, “The latest reports and figures confirm that buy-

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“[Labour’s] policies would have almost certainly backfired because they did not understand the economics of supplying private housing to rent”

turn would reduce the supply of housing stock in the PRS.

Property Market

to-let property is an excellent consideration for potential ‘silver landlords’.”

Capital growth UK house prices increased by over £100 a day in April, taking the average value across Britain to almost £200,000, the latest Halifax data shows. A further surge in values is expected to be triggered by the general election result and a lack of new housing stock coming onto the market.

Greater certainty Ultimately, the most positive aspect of a conclusive election result, in any event, is that the political uncertainty that surrounded the housing market and wider economy can now be eliminated and the recovery can continue, enabling buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants to plan for the future with confidence, ensuring that it’s back to business as usual.

AVERAGE U.K. PROPERTY PRICE GROWTH SINCE LAST ELECTION

13.6% 31.9%

£250k

48.3%

£150k

£50k

1970

CON / LIB DEMS

69.1%

120.9%

81.3%

32.8%

1974

1974

1983

52.9%

51.8%

42.1% CON

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However, we are all acutely aware of the overwhelming need to develop more

Almost unbelievably, the FMB reports that a lack of bricks and bricklayers, caused partly by the last recession, will threaten future house building plans, adding to the growing supply-demand imbalance. This in turn could push property prices higher.

“Price momentum could be set to pick-up once again as the supply of stock to the market continues to fall,” said Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist.

Intriguingly, data from the Nationwide House Price Index reveals that home prices have increased twice as fast under a Conservative government since 1970, at an average of 19% per year compared to Labour’s 10%, and initial signs are that history may be set to repeat itself (see infographic).

LAB

10

Low supply While demand for property continues to rise, and not just from enthusiastic investors in search of high returns, there remains a lack of new housing coming onto the market which could push property prices and rents even higher in the coming months. For almost three decades, the supply of new housing has fallen well short of the level needed to match growth in demand. The Conservatives are championing homeownership and a propertyowning democracy through new policies. They are planning to develop 200,000 starter homes for first-time buyers by 2020, more garden cities and a further 400,000 new homes from brownfield sites.

residential properties, with experts estimating that around 250,000 new build homes are needed annually to cope with existing housing demand. There is nowhere near that level of properties currently being built or likely to be delivered in the near future, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

1987

1992

1997

2001

2005

2010

2015

Original hoteliers, influential designers, and a curated collection of 279 independent hotels worldwide

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Take a journey to each of our 279 boldly conceived independent hotels in 56 countries across the globe.

Plus, new this year, discover the 10 brave and creative visionaries who make up the Design Hotels™ Influencers List — the architects and designers behind the world’s most expressive properties.

More than a collection of hotels, Design Hotels ™ is about thought-provoking design and architecture.

Embrace cultural authenticity.

Now available: designhotels.com/shop

NEWS & INTERESTS

BRIKOLAGE

philharmonic hall ARCHITECTURE It seems Poland is making its mark in architecture, with the Philharmonic Hall in Szczecin recently winning the Mies van der Rohe prize, the most prestigious prize in European architecture.

Inside and out, a most perfect combination of fascinating shapes and overwhelming white lines which chop the interior up into a myriad of three dimensional negative spaces.

EXPANDING UNIVERSE BOOK Sometimes it’s easy to forget how much there is out there, past the intense glow of our city lights and way up beyond the outer reaches of the stratosphere. Orbiting 350 miles above us and only 13m long, Hubble, our eye in space has been looking out into the nether since

PAINT IT WHITE! PROPERTY NEWS The owner of a £15 million townhouse in Kensington experienced that the ‘Free’ in ‘Freehold’, might not be so free after all. After his plans to tear down the building and build a new one was blocked by his neighbours, the homeowner (is believed to have) decided a candy-stripe paint job was in order.

However, in April Kensington and Chelsea council ordered the owner to paint the frontage white (as it used to be), using an order usually

reserved to force owners to clean up derelict or shabby properties.

This brings us at Brik to ponder the question in hand. Why does the council have the power to wave your right away with ‘taste’ as an argument? Especially because a law which doesn’t really apply in this situation was used to back up the order. Doesn’t this contradict the whole purpose of having rights? Yes the neighbours might have had the right to argue against the planning proposal, but the owner was also in his own right to paint it like a ice-cream cart if he wanted to.

1990, quietly gathering images on our behalf. This latest book of super high resolution photographs, fittingly published by Taschen, will give us earthlings all a view into the darkest and deepest reaches of space and beyond. It’s a sobering and ironically grounding experience that every man, woman and child should experience.

NEWS & INTERESTS

PROPERTY TRACKER TOOL

“We’ll send you a personalised email with your property’s sales value, capital growth and even its rental value. Nice.”

We don’t like to blow our own trumpet, but we just can’t resist to share our latest invention: the Property Tracker. It was born from the idea that to most people, their property is the biggest asset they own, and yet they can’t easily keep track of its value. London is one of the world’s most vibrant property markets, so if you’re lucky enough to own a property here why not get accurate and regular valuations from Brik for free.

of our agents then collects all public information about your property, and similar properties in your street. Then we’ll send you a personalised email with your property’s sales value, capital growth and even its rental value.

We’ll then keep you updated on the value as it rises, using real agents’ valuations. No dodgy algorithms included!

Sign up If you want to sign up for this free service, please visit: www.brikproperty.co.uk/tracker or simply drop us email at: propertytracker@brik.co.uk.

from the eye of the property market, and whatever your political leaning, the outcome couldn’t be better. Seen as the bastion of the wealthy (for good reason) Labour had planned an assault on the property market that would have peppered it with new policies.

What the result of that would’ve been, we’ll never know. For better or worse the Conservative majority has provided a dose of stability that has, literally overnight, kickstarted the previously stagnant market place. Can we expect a mini-boom, resulting in a new price hike? Probably. Will first-time

buyers still struggle to get on the ladder? Probably. But one thing is for certain, property in London isn’t going to be getting any cheaper.

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Here’s how it works. You sign up to the service, and share some basic details about your property, like the address, the amount of bedrooms and approximate internal area. One

WHAT NOW? COVER Being in the property market, we were literally on the edge of our seats as the election unfolded. A new government always means new policies, and new policies mean uncertainty, which always negatively affects the market.

Whether you’re buying or selling or connected in any way to property, you’d have no doubt experienced this anxiety. So now that the elections are done and gone, what next? Subjectively speaking,

INTERIOR & DESIGN

INSPIRATION TRANSMISSION

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LOFT by William Tozer EAST LONDON, UK Those looking for an industrial warehouse for conversion always look East. But how to do it? Of course you want to maintain the industrial features of the original building, but the ‘Brooklyn’ style apartment is now somewhat ‘done’. Not for architect William Tozer, who proves with his loft project in the east end that you can take a style, break its clichés and give it a unique spin, by selecting an unusual combination of soft and hard colours and materials, and bouncing the natural light off raw concrete and slick white... brilliant.

INTERIOR & DESIGN

BRICK HOUSE San Francisco, USA With space being a rarity in London, inspiring creations for small living are most welcome. Architect Christi Azevedo definitely knows how it’s done, using as little as 93 Sq Ft (15m2), by converting a former laundry boiler room into a guest house, with all the basics of a normal flat, plus all the character from the original building.

Impressive.

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MORTGAGE MARKET

market reforms

Labour had ideas on reforming the property market. But can it really be done?

Words

Alistair Hargreaves John Charcol

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Markets and investors, of all sorts, hate uncertainty and speculation and so a majority Government of any colour, I think, would have been welcomed.

Clearly it was always unlikely that the incoming party would have solely been red, and I suspect that a Labour-Lib Dem coalition, propped up by the SNP, would have caused havoc in the London and UK housing markets.

However, as we all are now aware, this is not the case. The industry seems broadly pleased with the new Government. I wonder how happy they will be, though, if we manage to vote our way out of the EU? Anyhow, that’s a discussion for another time.

No matter who makes up the new Government, housing market reform should be at the top of their to do list – all the parties talked about how it needs to change, although with not too much detail. The Tories will now try and push through the enhanced Right-to-Buy scheme, an idea so ridiculous

that almost everyone (apart from the tenants who can buy their homes at huge discounts) is against it. This may well benefit one to two million of the most secure tenants in the UK, but it yet again decimates social housing stock and does not alleviate the main problem – lack of supply.

providing income tax relief for landlords with more than five properties, and I would begin to charge an enhanced income tax on revenue earned from the sixth property onwards. I would ringfence the income tax to go into regional development funds to finance more social and affordable housing.

I have thought long and hard as to what I would do, and I have come up with four key areas to be addressed to fix our broken market. Currently, the market works for the few against the many; I believe that reforming how we build, buy and let properties will, in the end, work for almost everybody.

I understand that this will be unpopular with the majority of landlords but I cannot think of another way of restricting the size of an individual’s housing portfolio-this way at least income is going back into the market.

First Reform Buy-to-Let landlords (BTL) restrict stock for first time buyers – this has been going on for at least 20 years, and it really pushes out people trying to get onto the property ladder.

Not only is supply reduced, as there are so few properties in areas of high demand, rents are sky high so would be first time buyers are stuck in renting hell, unable to buy. Therefore, to improve supply, I would stop

Second Reform Set up regional development and planning bodies. This way, bodies covering larger areas, not just councils or boroughs, can take a more joined-up approach to planning and building. We all know that we need around 200,000 new homes a year – however these cannot just be dumped in random areas. We need thoughtful planning that includes schools, roads, water and sewage works and most importantly local jobs. We need to encourage people out of urban centres into new towns,

MORTGAGE MARKET

2 SET UP REGIONAL PLANNING BODIES

3 4 1 IMPLEMENT STRATAGIES TO TAX LANDLORDS OF 5+ properties

where there are employment opportunities. Having regional bodies, I believe, will allow planners to take a more holistic view.

BUILD MORE HOMES

in the funds can be confident of a decent return and be happy in the knowledge that it’s an ethical investment that helps the more vulnerable in society; and we end up with more housing stock. The pension fund housing will be planned and developed in conjunction with the new regional development bodies, making sure that the new communities have the correct amenities.

Fourth Reform Incentivise property developers to build on brownfield sites, especially those that are polluted, by providing very favourable tax incentives around the clearing, cleaning and building costs. This will allow a more efficient use of existing space, and will help to improve areas by cleaning up land that is currently unsafe.

Reforming Stamp Duty Land Tax was a good start by the last Government, but it’s only a very

PRIVATISE SOCIAL HOUSING

small step at the beginning of a long journey. We also need to reform the way houses and flats are valued within the mortgage process; regulate estate and letting agents; and change the way leasehold flats are owned, giving leaseholders more rights and more control.

The above is just a start – we need a radical change to how we buy, sell, rent and build houses in the UK – otherwise a whole range of people will simply be shut out, and a society in which people do not believe they have a stake is very dangerous.

Changing the housing market will, in the end, make it much fairer and will benefit the vast majority of the UK population.

And yes, it will probably bring down prices throughout the UK (although maybe not in prime and near prime central London) – but surely that is the aim, as salaries aren’t going to increase enough to allow most people to buy where they want to live.

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Third Reform Incentivise pension and investment funds to build and manage social housing through favourable tax treatment. The funds would own the properties and retain the rents, thus giving a stable return to investors.

Social tenants would then have access to new, good quality housing, meaning that fewer private landlords are being paid by the DWP. This opens up the private rental market, increasing supply and so driving up standards across the board. Coupled with the BTL tax reform this should also see more housing available to owner occupiers come onto the market. Therefore, local and central Government have fewer responsibilities to build and run social housing; people investing

4

INCENTIVISE developers to build on brown field sites

INTERIOR & DESIGN

MISSION KID-POSSIBLE Would the golden rule be form follows fun, or fun follows form?

Words

18

Rowena Vaughan RJV Designs

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Decorating a room for a child is difficult, but don’t think that fun for the kids has to compromise a stylish interior. The only question is, do you decorate for now or the future?

My advice would be to think of both, but how do you design for both? You want to decorate your child’s room but don’t want to do the same old primary colours or stripes for boys and pink for girls (unless they specifically ask, beg or plead for it!). In rather the same way as you would decorate for adult rooms, I would recommend going for a fairly neutral background and then adding interest in themed accessories or accent

walls to give the desired look to the room. Of course unless your child would really love a particular theme to their room.

Brightly coloured elements very easily become a fun feature, or you could even call it a design statement (for the parents with an eye for design).

versatile paint which should, hopefully, limit writing on the walls to their rooms and not in the beautiful family living room.

It even allows you to pin, with magnets, those budding artistic endeavours to the wall without recourse to bluetac because the paint is magnetic as well.

“I would recommend going for a fairly neutral background and then adding interest in themed accessories or accent coloured walls.”

A fun but different way of lighting a room, these stylish ceiling lights that look like balloons from John Moncrieff (2) through Not on the High Street, will brighten up even the greyest day of the winter months. I love the childish aspect and they can be bought in different colours and sizes.

Used in a group they are a funky and easy way to make something boring much more interesting.

What you do in the rest of the room won’t really matter with lights like these.

There are some innovative new products on the market.

How about ‘write-on, wipeoff’ magnetic surfaces from Smartersurfaces? (1), a brilliantly

INTERIOR & DESIGN

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2

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1

“One aspect of any room be it child, teenager or adult is storage!”

If you are looking for fabrics that aren’t too twee and suit your more sophisticated child have a look at Kids Fabrics – I particularly like the Padstow style – memories of summers gone! Make them into blackout blinds for the window with a cushion or two for the bed. If you have a budding astronaut in your house how about this duvet cover from Cox and Cox? (3), Paint the walls dark, add the stars and moon and an instant spaceman room will appear.

If you want to achieve that whole themed room effect, BedtimeBedz do some fun, funky and different beds. Is your son mad about buses?– have a look at their London Transports Routemaster special or even a bespoke creation from Dream Craft Furniture for girls.

Plan as much storage space as you can. As Lego pieces progress to model armies to teenage hobbies, drawers, shelves and cupboards are an

essential aspect of any room.

As always IKEA is a great place to start, but if you feel the need for something more original, there are many companies that will make bespoke and clever storage solutions for your room or many high street shops have interesting ways of putting that mess to bed.

Your child’s bedroom, limited only by your imagination. Work the magic together.

INTERIOR & DESIGN

PRETTY LITTLE THINGS

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Prop Terrace Sofa by Moroso POA | madeindesign.co.uk Instrmnt 01 GM/T Watch by Instrmnt £180 | instrmnt.watch Wooden Toy POA | permafrost.no Fleur Headboard £475 | coxandcox.co.uk Corner Waste Bin $20 | thegadgetflow.com

INTERIOR & DESIGN

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Tree house bed £1255 | cuckooland.com Wooden Foosball Table $4,200 | fab.com Avian AV1 armchair, 1999 £1795 | twentytwentyone.com Copper Pendant Light £92 | notonthehighstreet.com Slim Case Dark Grey by Éstie $199 | estiebags.com

INVESTOR’S GUIDE

PAST Your average Fulham buyer is attracted to the rows of beautiful Victorian terraced properties that make up the majority of homes across the borough. However don’t write off a new build property before you’ve had a chance to hear both sides of the story!

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From the restoration of the much anticipated Battersea Power station development, which will eventually consist of around 3,500 new homes, to the Kidbrooke Village scheme in South East London, one of Europe’s largest regeneration projects, which will feature over 4,800 new houses and apartments, house builders are now developing significantly more new homes across the capital in an effort to meet high demand for housing. But despite the growing volume of stylish new-build properties emerging in London, there a number of people who still prefer many of the older dwellings that Southwest London has in abundance.

From Georgian and Regency homes to Edwardian and Victorian dwellings, there is a wide selection of ‘period’ homes from across various architectural eras to choose from.

But before making a final decision over which type of property to go for, there are various considerations that a purchaser should bear in mind.

THE CASE FOR

OLDER HOMES

Space A lot of old properties are extremely spacious, making them ideal for families, unlike new build homes which are notorious for a lack of storage space, small rooms and low ceilings!

Price Older properties, some of which require modernising, generally offer better value for money compared to new-build properties which often command a premium of around ten percent.

Character From Victorian family homes to the grand structures of the quintessential Georgian era, older properties – of which Fulham has many – generally feature unique and stylish character, making them highly sought-after.

Foundations If you opt to buy a property that has stood tall for the best part of a century, it has probably been built on solid ground. A recent report from home insurer LV= revealed that over ten percent of newer homes built on brownfield sites have suffered from problems such as flooding, contamination from sewage and drainage issues. Old homes, on the other hand, have already stood the test of time.

INVESTOR’S GUIDE

THE CASE FOR

NEW HOMES

Quality assurance From kitchen appliances and roof to doors and windows, everything in a new property by definition is new and will not need replacing anytime soon.

What’s more, in a new home, some of these components come with a warranty of up to ten years.

No chain There is no upward property chain to consider when buying a new build house, so the whole process is much quicker and less stressful. Some house builders even offer part exchange deals to save even more time.

DESIGN New builds tend to be more ‘designer’. There are more glass balustrades, larger windows and plenty of balconies which give superior views. If that’s your thing.

Marc Da Silva Property Journalist

Energy costs With developers now building new homes from minimum compliance Code Level 3 by using smart techniques, such as airtight doors, insulated roofs and special double-glazing to make sure that draughts will not cause the winter chills, research by Barratt Homes shows that today’s new build homes are up to 55% more energy efficient than an upgraded Victorian home.

All these simple details will keep your bills down and keep you feeling toasty. In fact, you could save an average of £1,312 a year on your heating bills, based upon the comparison of a new build four-bed detached house versus a Victorian property (upgraded with modern-day improvements), according to research undertaken by the NHBC Foundation and Zero Carbon Hub.

SALEABILITY You can’t underestimate the fact that there are simply more European buyers out there looking to buy period property.

Yes the entire block might have be sold overnight to one far eastern buyer but that doesn’t mean that the rest of the market is as interested. That said though it’s likely your property will be more unique for an area, harder to price accurately and therefore with less comparables more easily attract a higher price.

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Safety Newly built homes come with modern fire retardants in materials such as carpeting and insulation, helping to ensure they are a lot safer than older properties.

WORDS

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BUYER’S GUIDE

MYTH BUSTING Some arguments are more difficult than others to solve.

Like the eternal argument between those who have chosen to make London their home, and those who have not.

WORDS

Josh Woodfin Journalist

There are the born and bred, dyed in the wool Londoners who would never, and perhaps could never, live anywhere else.

And there are the people for whom the very idea of living in the capital causes them to break out in a sweat to rival any on the Central Line during August rush hour.

And in the middle are the moderates, those people who

Of course those that don’t like London will try and throw endless arguments at you as to why London is only fit for the rats that supposedly occupy every square foot of space. But we’re going to disprove those screeching headlines and prove that London is the one, whether you’re a first time buyer looking for that perfect SW6 starter, or a family looking to upgrade to your forever home.

There aren’t enough houses Wrong. The capital gains tax, along with the stamp duty shakeup, and general skittishness around the results of the general election likely resulted in a decrease of 19% in the sales of

£1m + houses in the capital, in the first quarter of 2015, but that doesn’t mean the property market has become some barren, empty wasteland. Matthew Pointon, a property economist at Capital Economics told the Financial Times in April, “uncertainty regarding the mansion tax has taken its toll on price in prime central London.” But the property market is a fluid beast, with monthly ripples affecting prices.

The reality is, now the election is over, the market will settle down and return to a more predictable ebb and flow, which will see sellers regaining confidence and property returning to the market.

Economist, Howard Archer, told the Telegraph in April, “There are increasing signs that the housing market is now starting to firm after weakening appreciably through the second half of 2014.” And even if the market is slightly quieter for the moment, that will change, and it’s certainly not terrible news for existing homeowners in the

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Some arguments are more difficult than others to solve.

There are the big scary moral, religious, and political ones, and the small and seemingly insignificant ones like is Marmite nice? (it is), and what colour is the dress? (Google it). Another eternal argument will be the one between those who have chosen to make London their home, and those who have not.

love the highs and lows of making a life in London, but sometimes, in the back of their minds after a particularly long day at the hard earned job, wonder if the city is right for them. Well we’re here to tell you that it absolutely is. It is the greatest city in the world, and yes, we are absolutely biased.

BUYER’S GUIDE

BUYING FOR £1.5m IN

THE COTSWOLDS

KIDS FOR EACH PREP SCHOOL

820

AVAILABLE FOR

GREEN SPACE

£1.5m

98%

6

26

BEDS

brik.co.uk

THE COUNTRY VS THE CAPITAL It’s all a matter of balance, what are you looking for? Each pro has it’s con, whether it’s more green spaces, which means less cafes (heaven forbid) and less houses for you to choose from.

Less crowded schools usually mean that children have much further to travel to get there. A budget of £1.5m gets you a characteristic six bedroom pile in the Cotswolds, in London the same budget buys you an excellent location with everything close at hand, albeit a smaller house and some very close neighbors! Your choice.

3

BATHS

PROPERTIES ON THE MARKET OF TOTAL

4%

5,100 SQ FT

capital. “We expect housing market activity to gradually pick up over the coming months,” continues Archer, “meanwhile, a current shortage of properties coming on to the market seems to be providing increasing support to house prices. Consequently, we expect house prices to rise by around 5% over 2015.”

it statements such as the latter that often lead non-London advocates’ arguments about why you should leave the capital behind. And yes, you could buy a sprawling Edwardian cottage in the countryside for the price of a terraced house in Fulham, but to say that the houses in London are small is ridiculous.

The houses are too small According to Homes and Property.co.uk, the price gap between London and the rest of the country has never been bigger, with the average home in the capital now costing two and half times the price of property elsewhere in the country.

Startling figures, indeed, and

From the vast ‘Lion Houses’ (so called because of the distinctive statues that guard from the houses’ gables) in the Peterborough Estate, with their vast Victorian footprints, to the still spacious terraces of Sand’s End and the Fulham Road, SW6 boasts some of London’s most generous properties.

BUYER’S GUIDE

BUYING FOR £1.5m IN

Fulham, LONDON

KIDS FOR EACH PREP SCHOOL

226

AVAILABLE FOR

GREEN SPACE

£1.5m

47%

3

BEDS

BATH

There aren’t enough schools On the 16th of April this year, parents across the country would have been waiting nervously to find out whether their children got into their first choice school, during what has become known as ‘offer day.’ And it’s easy to see why this would be a stressful time for families. Naturally parents want the best for their children, so competition for the places in London’s best schools is fierce.

But whether you opt to send your children to private school, or to one of the capitals abundant, excellent state schools, South West London is one of the best choices. SW6 boasts some seriously good prep schools, including, Parsons Green (co-

2%

1,300 SQ FT

ed, reception, lower and upper school), Sinclair House (nursery to age 13), with sites on the Munster road and Fulham High Street, Kensington Prep (girls from ages four to 11), Fulham Prep (co-ed, ages four to 13) and Thomas’s (co-ed). Top secondary schools include Fulham Cross Girls School on the Munster Road, The London Oratory on Seagrave road, which takes boys from age seven to 18, and girls in the sixth form. And Lady Margaret in Parsons Green, an excellent school for girls aged 11-18.

There’s no green space Nonsense. London has some of the finest parks and commons in the world. No one’s saying

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A really good Lion house will boast something like four to five double bedrooms, three or four bathrooms, multiple receptions rooms, large kitchens, and around 2,500 - 3,000 sq ft of space, all before you’ve even considered going into the basement which will increase the space further by about 30%. Yes, this will cost you over £2m, (which is a sharp increase from the building’s original 1899 price of £300), but these are forever homes where families grow and thrive. For high-ceilinged, bright and spacious period properties, it’s hard to find a better place than London, and specifically the South West of London, not to mention them being incredibly safe places to park the family cash.

1

PROPERTIES ON THE MARKET OF TOTAL

BUYER’S GUIDE

that it’s the Yorkshire Dales, or the wilds of Dartmoor, but there is a wealth of family friendly spaces, both in Greater London, and more specifically in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. There’s Bishop’s park, on Bishop’s avenue, which was restored and refurbished in 2011/12 with help from the Heritage lottery, and now boasts a Grade II listing in English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England. Along with bowling greens, tennis courts, and table tennis tables, Bishop’s also boasts a unique urban beach in the Summer months, a sculpture garden, rose gardens and plenty of well tended grass for those all important picnics.

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Then there’s the 13 hectare Ravenscourt park, with it’s popular tea room and garden centre, beautiful landscaped gardens and numerous wildlife habits, which are perfect for those education days out.

Other unique areas include Frank Banfield park, and the Margravine Cemetery, which is packed with historical features, listed buildings and wildlife conservation areas.

The London property market is a bubble and it’s going to burst There’s no arguing that figures for London’s property market are quite startling on first glance. But it’s best to take terrifying tweets and scaremongering headlines about the imminent collapse of the property market with fairly large pinches of salt, because

THE COTSWOLDS VS LONDON

COTSWOLDS FULHAM 820

98% 226

47%

x3

x2

% GREEN SPACE

KIDS PER PREP SCHOOL (AVG)

£1,100

4% 2%

x2

% PROPERTIES ON THE MARKET

although prices are high, they are comparatively stable, and this trend could stay throughout 2015.

The BBC reported in January that property experts predict slower growth in the UK housing market than in 2014, with prices expected to rise around 4% (down 3% on 2014), which is below many forecasts from the previous year. This figure may seem small compared with the price rises in London (around 17% in 2014), but all figures are relative, and interestingly, a slowdown in the London market,

£300

x4

PROPERTY PRICE PER SQUARE FEET

could effect property prices outside of the capital. Peter Bolton King, the residential director of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors told the BBC that house prices will be unchanged in 2015, which could mean a rise in house prices amongst the commuter belt areas of the South East as families leave the capital in search of something cheaper.

Meaning those with passion for the city and an iron will could be set to benefit from those leaving the capital as more properties enter the market and prices become more competitive.

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KNOW MORE

Tax valuations Your property and tax, what’s the score?

WORDS

Fraser Maldoom Capital Chartered

Most of us encounter the District Valuer (DV) at some time in connection with Probate, where Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will consult the DV on values submitted for Inheritance Tax (IHT).

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Valuations may be required not only as at the date of death but also at the date of any lifetime transfer, especially any transfer within the seven years preceding the date of death known as a failed “Potentially Exempt Transfer “ (PET).

For others, their first contact will relate to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) following disposal of a property where “Rebasing” applies.

Disposals of non owner occupied residential property may require a valuation as at 31st March 1982 or at a later date especially if acquired in a transaction between connected parties. Such transactions are referred to as “Not at Arm’s Length” (NAL).

So who is the District Valuer?

The function of District Valuer (DV) is carried out within the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an executive agency of HMRC. The holder of the title DV for a locality will have

a team working under him/her to which work is delegated and then allocated to a valuer within that team.

The valuer (or at least their close supervisor) will be a very well trained and qualified specialist in valuations for taxation purposes, supported and instructed on technical issues by a highly proficient head office team responsible for maintaining consistency and protecting points of principle.

Conscious of its power and responsibility, HMRC recommends that taxpayers should submit valuations from a qualified independent valuer who meets Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) or equivalent standards. Our recommendation is to instruct a chartered surveyor who is not only a RICS Registered Valuer, but also fully conversant with valuations for taxation purposes.

Valuations are first audited and if there are omissions of fact or errors in valuation the DV will adopt “revenue favourable assumptions” and issue his/her own valuation.

At this point it is vital (if you did not originally do so) that you appoint a suitably skilled and experienced chartered surveyor. For a VOA

valuer there is no finer sport to be had than a “property professional” who has prepared taxation valuation without adequate knowledge.

The most common mistakes are as simple as using the wrong definition of value, not valuing in accordance with the facts (particularly as regards tenancies) or, at worst, submitting a report clearly intending to mislead or deceive. Taxation valuations have been in the spotlight recently due to changes to CGT rules for residential property. The changes affect Non Resident Owners and many valuers have, since March of this year, been busy preparing rebasing valuations as at 6th April 2015.

In general, where property is transferred between connected parties (especially with a view to future tax planning) or there is a base date at which a valuation might be required on eventual disposal of a property, it is important to obtain a formal valuation from a competent and experienced RICS qualified valuer as soon as possible to ensure that any valuation is as accurate as it can be to minimise the risk of unexpected future costs. If, from the outset, you are not at least as well represented as HMRC, you are at a considerable disadvantage

PR ADO settee with cushion & EVERY WHERE sideboard.

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LUMIĂˆRE NOIRE floor lamps.

Design: Philippe Nigro.

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Ligne Roset Westend 23/25 Mortimer Street 0207 323 1248 www.ligne-roset-westend.co.uk

GADGETS

The House of Tomorrow With the British Government moving ahead with programs that will introduce driverless cars to our roads (they’ve promised a full review of current legislation, including the Highway Code, by 2017), it seems that the future is well and truly here. This makes it as good a time as any to take a look at all the bright, shiny things that will be ushering our homes into the chrome plated future.

1

3

2

4

GADGETS

WORDS

Josh Woodfin Journalist

COOLBOX 3 Whether you go for the jars of screws in the garden shed, or a meticulously organised – but rarely used – toolbox under the stairs, every home needs a quiver of tools for those moments when you’re too embarrassed to call a professional in, and the CoolBox is here to make the whole thing a little less stressful. Along with all the usual compartments you’d expect with any self respecting toolbox, the Cool’ also packs an internal battery, a retractable 12 foot extension cable, wheels, a USB port and speakers, and a tablet stand, for those moments when you’re using those awesome YouTube tutorials.

NEEO 2 Remember those really unpleasant universal remotes that became popular in the 90s? Well they’re back. But this time they’ve had a hell of a makeover and now look like they could have come from one of the designer’s desks over at Apple. Described as ‘the thinking remote’, Neeo is designed to help you manage and control everything inside your always on, smart home of the future. The device comes in two parts: the brain, which communicates with your devices (desktop computers, wireless audio systems, digitally controlled thermostats, TVs, etc) and the remote, which allows you to control the whole lot with one beautifully designed handheld device. Featuring hand recognition and a crystal clear display, you can also locate the device using the SOS alarm on your phone, so you’ll never lose it again. Cool.

LUNA BED 4 You monitor you runs, your food intake and your home’s energy and water, so why not your sleep? Luna is a mattress cover that essentially turns your bed in to a smart computer. Slip it over your existing mattress and you can then intelligently manage the temperature of your bed, track your sleep patterns and integrate everything with your smart home. The dual zone technology allows you to select different temperatures for different areas of the bed, which could solve countless problems! And when you do fall into a climate controlled slumber, you can easily monitor your sleep patterns, heart rate and breathing rate, without having to wear any kind of uncomfortable device. And then there’s the smart alarm, which wakes you at the perfect moment in your sleep cycle so you are more likely to avoid those groggy mornings.

And yes, the whole thing can be controlled with your phone.

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NINJA SPHERE 1 Similar to the Neeo (but with a much cooler name), the Ninja Sphere allows you to control most of your home’s smart devices with very little effort indeed. You can easily control devices including WiFi lightbulbs, connected power sockets, Sonos media centres, plant monitors and more. Sphere is also built on an open architecture software platform, which means that when a new device comes out, members of the Ninja Sphere community will quickly add compatibility, which should future proof your home for some time to come. Neat!

BUYER’S GUIDE

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER WORDS

Justin Quirk Writer / Editor

When you’re searching for a new property, there are certain things you look for. Proximity to good schools, industrial fittings perhaps, a macabre history or the kind of exterior that could withstand a military assault? What are the real deal-breakers for you when you’re hunting for your home?

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Increasingly a number of new properties are located in unique, architecturally significant and historically interesting buildings.

Sites like The General in Bristol (originally a hospital), the former Normansfield site in Teddington, South West London (a residential centre for handicapped adults), a water tower in the former Lambeth Workhouse and Infirmary, a Cornish nuclear bunker, a Chelsea courthouse and the former HMP Canterbury have all been turned into homes, not to mention the monolithic Battersea power station, soon to house over 3,000 new addresses.

These new properties also tell a story of the changing landscape of Britain: as the economy has deindustrialised, warehouses and factories have been left empty; with the Care In The Community programme, large-scale asylums like Moorhaven on Dartmoor were seen as brutal relics and left to rot

(it reopened as housing in 2001 with the grounds including tennis courts and croquet lawns); old, overcrowded jails are closing at a rate of three a year; and with the government still trying to balance the budget, mothballed buildings which can be sold to developers represent a significant saving to the exchequer (HMP Canterbury was sold for £7m in 2014, while Hackney’s Queen Elizabeth Children’s Hospital had been empty since 1996 before recently becoming the Mettle and Poise apartments).

There’s a lot to recommend these properties to buyers beyond the bragging rights that a one-off property confers. The Kennington Water Tower boasts the only 360 degree London wide view from its eighth floor ‘prospect room’.

Designed to withstand mass use and often a dominating feature of a local landscape, they were constructed to extremely high standards – the Bristol General was built with italianate stonework and French renaissance rooftops and withstood heavy bombing during World War Two; Jonathan Mathys who redeveloped Moorhaven pointed out that many municipal buildings ‘were designed…by enlightened philanthropists and were sited in the best locations.’

Perhaps the ultimate example of robust building is the 3000 square-foot nuclear bunker built in Coswarth, Cornwall in 1978 for the

South West Water Authority, which sold in April 2014 for £140,000.

Certainly, subsidence is unlikely to be an issue with a home built to withstand Armageddon.

There are issues that buyers should be aware of. Many historically interesting buildings will be listed – not only does this restrict what you can do to them (both internally and externally) but you need written evidence that the seller has had full permission for everything they’ve already done to the property. In fact buyers in London will no doubt be aware of the large swathes of the capital listed as conservation areas (including about half of Fulham). There are also thousands of Grade 1 & 2 listed buildings across London (112 in Fulham alone - see infographic) and these have specific covenants that apply.

On the plus side, grants for repairs and VAT reductions for building work may be available for some listed properties, although the 2014 budget tightened up on these payments (the best source for information is the Listed Property Owners Club). Ideally, if you’re purchasing via a developer they will have dealt with these headaches for you, and the extra effort is ultimately worth it. After all ‘I live in a converted nuclear bunker’ is always going to sound more impressive than ‘I’ve got one of those new glass boxes by the train station.’

Bedford Park 19th century semidetached family homes HOLLAND ESTATE 19th century double fronted dettached mansions

CHISWICK SQUARE Cosy Georgian terraced houses

addison bridge placE Tall 5-6 story Victorian properties

PARSONS GREEN STATION BUILDING

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PROTECTED

BY HISTORY Not many would deny that the character of London can be found in its historic architecture.

Luckily these listed properties are well protected and would be hard to change in appearance (see page 12). But a golden rule is, the more listed buildings there are, the more desirable and the higher the property prices. Just take a look at this map of the listed buildings across London and draw your own conclusions.

Listed buildings

FULHAM conservation AREAS

LANDLORD’S GUIDE

GOING GREEN WORDS

Andrew Hankinson Journalist

Calling all landlords, change is coming. And it’s a big change. In fact, it’s been described by John Alker, acting head of the UK Green Building Council, as “the single most important piece of green legislation to affect our homes and buildings that has been introduced in the whole of this Parliament.”

Wow. Sounds exciting.

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“Landlords now have three years to bring their properties up to the required energy efficiency standards.”

Perhaps ‘important’ is a more appropriate description, and for some landlords, perhaps ‘worrying’ is most apt of all. In case you missed it, the Government has revealed its plans for new legislature to meet its obligations under the Energy Act 2011. The big change to take note of is this: landlords now have three years to bring their properties up to the required energy efficiency standards or they’ll face not being able to lawfully rent those properties out. The new law will come into force in April 2018, after which all rental properties must have an energy efficiency rating in Band E or higher (Bands F and G are the lowest efficiency ratings). If

a landlord fails in their duty to bring the energy efficiency of a property up to standard and lets a property they will face fines and prosecution, even if they were unaware of the property’s below par performance (though if the improvement work is deemed too expensive, or if it’s impossible to make the house more efficient, the property will be exempt).

Even sooner than that though, as of April 2016, tenants will be able to ask landlords to make homes easier and cheaper to keep warm if the property doesn’t already meet the energy efficiency standard.

Landlords won’t be able to refuse reasonable requests to carry out work. That should make for some fun negotiations.

So improvement work is needed.

No doubt hearts have been sinking among those landlords already struggling with outgoings in this tricky market. The Daily Telegraph has predicted costs “could run into tens of thousands of pounds” for some properties, and the same article kindly pointed out that the landlords most affected will be owners of Victorian and Edwardian properties, believed to make up ten percent of the market.

It seems that tenants are the only ones who will be rejoicing – the Government estimates tenants will save £880 on energy bills if a property goes from the least efficient rating to the new minimum

standard. However, the Coalition Government was keen to point out that the Green Deal was still available before the election.

Under that offer landlords could avoid having to pay for all the costs upfront when making energy efficiency improvements on properties. Unfortunately, the future of the Green Deal is uncertain at the moment, so anyone wanting to make use of it should do so quickly. If you do, be aware that the repayments for the upfront loan will form part of the electricity bill, which means it’s repaid by the tenants, so all landlords will need to seek the permission of the tenants before making improvements using the Green Deal, as well as inform future tenants. It remains to be seen what that does to the marketability of a property.

Commenting on the changes, Richard Lambert, CEO of the National Landlords Association said, “Setting the standard at a sensible rather than aspirational level, allowing time to achieve it and granting exemptions if the necessary improvements cannot be funded through the Green Deal or other government subsidies means that these new regulations will not impose an unreasonable burden.”

Possibly it’s not an unreasonable burden, but the truth is, landlords will have to be the judge of that over the next three years.

Seller’s GUIDe

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West End Fulham Islington Notting Hill Richmond Cheltenham Guildford

020 7297 6220 020 7736 7362 020 7704 8260 020 7229 2123 020 8744 9993 01242 521 900 01483 573 584

Made in Britain, Built to Last

www.roundhousedesign.com

DESIGNER

AWARDS

British Design

2013 WINNER KITCHEN DESIGNER OF THE YEAR

INTERIOR & DESIGN

OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Kate Thornton Magenta Pink Interiors

The Hanover Ottoman

The Miko Ottoman

£800 | Magentapinkinteriors.co.uk

£160 | johnlewis.com

Add an element of style to any living room or bedroom with these luxurious deep buttoned velvet ottomans. Made to order in any size, shape or colour.

This is a great ottoman to brighten up a room. Filled with polyester it’s easy to move around and comes in a lovely saffron yellow which is fabulous for summer.

Retro 1950’s styling brought up to date in this striking contemporary floral design – right on current trends.

Chiaro Scuro

Alivar Onda Ottoman

The Bubble Ottoman

£1630 | Gomodern.com

£880 | roche-bobois.com

Luxurious deep buttoned ottomans beautifully complimented by exquisite contemporary dip dye fringes in Cappuccino, Marshmallow and Soft Aqua tones.

Made in Italy this ottoman comes with optional armrests which can be in a matching or contrasting material or leather.

This is an unusual and eye-catching piece to add a pop of colour to the sitting room. It comes in two sizes and a whopping ten different colours.

The Deco Ottoman

Puck Ottoman

£585 | leatherchairs.co.uk

From £252 | Camerich.co.uk

Oxford Velvet

A beautiful classic ottoman in various available in various shades of leather. Perfect height for putting your feet up on and the leather is very hardwearing.

This footstool is beautifully simple and with clean lines for a very sleek,contempoary look. You can chose from over 50 fabrics and three sizes.

A stunning button-top square ottoman coffee table in a luxurious cotton velvet with hand-finished stud detail and dark birch castor style legs.

Maxine Truffet

The Talbot Ottoman

The Club Ottoman

£995 | Uk.Jonathanadler.com

£800 | Magentapinkinteriors.co.uk

£275 | sofa.com

The Maxime Tuffet serves as a fab ottoman with artful elegance. Wild brass line-work creates sculptural splendor, and the cotton-linen blend seat nods to 1950s Italian Minimalism.

A made to measure round ottoman which can be upholstered in a huge range of velvets. Great as an extra seat or just to put your feet up on. Shown in granite grey and dove grey.

This is a contemporary classic.

Shown here upholstered in a beautiful danube velvet but available in loads of fabics and colours and several sizes.

£800 | Spinadesign.co.uk

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COMPILED BY

Harper Ottoman £279 | Marksandspencer.co.uk

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£495 | Brissi.co.uk

INTERIOR & DESIGN

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SHOWCASE

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HESTERCOMBE AVENUE, SW6 Two Flats | | Loft | Side Return | Full re-development This large project involved the re-structuring and re-building of an entire Victorian family home which had been split into flats years ago but had become run-down and unloved. Both flats we’re totally transformed structurally and re-designed to maximise the available space. Featured is the top floor flat, with an open plan, double height kitchen/reception room finished to exacting standards throughout.

UBER CONTRACTS ubercontracts.co.uk

SHOWCASE

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Perrymead Street, SW6 House | Kitchen by Espresso Design Roxburgh architects were brought in to improve an inherited design which did not fulfil the clients brief. We re-organised the layouts, obtained the necessary Planning Permissions and undertook the basement conversion and refurbishment of the entire house. The end result is a six bedroom home with an abundance of light and space. The neutral colour palette and materials specified have created a timeless property on which the new owners can make their mark.

Roxburgh roxburghconstruction.co.uk

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BRADBOURNE STREET, SW6 House | Basement | Loft | Side Return | Full re-development We were asked to totally re-design and re-develop this un-modernised Victorian family home internally into a modern property whilst retaining its traditional Victorian exterior. The work included totally restructuring the property internally by adding a full basement, pod room, loft extension and a large kitchen side return, using high quality finishes throughout and creating a spacious and open plan living area with the bedrooms on the floors above.

DESIGN 2 FINISH design2finish.co.uk

PROPERTY TRACKER

BETA

The value of your property straight to your inbox Your home, probably the biggest asset of your life. The Property Tracker keeps an eye on how your investment is growing by sending your property’s value straight to your inbox. No visits required and it’s free. Genius!

Sign up to the free service at brikproperty.co.uk/tracker

SHOWCASE

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Clancarty Road, SW6 House l Loft | Side Return | Full re-development This house was an abandoned mid-terraced Victorian house. We carried out a full refurbishment and extended the house into the loft, second storey rear and built a side return extension. Apart from bespoke joinery and a lovely Italian kitchen we used dramatic black wallpaper in the master bedroom which although being a bit risky, turned out great!

BLAZE & CO

blazeandco.co.uk

SHOWCASE

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Chelsea Embankment SW3 Apartment / Full refurbishment This project comprised a full refurbishment of an un-modernised property to create a luxurious four bedroom apartment in the heart of Chelsea, including parquet flooring, Boffi kitchen an a wine cellar.

ELEMENT elementconstruction.co.uk

Settrington Road An outstanding, Architect designed, fully extended Victorian family home with a superb outlook over South Park.

Arranged over four floors, extending to just over 2,270 sq ft (211 sq m) and finished to the highest specification. throughout this five bedroom house has been implemented and balanced perfectly. The basement floor has a family/reception room with ample bespoke built in storage, underfloor heating and access to the garden, utility room, separate W.C and a double bedroom with en suite shower room.

5 Bed

2,271

ÂŁ2,695,000

HOUSE

SQ FT

FOR SALE

FRISTON STREET This beautifully presented four bedroom Victorian family home has a large South facing garden and is located only a short walk from Parsons Green and moments from the coveted South Park, with its excellent recreational facilities and is in close proximity to Thomas’s school and the Ecole Marie D’Orliac.

4 Bed

1,600

£1,650,000

HOUSE

SQ FT

FOR SALE

Niton Street An attractive red brick Victorian family home, with an impressive 52 ft South facing rear garden, on a beautiful tree lined road close to the River Thames in Fulham. The living space is arranged over three floors extending to 2,250 sq ft and is presented in excellent condition throughout. The ground floor comprises a double reception room with high ceilings and two Chesney’s fire places.

4 Bed

2,259

ÂŁ2,050,000

HOUSE

SQ FT

FOR SALE

Fulham Park Gardens

6 Bed HOUSE

An exceptional, fully detached family home with gated off street parking in a prime Fulham location. Arranged over three floors and extending to 2,436 sq ft, this wonderful double fronted family house is one of only a handful of Fulham homes that can claim to be fully detached.

2,436 SQ FT

ÂŁ2,950,000 FOR SALE

PARKVILLE Road

2 Bed FLAT

A stylish two double bedroom flat arranged over the top floor of a dual aspect Victorian building. This property has just over 774 sq ft (72 sq m) of space, offering plenty of natural light throughout and relaxed proportions.

774 SQ FT

ÂŁ850,000 FOR SALE

CHIPSTEAD STREET A beautifully designed and finished ‘Lion House’, situated in the heart of the Peterborough Estate, arguably the most prestigious location in Fulham.

The property has been renovated to an exacting standard throughout, with a bespoke Italian Comprex kitchen looking out on to a bright Southwest facing rear garden. Located on the first floor the master suite is situated at the front of the house, with ample built in storage, and a generous en suite bathroom.

7 Bed

4,028

ÂŁ2,995/wk

HOUSE

SQ FT

TO RENT

DANEHURST STREET An outstanding, purpose built Victorian garden flat, with two double bedrooms, its own front door and a private garden. Located in the heart of the desirable ‘Munster Village’, this larger than average maisonette extends to in excess of 900 sq. ft. There are two good sized double bedrooms (both with built in wardrobes) and two modern bathrooms (one en suite).

2 Bed

914

£600/wk

FLAT

SQ FT

TO RENT

Fernhurst Road An outstanding, extended Victorian family home, arranged over four floors and extending to 2,632 sq ft. The bedroom and living space have been well implemented and the ground floor has a formal reception room with high ceilings and period features, a separate W.C and an extended modern kitchen breakfast room with integrated appliances.

5 Bed

2,632

ÂŁ1,750/wk

HOUSE

SQ FT

TO RENT

Barclay Road

5 Bed HOUSE

A beautifully renovated 5-6 bedroom house in a prime location. The property is spread over four floors, with an open plan, integrated kitchen and dining room, a utility room and separate bathroom on the lower ground floor.

2,514 SQ FT

ÂŁ2,200/wk TO RENT

Foskett Road

1 Bed FLAT

A spacious and very well presented garden flat in a great location in Parsons Green. The flat is arranged with a reception room at the front and the kitchen to the rear, looking out on to a bright, good size garden.

658 SQ FT

ÂŁ450/wk TO RENT

DIRECTORY Looking for something? Look no further with our recommended suppliers directory, just mention where you found them.

ARCHITECTS DBLO dblo.co.uk 020 7610 9333 227a Stephendale Road London, SW6 2PR Hogarth hogartharchitects.co.uk 020 7381 3409 186 Dawes Road London SW6 7RQ Icon icon-architects.com 020 7731 0400 The Glass House 11 Lettice Street London SW6 4EH Simon Gill simongillarchitects.co.uk 020 7610 9344 Riverbank House 1 Putney Bridge Approach London SW6 3JD

BUILDERS Blaze & Co. blazeandco.co.uk 020 7373 2214 Flat 2, 111 Drayton Gardens London SW10 9QU Dalriva dalriva.co.uk 020 7736 7066 Studio 3.4 The Piper Centre 50 Carnwath Rd, London SW6 3EG

Design 2 FInish design2finish.co.uk 07968 821 1667 54 Chipstead Street London SW6 3SS

RJV Designs rjvdesigns.co.uk 020 7385 6009 126 Harbord St, London SW6 6PH

Edward Checkley privatefinance.co.uk 07908 962 494 21 Bedford Square London WC1B 3HH

Element Construction elementconstruction.co.uk 07717 155 716

SURVEYORS

SOLICITORS

Capital Chartered capitalchartered.co.uk 020 8875 0035 Argyll House All Saints Passage London SW18 1EP

Child & Child (Mo Hakim) childandchild.co.uk 020 7235 8000 4 Grosvenor Place London SW1X 7HJ

Owen Powell owen-powell.com 012 7369 6655

Healys Solicitors (Tracey Cipolla) healys.com 020 7822 4000 Atrium Court 15-17 Jockey’s Fields London WC1R 4QR

NU Builds nubuilds.com 0207 7316841 10 Fulham high street London SW6 4LZ Nuspace I-want-nuspace.co.uk 0203 405 3480 965 Fulham Road, London, SW6 5JJ Pascal Huser huser.co.uk 020 7381 0707 600 Fulham Road London, SW6 5PA Roxburgh Construction roxburghconstruction.co.uk 020 7731 7480 74 The Arches Ranelagh Gardens London SW6 3UB Uber Contracts ubercontracts.co.uk 020 3151 5034

INTERIOR DESIGN Magenta Pink magentapinkinteriors.co.uk 07956 884 437

Shaw & Company www.shawandco.co.uk 020 8948 1122 9-11 The Quadrant, Surrey TW9 1BP

LEASEHOLD ADVICE Capital Leasehold capitalchartered.co.uk 020 7112 5169 64 Knightsbridge London SW1X 7JF

Jacobsen & Co. (Helle Jacobsen) jacobsenlegal.com 020 7736 6277 6 Stephendale Yard Stephendale Road London SW6 2LR Judge Sykes Frixou (Belinda Frixou) jsf-law.co.uk 020 7395 3355 23 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6YF

MORTGAGE BROKERS Alistair Hargreaves johncharcol.co.uk 020 7384 6790 112 Dawes Road London SW6 4JA

Additions If you would like to add your business to this directory please contact Coen van Leeuwen at Brik.

GET IN TOUCH 020 7384 6790 hello@brik.co.uk brik @briklondon brik.co.uk 77 Parsons Green Lane, Fulham, London SW6 4JA

WE BELIEVE

Like many people we believe estate agency is in need of improvement. We started Brik to challenge the status quo and our reputation has grown by delivering record breaking prices and quick sales with minimum fuss. Our formula is simple, sound advice plus friendly approach equals good result.

MEET BRIK

Chris Littlewood Co-founder NFOPP qualified

Ben Littlewood Co-founder NFOPP qualified

Michael Horne Co-founder NFOPP qualified

James Sims Sales Manager NFOPP qualified

Alex Weldon Sales Associate NFOPP qualified

Ben Francis Lettings Associate ARLA in training

Georgina Woods Lettings Administrator ARLA qualified

Coen van Leeuwen Brand Coordinator

Contact us for a free valuation: 020 7384 6790 / brik.co.uk

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