3 minute read
SHOWCASE The new Cardiff Bay development, the Big Windsor, is a very big deal
THE BIG WINDSOR Showcase
Elsie Chadwick explores the glorious past and the bright future of this remarkable Cardiff Bay development
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If there was an example of the positive regeneration that has been happening in Cardiff in recent times, it is this Big Windsor conversion. A Grade II listed building, nicknamed locally as the Big Windsor to distinguish it from the nearby Windsor Arms pub, it has most recently taken the form of the Juboraj Indian restaurant, which closed down in 28. Previous incarnations have included a post-World War Two restaurant called The Big Windsor Hotel run by French chef Abel »Papa’ Magneron. In the !4s and !5s it gained a reputation for being one of the best restaurants in the country, and was rewarded with a plaYue, that’s still in place and reads, »In the diٻcult days following the war !3!-!45, Abel Magneron, 8!-!54, here achieved a gastronomic standard which contributed to the further glory of the entente cordiale’ · entente cordiale translating as »warm understanding’.
Now the distinctive property is undergoing a complete transformation, which will hopefully be offering a warm welcome to its new occupants. 4ocal property development company, 9uin Co, bought the building in December 28 and whose alterations have been, according to their website, »sympathetic to the listed building, with the fatade and roof structure left untouched having been originally built in 822 as a public house.’
While the renovations of the basement remain for commercial purposes, the first and second floors of this Stuart Street building have been converted into four, two-bed apartments, and are due for completion by this August. Inside the apartments, which here are CGI imagined, the vision is clearly one of contemporary style and high-end finishes.
From the luxe little touches like polished black nickel switches and sockets to the grand life-enhancing wooden sash windows and decorative traditional wall panels which are replicas of the >ictorian originals, this contemporaryinterior design scheme has been created with a thoughtful and respectful awareness of the building’s significant and worthy past. It takes the modern with the old and melds them beautifully · the
engineered oak plank flooring has been supplied by Cowbridge Firm, Broadleaf Timber, while the electric heating from Dimplex is centrally controlled with app access to allow control when out of the home.
The open-plan living space has brass fixtures and fittings to complement the charcoal Shaker-style kitchens with marble-effect Yuartz worktops and Neff appliances, which include a wine cooler and double oven. The strikingly bold bathroom uses a rare marble called calacatta used for tiles, believed to have been the Italian artist Michelangelo’s marble of choice. Showing the developer’s bang-on-trend credentials is the Crittall
style shower screens, which, with their black-edged, industrial lines, are what all the best dressed bathrooms are wearing right now. An aspect the developers have made total use of is that glorious Cardiff Bay view, thanks to those huge timber sash windows.
There’s a wealth of splendid activities on The Big Windsor, Mermaid 9uay doorstep including upmarket bars, stylish coffee shops, theatre offerings and of course a huge range of international cuisine. We like to think Abel »Papa’ Magneron would have a »warm understanding’ for his former home’s metamorphosis and its new surrounds.
HOUSE NUMBERS Guide price
£259,950 to £299,950 Apartments available 4 Views Endless Bedrooms 2 For more: CPS Homes, Cardiff Bay; tel: 029 2048 0490; www.cpshomes.co.uk
HAMPTONS PENARTH
Set over two fl oors in a beautifully converted former Victorian market and meeting hall, Hamptons is a haven of unique, design-led occasional furniture, lighting, home interiors and gifts. If you simply need a beautiful greetings card or something gorgeous for the home we’ll be delighted to assist you.
10 Ludlow Lane, Penarth, CF64 1EA Tel: 029 2070 5391 www.hamptonspenarth.co.uk
