Guestbook issue 1 by onefinestay

GUESTBOOK A journal about living beautifully â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and sharing it

onefinestay has been redefining city travel since 2010. Our guests live like locals by staying in distinctive homes while their owners are out of town, enjoying a service which offers all the convenience and comfort of a hotel. And our members benefit financially from a house or apartment which would otherwise stand empty. With around a thousand members, onefinestay looks after an exclusive, multi-billion dollar portfolio of beautiful homes in London and New York.

Guestbook issue 01 Editor Alex Bagner Art Direction and Design www.field-projects.com Editorial Assistant Sam Webb Copy Chief Sara Norrman Publishing Assistant James comyn onefinestay Co-Founder & CEO Greg Marsh Published by onefinestay www.onefinestay.com Cover Illustration ian bilbey Words Carrie Buckle, Nick Compton, John-Paul Flintoff, Emma Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Kelly, Pei-Ru Keh, Skye Sherwin, Sara Norrman, Sam Webb Photographers (The Salon) Jason Evans, Leigh Johnson, Stefan Ruiz Photographers (The Gallery) Seth Caplan, Adam De Silva, Tom Lakeman, Alex Oates, Marlene Rounds, Iris Thorsteinsdottir Illustrators Ian Bilbey, Dermot Flynn, Emily Robertson, Katie Scott For all enquiries or to order more copies of Guestbook please email: guestbook@onefinestay.com

EDITOR’S LETTER

‘

could never keep my home to myself, it means too much to me,’ a host told me, while showing me around her elegant home in Knightsbridge as part of the onefinestay registration process. As I listened to her talk animatedly about her art, and how she managed to haul one particularly large canvas back from a market in Paris, it started to turn in my head quite what a complex and fascinating proposition onefinestay represents. A simple idea, it offers guests the chance to live like locals with the convenience of a hotel service, while homeowners get to earn a bit of extra cash. However, beyond a new way of travelling and earning an extra income, signing up as a member of onefinestay is an emotional decision that appeals to a type of person infinitely proud of their beautiful world, and open to the idea of sharing it. And so Guestbook was born – well, at least in my head. I wanted to capture our hosts’ high-spirited, rich, creative lives and present them to our sophisticated, hungry, curious guests (and to fellow members), in a form away from the practicalities of a business and the constraints of web design. Throughout the project ‘Guestbook’ I imagined onefinestay as the admirable host, in charge of the finer details like the venue, the guest list and the bar, but also as the inveterate raconteur, working the room, introducing the right people to each other and keeping the bash gently buzzing with witty, smart conversation. To this end, the first issue (our housewarming, if you will) is divided into three rooms: the Salon, brim-full with debate, celebration and conversation; the Gallery, a chance to quietly ponder onefinestay’s exquisite portfolio; and the Snug, a peek behind the scenes of how we work and what we’ve been up to. Most of all, I wanted to make sure that Guestbook was filled with character, charm and personality – though, I think it looks pretty dapper too. I’m confident there’s room on the coffee table for another great magazine, and I truly hope ours earns the right to exist there. I’d love to hear what you think.

Alex Bagner Editor, Guestbook guestbook@onefinestay.com

CONTRIBUTORS ...and their favourite room in the house and why

Emily Robertson’s ink illustrations have featured in campaigns by Marks & Spencer, Molteni, Space NK and The White Company. ‘Anywhere with something soft for me to curl up on with a book and a cup of tea – I am very easy to please.’ Nick Compton is features director at Wallpaper* and writes for i-D, the Observer Magazine and Sunday Telegraph Magazine. ‘I’ve only got three rooms, including the bathroom, and I’m very fond of them all.’ John-Paul Flintoff is a journalist at The Sunday Times and a member of the faculty at the School of Life.‘The kitchen – I do most of the cooking in my house, and I also happen to be a very enthusiastic eater.’ Photographer Jason evans has just published his first monograph of street photography called NYLPT with Mack. ‘The snug – it’s dark and cosy and where my books and records are.’ SKYE SHERWIN is an art critic at The Guardian Guide and writes regularly for ArtReview, Another Magazine and The Telegraph. ‘The living room, for being sociable and kicking off my shoes.’

Dermot Flynn is a regular illustrator at the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine and Monocle, with clients including Penguin and Vodafone. ‘The bathroom – there’s nothing like a long relaxing soak at the end of a hard day’s work…’ Illustrator Ian Bilbey’s clients include Paul Smith, Penguin Books and Volkswagen, as well as commissions from publications including The New Yorker and Wallpaper*. ‘My garage – it never needs vacuuming.’ Photographer Stefan Ruiz has worked editorially for The New York Times Magazine, L’Uomo Vogue, Telegraph Magazine and Rolling Stone. ‘The parlour, in the home I shot for Guestbook had the best light and some beautiful, original details.’ Artist Leigh Johnson has shown her photography and video art in the Journal Gallery and Rivington Arms in New York and had work published in ArtReview, The Journal and Wallpaper*. ‘A sunny reading room. I’ll read a few pages and then drift off.’ New York-based Carrie Buckle is a regular writer for Harper’s Bazaar, as well as Elle, Vogue, Tatler and Style.com. ‘My kitchen – I love sitting there drinking endless cups of tea and looking out over Central Park.’

CONTENTS

HE SALON T 8 In Conversation With Dièry Prudent and Mariza Scotch Prospect Place, New York Words Carrie Buckle Photography Stefan Ruiz 16

Essay Domestic Exposure If homes are exhibitions of our personalities, what do our amassed possessions tell the world about us? Words John-Paul Flintoff

Interview Open Up An interview with Victoria Thornton, founder of the Open House programme Words Nick Compton Photography Joss McKinley

24 In Conversation With Chris and Sarah Dyson Princelet Street, London Words Pei-Ru Keh Photography Leigh Johnson 32 Feature Home Is Where The Art Is A new wave of curators are turning their homes into galleries Words Skye Sherwin 38 Feature Neighbourhood Battle Bleecker Street vs Westbourne Grove Illustration Dermont Flynn 40 In Conversation With Aude Grasset Ladbroke Square, London Words Emma O’Kelly Photography Jason Evans

49 Environs A local’s guide to Primrose Hill The inside scoop on London’s highest beauty spot, by the people who live there Illustration Emily Robertson THE GALLERY 66 A selection of homes of onefinestay members in London 78 A selection of homes of onefinestay members in New York THE SNUG 92 An Anatomy of the Unhotel From brainwaves to legwork, a schematic of how onefinestay fits together Illustration Katie Scott 94 Our Social Whirl onefinestay’s third un-birthday party, London; members’ soirée at the Pace Gallery, New York; a dodgy weekend, London; an architectural affair, London 96 End note from CEO Greg Marsh Why a business founded by a team of tech entrepreneurs is turning its hand to print

IN conversation with

Mariza Scotch & DiĂ¨ry Prudent

Prospect Place, Brooklyn, New York

words carrie buckle photography stefan ruiz

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ver the fireplace in Mariza Scotch and the authenticity of the buildings,’ says Mariza, Dièry Prudent’s parlour rests a black- a handbag designer for the likes of Tod’s, and-white photo of a young couple Ralph Lauren and Salvatore Ferragamo. ‘It’s a gazing into the camera. ‘That’s us in Paris, soon very special neighbourhood. In some ways, it after we first met,’ smiles Mariza, looking chic resembles where we lived in Paris, with the with red lipstick, white shirt, A Détacher khaki stimulating mix of people and the artists who are skinnies and Chloé chunky black heels. ‘We attracted to the area.’ were just babies,’ adds Dièry. After a chance ‘I grew up in this neighbourhood, not far meeting in a Parisian jazz bar in 1988, the couple from here, so I was a bit more familiar with fell in love and here they are 24 years (and one Brooklyn than Mariza was,’ says Haiti-born daughter) later, in a striking Brooklyn townhouse Dièry, a fitness trainer who sees clients at that captures their inspiring journey together. home, in the outdoor workout area or his studio. Look around the four-storey brownstone, ‘The area has come a long way since then and built in 1871, and you will see subtle nods to their now it’s landmarked.’ Pouring cups of Mariage story. In an airy kitchen, Mariza reaches for two Frères tea (discovered when she lived in Paris) in simple green glass bottles from a shelf above the the gleaming kitchen, Mariza adds: ‘Yes, the area sink. ‘They’re nothing fancy,’ she says of the is blooming.’ makeshift flower vases. ‘But these are from our The house has certainly been a labour of love. first home in Paris. Our entire apartment was ‘There were many layers of linoleum and varnish smaller than this floor of the house.’ when we first moved in,’ says Dièry. ‘And for the After two years living in the 19th arron- first few years we rented out the two upper floors dissement, they moved to New York and set to make the financials work.’ up home in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, in Mariza produces a photo of the kitchen when 1996. ‘We were enthralled with the scale and they first moved in, showing Dièry cooking. ‘The

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THE SALON

stove was stuffed in that fireplace,’ he says and Mariza adds: ‘The photo is very representative of the house when we moved in, with lots of maroon paint. There’s not a single surface of the property that we haven’t addressed.’ Today the kitchen, with its open fire and round dining table, is at the heart of family life. ‘It’s a little oasis,’ says Dièry of his favourite room. This is where the couple has sit-down dinners three times a week with their 13-year-old daughter Gala, who grew up playing in the garden. How does the house work for Gala these days? ‘She has a sign on her door that says “Do Not Disturb”. She comes down when she wants food or has an announcement to make,’ grins Dièry. ‘No, we spend lots of quality family time together. We’re pretty active and love nature, so we go hiking, cycling in the park and walking in the nearby botanical garden.’ As well as enjoying nature (a bowl of pine cones and a log pile are on show in the kitchen), entertaining is important to Mariza and Dièry. They love to socialise, whether it be hosting an informal dinner party for friends from overseas or

a soirée with live jazz. ‘This house has seen many people from all over the world,’ says Mariza, who grew up in Vermont. ‘I think that’s where the energy of the house comes from.’ For lifelong jazz fan Dièry’s 40th birthday party, American trumpeter Roy Hargrove performed and other notable visitors at the house have included saxophonist James Moody and father of vocalese, Jon Hendricks. When the weather is warm, musicians perform in the zen-like garden, the size of which first attracted the couple to the property. ‘It was the biggest garden we had ever seen in New York,’ says Mariza. Putting in floor-to-ceiling windows onto the garden, and renovating the kitchen, was a challenge, taking a year instead of six months. ‘Mariza was in labour in the hospital and I was receiving calls on my cell phone from the contractor,’ explains Dièry. ‘That wall was covered in plastic and there was a flash freeze. It was a nightmare. Lots of things went wrong along the way.’ Throughout the renovation, Mariza’s honed sense of style (which she partly attributes to her

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Swiss heritage) was put to good use. ‘Imagine designing a handbag and all the details and then blow that up to an entire house,’ says Mariza, who is currently working on an autumn/winter 2013 handbag line for stylist Rachel Zoe. ‘Both a handbag and a house have to be functional, hopefully last for a long time, age well, and add joy to everyday life. I think they’re very connected.’ Dièry throws in, ‘I live with someone who not only designs handbags but life as we know it. Look at any detail in this house, even the forks, and she will have chosen it.’ Then he quips, ‘My biggest contribution is that I married well.’ A thread running through their lives, and home, is travel. They return to Paris yearly and regularly escape to other exotic locales. ‘We have this fantasy that we have a carry-on bag packed at all times in one of the closets and our passports ready to go,’ says Dièry. ‘We’re working on making that happen.’ As well as there being treasures from their voyages (in the front parlour, there is a ‘nature table’ with shells and stones from places as far afield as Monterosso in

Italy and Vieques, Puerto Rico), there are subtle references to flying throughout their home. In the upstairs hall, there is a bespoke lampshade covered in feathers made by Yoshiaki Takao (‘one of my favourite things in the house,’ enthuses Mariza), which is an example of the ethereal meeting the functional in the house. On the kitchen table sits a small tin bird and the designer likens her top-floor studio overlooking the garden to her own private tree house. ‘There’s something about the lightness and discovery of flying that we love,’ she muses. ‘I think we use this to remind ourselves of the future of possibility.’ From Paris to Brooklyn, the couple has grown since they first met, just like their home, and they are excited about the next chapter. ‘It was never my plan, by the way, to go to Paris and fall in love,’ smiles Dièry, who describes his wife as ‘the funniest and smartest woman I’ve ever met’. How does their home represent them as a couple? ‘The convergence of unlikely possibilities,’ says Dièry, to which Mariza flashes a smile and replies, ‘I can't do better than that.’

THE SALON

ESSAY

Domestic exposure Journalist and author John-Paul Flintoff sees homes as exhibitions of our personalities, even if some are more curated that others words John-Paul Flintoff

magine a museum. Not a big one, a small one. It’s full of clocks. And Egyptian antiquities. And picture frames. And paintings, casts, furniture. Oh, and Chinese tiles. In short: a crazy assortment that would only make sense in a vast museum that attempted to capture all of human civilisation. But this isn’t a vast museum. It’s about the size of a house. In fact, it was a house. And it really does exist. The Sir John Soane’s Museum in London contains a collection that only makes sense when you understand that it comprises all kinds of things that were interesting to Sir John Soane, a prominent Victorian architect. He opened his house to students of art and architecture, and left it to the nation on his death. As visitors, we need only know that the multifarious objects inside it represent the sincere interests and enthusiasm of one person: that’s enough to let us wander around and be captivated by them. (And if we don’t find everything interesting, that’s fine too, because we know that the collection was not designed specifically to interest us.) After visiting the museum, we might ask ourselves this question: what would my own museum look like? The point is not to compare ourselves with Sir John Soane, whose collection is extensive and exquisite, and would cost a fortune to assemble today, but to recognise that our own home can be seen as a kind of museum of our true selves. The Brit Artist Jeremy Deller in his recent retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in London, re-assembled his bedroom at his parents’ house, where he lived until he was 31. The room was perfectly recreated – but this was not the first time it had become an artefact: the original, real bedroom was the place where Deller held his first exhibition when his mum and dad were on holiday in 1993 – something they were unaware of until years later.

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‘After visiting the museum, we might ask ourselves this question: what would my own museum look like?’

In a similar way to Dellers’s re-created bedroom, an accurately re-assembled version of Le Corbusier’s cabanon in the South of France was exhibited at the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) a few years ago. No attempt was made to replicate the exterior, as in this case it was the interior, albeit only 14 square metres of it, that was important and beautiful. A magnificently simple plywood cocoon, everything stows away neatly, furniture is built in, there’s a tiny washbasin, a loo behind a curtain, a pair of stools made from whisky crates and wooden shutters hinged vertically to bring in extra light and take in the views. Corbusier even did away with the kitchen as he and his wife ate every meal in the next-door restaurant L’Etoile de Mer. The only building the master ever designed for himself, within this pared-back simple wooden room lies the perfect embodiment of Le Corbusier’s entire architectural doctrine. Deller’s reassembled bedroom and Le Corbusier’s reconstructed cabin were designed to be scrupulously honest – they were absolutely not designed to impress, in the way that we might, for instance, tidy up if we are expecting guests for dinner. We might take down some of the children’s artwork, lest visitors think we are smug and overly indulgent. Alternatively, if we don’t have children, we might think it prudent to hide our collection of erotic prints. We might open the piano lid to look like we actually play it sometimes. Arrange our books into some order – novels here, non-fiction there, all of it carefully alphabetised. Or, if we fear being judged as too controlling, we might artfully muddle up the books instead. We may get somebody in, to fix up the garden, perhaps spend a lot of money on somebody else to help with the interior – somebody we consider to have a much better sense than we do of what is really tasteful. And so on. Our homes are an expression of how we would like to be known, turning them into museums enshrining our quirks, eccentricities and varied tastes – and perhaps providing interesting talking points for visitors in the process. The pictures on the wall, the books on the shelves, even the familiar old wooden spoon we cook with, perhaps inherited after a grandparent died – it all helps to broadcast who we are.

John-Paul Flintoff writes for The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The New Statesman and Esquire. His latest book, ‘How to Change the World’ published by The School of Life, combines insights from Tolstoy, Gandhi and Sartre to outline how transformation by individual action is possible, while offering help to identify your own goals and how to achieve them.

THE SALON

INTERVIEW

open Up One weekend a year, private spaces around the world open their doors to curious visitors as part of the Open House programme. Victoria Thornton, founder of the organisation, reveals what is so appealing about taking a sneak peak in other people’s homes interview Nick Compton portrait Joss Mckinley

stablished 20 years ago, Open House has spawned an international movement, with private homes, offices and other usually inaccessible spaces unlocking their doors, for one weekend in the year, to thousands of curious visitors in 24 different cities around the world. Devised by Victoria Thornton as part of her Open-City project, Open House championed modernist and contemporary architecture and design before today’s slew of magazines and TV shows arrived to do the same and helped turn a design-thirsty generation onto architects from Ernö Goldfinger to Frank Gehry. Moreover, Thornton has turned snooping around other people’s houses into a respectable and enormously popular pursuit, with Open House fans booking visits months ahead.

The first Open House edition in London in 1992 attracted around 100 people, now that figure is more like 250,000. Did you imagine it would grow into the phenomenon it is now?

No, I had no idea, but to be honest, it was a real slow burn. We launched in the middle of the 1992 recession, and no one was looking at or interested in the contemporary. Old was good, new was bad – it was as simple as that. It was the end of the Thatcher era and there hadn’t been any good new public buildings for years. There weren’t the interiors magazines there are now. There were a few architecture critics but the newspapers weren’t really interested in talking about good design. But then it just seemed to take off.

The architect Richard Burton, owner and designer of the Burton House in Kentish Town, London (a long-time Open House favourite) recently suggested that the Open House programme has changed the way the city views architecture. Do you think that’s true?

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We were a bit of a catalyst in that change in mindset, and we helped start the conversation about what constitutes good design. Open House wasn’t just about opening up spaces, it was about helping people become more informed. We thought of it like a three-dimensional architectural exhibition, where you could actually walk around and feel the spaces, rather than experience them in some mediated form.

The Open House programme has a serious purpose – encouraging an interest in and dialogue around good design and architecture. But how many people are there just for a good gawp in other people’s houses?

I like to think of it as inquisitiveness rather than being nosey. There is an emotional connection to people’s houses and looking at how other people live. Houses have a particular personality. You wouldn’t start this kind of programme with office buildings because that connection doesn’t exist. Coming back year after year, people gain an interest in how you can design your own home. A lot of the spaces in Open House have been built by architects for themselves, and are a way for them to test out new ideas. We always try and get the architect and the owner, if they are the client, to be around and talk to visitors during Open House, so they can get a good idea of the creative process.

There are now 24 international editions of Open House, including New York which just celebrated its 10 year anniversary. Do you try and get out and see all of them?

Ha, no. I have a day job. But I do try and go to the launches to help them get off the ground. At the launch of Open House Lisbon I had some doubts whether it was going to work, but as soon as it opened, there was this instant community. Visitors were really pleased to have the opportunity to see these normally closed places and to discuss them.

Do you keep an eye on the quality of spaces people are opening up in the international Open Houses?

They are all independent programmes, we don’t run them. We just grant them the right to use the name. But when someone approaches us, and that is usually an individual, an architect, or an architectural association, about launching Open House in their city, the only things we insist on is that they show quality buildings, that it’s free for visitors and not run for profit. It’s interesting going to the international editions and spotting GUESTBOOK

above: Brian Housden’s 1965 imposing house at 78 South Hill Park, Hampstead, London is a modernist masterpiece of boldly formed concrete

below: Interior designer Christopher Coleman opens up his bright, pop-inspired pad in Williamsburg, New York opposite: The Lloyd’s Building in London’s City is Thornton’s all-time favourite Open House space from top: © DENNIS GILBERT / VIEW Pictures; © Christopher Coleman

Obviously there is a wealth of amazing architecture in Chicago, New York and Barcelona. But is there really enough going on in Galway, one of the new cities running a version of Open House, to support it?

We always make sure there is a critical mass. That’s the important thing. And there is in Galway.

Do you have a favourite of the houses or buildings you have managed to open up to the public?

If I had to pick one it would be the Lloyd’s Building. It was designed in the 1970s but is still seen as a contemporary building. It is interesting to think about what becomes seminal and why.

Which of the private houses that you’ve opened up has proved most popular in terms of visitor numbers?

It’s hard to say, as it changes from year to year. We are always introducing new buildings, and there are always more people who want to see them than they can actually contain.

How do you keep finding new or different private buildings to show each year?

‘There is an emotional connection to people’s houses and looking at how other people live’

the cultural differences. In Barcelona, everybody takes two hours for lunch and all the houses were empty for those two hours. And in Dublin, I noticed, people are pretty late risers.

THE SALON

‘This has never been just about doing the iconic buildings. We are interested in good design of whatever size.’

opposite, from top: (Zog House) © James Brittain; (Lenthall Terrace) © Kristina Mikas; (Brooklyn Army Terminal )© Nicolas Lemery Nantel

In the beginning it was a matter of going round and knocking on doors but increasingly homeowners are coming to us, wanting to show their spaces. But it’s important to maintain quality and sometimes we politely refuse.

The Open House programme is obviously trying to make people think about planning and public policy, about the quality of public architecture and public spaces – do you think that it has succeeded?

It has definitely made visitors more informed. If you have experienced an Open House building, you have an example of good design to judge other buildings against. You become much more aware of your surroundings, the environment and the developments around you.

How optimistic are you that there has been a culture change in terms of the quality of what actually gets built?

Generally the standard of new buildings is getting better. But there is still a problem with housing developments – there are a lot of the same sorts of apartment blocks with the same little balconies being built.

Is Open House also a showcase for young architects, generating business for them?

Well, this has never been just about the iconic buildings, we are interested in good design of whatever size. So we are just as keen to show a new little doctor’s surgery or terraced house conversion, because those are the buildings that young practices start out doing.

opposite from top: Groves Natcheva’s Zog House in Queens Park, London regularly opens its impressive concrete doors for those swift enough to book; Lenthall Terrace in East London is a fine example of contemporary design working hand in hand with existing period features; Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, a regular favourite in the Open House New York calendar

THE SALON

IN conversation with

Chris & Sarah Dyson Princelet Street, London

words Pei-Ru Keh photography LEIGH JOHNSON

f ever a couple embodied the rich East London flavour of Spitalfields, Chris and Sarah Dyson may well be the best candidates. An architect and linguistics teacher respectively, the couple have called the area home for the last 20 years, after pitching up in a five-storey former sweatshop with their two young children back in 1996. ‘It was a sweatshop making leather jackets,’ reveals Chris, who renovated the three-bedroom house in two phases, and is well versed in the neighbourhood’s culture and heritage. ‘There was a lot of production around here at the time, furriers even, making jackets and coats for big brands in the West End.’ Sandwiched between Commercial Street and Brick Lane, the Dyson residence is today located in well-trodden ground for visitors and Londoners alike. ‘It was much grittier [when] the original market was still going,’ says Sarah. ‘There were early morning traders keeping warm and a market café. It was very old fashioned. The prostitutes were still here; there was a lot of that.’ A bold move to raise a young family then? ‘They don’t seem to have suffered too much for it,’ chuckles Chris.

Having moved three times within Spitalfields before settling on their current patch, the Dysons are very much a neighbourhood fixture themselves. Not only is Chris’ architecture practice based on Princelet Street, a couple doors down from the family home, he is also a frequent port of call for locals like photographer Olivier Charnin and writer Jeanette Winterson, looking to give their houses a modern makeover. They also run contemporary art gallery Eleven Spitalfields from the architecture office, showing emerging British artists, frequently discovered within the Royal Academy. On occasion, the creative couple accommodate any art overspill in their home, using the generous reception room which was lovingly refurbished with unvarnished floorboards and Venetian-inspired latticed double doors in 2006, to host private views. ‘We don’t run it as a commercial gallery, and we’re not renting the space, so we can afford to choose what we show,’ explains Sarah, who is heavily involved in the operation. ‘It’s very personal and about having things that we’d personally want to have on our walls.’ One look round the couple’s walls is enough to know that the term ’avid collector’ only loosely

THE SALON

begins to sum up the magpie instincts the two ‘That was my mistake,’ Sarah admits of the share. In the reception room, two elegant plaster Columbia Road find. ‘It was originally supposed alcoves flanking the fireplace house a curious to go in the courtyard, but because of the angle collection of ceramics, including a pair of of the back door, we couldn’t get it out, so it lives brightly painted perched parrots, some decorative here. It makes a good centrepiece.’ Oriental bowls, a pale miniature bust and an With its modern finish and French Huguenot elegantly worn tea caddy, alongside other market heritage, the Dyson home is a tastefully theatfinds from around the world. ‘There are all sorts rical union of artistic references that recall a of things here; gifts from people, possessions living museum – an idea that has long captibelonging to members of the family, a christening vated Chris and Sarah. The two display an equally plate,’ lists Sarah. acute reverence for history, but when it comes ‘I’m a sucker for art and antiques. They’re not to acquiring objects, they’re largely governed by very valuable, a lot of them, they’re just things aesthetics, be it from travels in Arezzo in Italy, that interest me,’ adds Chris, surveying the Antwerp or Tokyo. scene. It is a wondrous mix of objects including ‘Usually, we choose things because there sheep skulls found on a countryside walk in might be a potential use for them. It’s not all Northumbria pinned on the walls, a slender indiscriminate purchases,’ quips Chris. ‘You vintage grandfather clock (found in France) know there’s space for them somewhere. If it in one corner, while an enormous terracotta- doesn’t work out, it’s not the end of the world. looking urn, complete with pedestal, stands next We’ve had a stall in the market where we’ve sold to iron-framed windows on the other side of things on.’ He smiles and looks at Sarah before the room. adding: ‘Or there’s always the storage unit.’ THE SALON

Curator Tamsin Clark’s South London flat regularly doubles as the Furnished Space gallery. Here the exhibition ‘Maquettes’, which includes work by Dan Graham and Melanie Counsell is displayed on her dining room table

FEATURE

Home is where the art is Akin to the 18th-century salon hosts, contemporary gallerists are curating shows in their own homes, igniting discussion, a deeper intimacy with the works and some very private views

g words Skye sherwin

trawberries and pastries lie elegantly arranged on a plate in art collector Valeria Napoleone’s dining room, tempting the pale-skinned revellers in Nicole Eisenman’s painting ‘The Beer Garden’ on the wall beyond. A Francis Upritchard sculpture of an apple-green little man has been installed next to this nocturnal scene, his eyes shut and his head turned towards the wall opposite. Is he hungry? ‘A dinner guest once said he’s green with envy!’ says Napoleone. ‘Because of the informality and fluid approach to art in this house, relationships between works happen by themselves. They become alive in a As a hostess, she stems from the 18th-century high-society movers and shakers who brought way they might not in a gallery.’ Napoleone is a lynchpin of London’s art artists and writers together for notorious salons. scene, as famous for her salon-style gatherings In recent decades the phenomenon has spread and traditional Italian cooking as she is her its wings, with artists and curators turning their all-female artist collection. Today curators, homes into art spaces for all kinds of reasons, artists and critics have gathered at her home in including economy, creative freedom and, of Kensington, to chow down, talk art and take in course, the ambience. Studio Voltaire’s latest funding incentive on show In 1980s New York, painter and art dealer in the front room: limited-edition artworks and Gracie Mansion’s exhibitions defined the East covetable artist-designed silk scarves, umbrellas Village DIY punk spirit and left no corner of her and beach towels. ‘My drive is to support art apartment untouched, including her bathroom institutions and foster a community,’ Napoleone aka the Loo Division, which she used for capsule says. ‘People meet each other, get excited about shows. With budgets tightened, the past few ideas and things happen.’ years have seen a new generation keen to make For this patron, the most interesting their mark on the Big Apple establish similar collections are the ones shown in a domestic nomadic projects like The Apartment Show or environment, and she’s not alone in this approach. Parlour Gallery, a slate of fleet-footed, one-night and weekend-long shows in people’s homes. And in London young artists and curators are similarly challenging the notion that a white cube is the only proper place to see art. South of the river Thames in Camberwell, curator Tamsin Clark’s bijoux garden flat regularly doubles up as the not-for-profit gallery Furnished Space. The focus of her current show is a spin on living room activity and gallery viewing: it turns out that a boxy old TV sitting opposite the left: Perhaps the most famous home gallery of them all, New York gallerist Gracie Mansion’s bathroom, known as the Loo Division, hosted several shows including this one ‘Evidence’ by Stephen Lack in 1982 opposite: Valeria Napoleone with artworks displayed in an ever-changing installation at her grand Kensington home

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THE SALON

‘It can be a little strange showing people into the bedroom to see a painting, especially someone we’ve only just met!’ Rosanna McLaughlin

leather couch in her kitchen-diner has travelled to galleries all over the UK, and the pile of DVDs waiting to be viewed by visitors contain artists’ films it has shown over the years, including work by recent Turner-nominee Mark Leckey and digital art whizzkid Cory Arcangel. ‘I make few concessions towards the art,’ says Clark. ‘I don’t strip out the furniture. My home is not a blank space. The art has to operate in its own way within it.’ Many of the projects artists create here directly riff on showing in a home, Over in the East End’s Tower Hamlets, a flat from a temporary door bell that plays Beethoven’s high up in Ernö Goldfinger’s iconic modernist Ode to Joy, to a sound work documenting a Feng housing project, Balfron Tower, has been put to Shui expert’s assessment of the flat, including similar use by artists-turned-gallerists Rosanna an unheeded recommendation to paint the walls McLaughlin and Melissa Hobbs. As Hobbs chocolate brown. Clark has even put her garden McLaughlin Gallery, their home’s little balcony to use, with little sculptures installed among is regularly packed with private-view visitors, autumn leaves and paintings hung from the build- smoking and taking in Canary Wharf’s bright ing’s outer brick walls. lights. McLaughlin even wrote about all the fag Like Napoleone, Clark suggests art at home butts she had to clear out of the flower pots, in is more involving. ‘If it’s a more social or relaxed a book published for a show by one of British occasion it’s a different looking experience. A sculpture’s rising stars, Alice Channer. more informal environment does make you look ‘It’s our home, a space to spend time with in a closer way.’ And while her flat changes how art, a place for discussion, sometimes a studio or we feel about the art, living with a show sounds an office,’ says Hobbs. While their shows have no less transformative. ‘I’m not normally this occasionally seen rooms emptied of furniture to tidy! And I don’t normally have this much beer,’ accommodate paintings and sculpture, you’re as she says, eyeing a fridge full of leftover bottles likely to find work making itself at home atop radiators or propped against stairs. Channer’s from her last private view. sculptures shown here included gold and silver ashtrays from which cocktail cigarettes and plaster fingers elegantly protruded: an enamel-top coffee table seemed their natural setting. Of course showing art at home has its own set of demands. opposite top and middle: ‘When we have an exhibition, it is as much our home that’s Rosanna McLaughlin and Melissa Hobbs have made an on show as the artworks,’ says McLaughlin. ‘It can be a little art gallery out of their East strange showing people into the bedroom to see a painting, London flat. The current especially someone we’ve only just met!’ show is entitled ‘Honey I’m For McLaughlin, home galleries are not a compromise or Home’ with work by David Buckley and James Viscardi just a way to show art on the cheap. ‘For me, the trappings of the conventional gallery are secondary to the work and bottom: the care it’s approached with,’ she affirms. ‘With current Tamsin Clark of the economic hardship, there’s an opportunity for the status quo Furnished Space gallery has even put her garden to be shaken up, to find out what’s important for artists and to use with this installation viewers alike.’ by Ian Whittlesea

above: James Viscardi’s oil on canvas, ‘Recreational Modernism’ hangs in the bedroom at the Hobbs McLaughlin gallery

www.apartmentshow.net www.furnished-space.com www.hobbsmclaughlin.com Gracie Mansion is today a senior specialist for modern art at artnet worldwide online auctions, www.artnet.com THE SALON

neighbo r (u)

Two cities, two locales. Which comes out on top? illustration Dermot Flynn

Bleecker Street Running like a curved spine across Manhattan, Bleecker Street cuts through New York’s social strata. At its head, in Greenwich Village, stand celebrated flagships in the ilk of Marc Jacobs and Rag & Bone, interspersed with buzzy, hard-to-find but oh-so-talked about little eateries. While nestled in the street’s lower regions are music dives, tattoo parlours and family-run pizzerias. With a far-progressed gentrification, thirty dollars might, as the Simon and Garfunkel lyric stated, no longer pay the rent on Bleecker Street, but it continues its heritage as a creative incubator. Present residents range from guitar-toting youths to media executives, all embracing the area’s iconoclastic spirit of fast and furious living. Arm Candy Ironic message/graphicprint canvas tote Coffee/milk ratio 100/0 Light roast, pour over, don’t touch Claim to fame Location royalty: featured in Gangs of New York, Friends, Spider-Man and Sleeper and mentioned in lyrics by Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, Simon and Garfunkel Stacks or flats Joan of Arctic boot by Sorel Lunch or dinner If you’re lucky enough to get seated at the heaving Perla after 6.45pm, take your time over the black tagliatelle with skate and sea urchin Dog size Strictly nothing above the shin

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hood BATTLE Westbourne Grove Grove by name, groovy by nature. Westbourne Grove’s composite of creamy stuccoed mansions and low-rise retail spaces has spawned Notting Hill’s hang-out high street of choice. The locals are a mix of haut bohèmes shopping at ampersand brands (Zadig & Voltaire, Aubin & Wills, Wolf & Badger) and resident stalwarts who have seen the area rise from the nefarious days of slum-landlord Peter Rachman to become one of the most attractive parts of London. Outsiders come here to roam the boutiques (which manage to feel independent even if they aren’t strictly so), try Ottolenghi’s flourless chocolate tea-cake and enjoy the welcome freely handed out by locals, proud to live in a neighbourhood that is so exclusively inclusive. Arm Candy Falabella faux leather shoulder bag by Stella McCartney Coffee/milk ratio 0/0 Decaf, soya, extra-dry, extra-tall latte, please Claim to fame The public loo, Turquoise Island, designed by awardwinning architect Piers Gough, is a listed work of art Stacks or flats Leather platform ankle boot by Pierre Hardy Lunch or dinner It’s all about brunch and the silkiest, scrambliest eggs in the world at Granger & Co Dog size Family size – labradoodles, whippets etc

THE SALON

IN conversation with

Aude Grasset Ladbroke Square, London

words Emma Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Kelly photography JASON EVANS

tepping into artist Aude Grasset’s home At the centre of this glass atrium hangs submerges you into her oeuvre. Burnt a giant abstract canvas by American painter primary colours saturate her paintings and Thornton Willis. ‘I was given it by my neighbour, interiors, influenced by the memory of growing and I didn’t realise how well known the artist was. up in Montpellier, southern France and ending I tracked him down and asked him if he would up in London, via New York, after a fast-paced finish it. He replied, somewhat curtly, that it was advertising career. finished, and that he would never let an unfinFrom the outside, the home looks like your ished canvas leave his studio!’ regular Notting Hill townhouse, with a whiff of Aude’s own studio perches up a wooden grandeur and formality. Inside, it’s an uncon- staircase atop a glass mezzanine, looking out ventional, horseshoe-shaped maze of rooms and over the garden. Working in oil is a craft carried corridors. Aude and husband Nick bought it in over from her childhood, as her mother Diane 1999, when it was a small, dark maisonette with de Montbron was a noted portraitist. Magazine poky rooms. As the children arrived (a daughter cuttings and reference pictures dot the room, and twin boys), the need for space intensified. stapled on tables and old school chairs. ‘They look After a seven-year wait they acquired the flat next better like that, splattered with layers of paint,’ door, which allowed them to expand laterally and she says. install the breath-taking double-height expanSome of Aude’s most noted works feature sions of glass. ‘At first I didn’t want to keep the oversized people in small rooms, a subject matter steel beams exposed, but once we started boxing she was drawn to after the accidental death of them in they made the space look too dark. Now her brother. ‘I guess it was an exploration of we love them.’ how I was feeling, rather than how I was seeing,’

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she says. Much of Aude’s work focusses on the Black-and-white portraits of long-gone passage of time and the fragility of life. Her Dutch relatives survey the room from atop canvasses range from what she calls ‘Edward the writing desk. ‘It’s quite uncanny though,’ Hopper-like room sets and interiors’ to figurative Aude says, ‘as my twin boys look just like those paintings, and has led to exhibitions in Paris with portraits. They even share a name, Alexandre, the Allouard Gallery and in Spain, Beijing and which I only found out after I had chosen it for London with the Riverside Artist Group, at the my son.’ Affordable Art Fair and at the notoriously picky Far from being a shrine to things past, the Royal Academy Summer 2012 exhibition. Washed home very much carries testimonial of the living – terracottas and sunflower yellows bring back guitars and amps belonging to the boys wait to be hints of the sun-crazed paintings of Van Gogh, used in the music room, and the sofa downstairs while the worn brass lustre on objets scattered often doubles up as an entertainment space and around the home tell of the owner’s propensity trampoline. ‘We love this house, and the area, with its village-feel, so much we put up with for colour and texture. Family memories are ubiquitous; a Voltaire a year of living in a building site to stay here,’ sofa and chairs were salvaged from her grand- Grasset says. ‘I don’t think we could ever leave.’ mother’s garage in France – ‘nobody else wanted them’ – and reupholstered in bright colours, while in the spare bedroom sits a beautifully patterned cherry-wood escritoire. ‘This was where my grandmother sat and wrote love letters to my grandfather,’ she says. ‘I know, because I found them all still in there when I got it.’ THE SALON

Environs

Live like a local Primrose Hill An inside look at London’s highest beauty spot from those who know it best – the locals illustrations Emily Robertson

rimrose Hill, particularly Chalcot Square, is almost comically celebladen. You can’t move for luvvies, supermodels and fading and flourishing pop stars as well as the odd politician and star columnist. Don’t let that put you off though. Primrose Hill is one of the plum loveliest spots in London. And if it’s good enough for them… There are the squares and crescents of fantasy Victorian piles, most of them painted in eye-popping primaries or more subtle pastels, many of them boasting a blue plaque celebrating residents past, from Sylvia Plath to Friedrich Engels (and a fun couple they would have made). Just north of Regent’s Park and London Zoo, the hill itself is really more of a mound but still offers sweeping views of the London basin. The larger park it sits in is the perfect sun-bathing or picnicking spot during the summer. Regent’s Park Road is a charming little strip where you can find artisan bread, a Vanessa Bruno dress, the new Hilary Mantel in hardback and a case of decent Riesling within 100 yards. And despite the eye-watering property prices, there is still something essentially North London about Primrose Hill, a laid-back charm typical of this end of town. And there are a few, but only a few, reminders left that 20 years ago, the area was still a little rough round the edges, and definitely more shabby than chic. Introduction Nick Compton

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1: St Paul’s Cathedral

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2: The Shard

3: BT Tower

4: London Eye

5: The Snowdon Aviary

What do locals do? Climb the hill of course. Its 256 feet of elevation takes just five minutes to get up but affords one of the prime views of London’s constantly morphing cityscape. Recommended by the host at Gloucester Avenue Landmarks of note 1: St Paul’s Cathedral, the largest cathedral in England and the second largest dome in Europe (after St Peter’s in Rome).2: The Shard, Renzo Piano’s 95-storey masterpiece got its name when it was met with criticism from English Heritage who thought the building would be ‘a shard of glass through the heart of historic London’. 3: BT Tower, which housed the rotating restaurant Top of the Tower on the 34th floor, operated by Butlins, until public access to the tower was ceased for security reasons. 4: London Eye, the 32 capsules on the London Eye represent the 32 London boroughs. 5: The Snowdon Aviary at London Zoo, built in 1964 by Cedric Price, Lord Snowdon and Frank Newby. Environs

TREAT YOURSELF Tri Yoga centre Book in for a long stretch. The best classes are run by Jeff Phenix, Jean Hall, Mimi Kuo Deemer, Catherine Annis and Anna Ashby. 6 Erskine Road www.triyoga.co.uk Recommended by the host at Gloucester Avenue

Lisa Hauck A lesson in how to design the perfect hairdressing boutique: small enough to make sure you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get palmed off on the latest junior recruit, efficient (apart from the head massage, obviously) and serves up homemade pizza slices and muffins with your coffee. 148 Gloucester Avenue www.lisahauck.com Recommended by the host at Chalcot Road

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Prim Book in to get your nails done here on a Saturday morning and get all the latest local gossip thrown in â&#x20AC;&#x201C; these girls are in the know. 2 Erskine Road www.primuk.com Recommended by the host at Chalcot Road

Lost in Beauty All therapists at Lost in Beauty are specialists in their particular field â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the waxing lady may only be in Thursdays and Sundays, but she is worth bending over backwards for (ahem). 117 Regent's Park Road www.lostinbeauty.com Recommended by the host at Chalcot Road

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Where to drink

The Lansdowne One of the original gastro pubs and perhaps past its glory days but still buzzes in a very pleasant way. 90 Gloucester Avenue www.thelansdownepub.co.uk Recommended by the host at Edis Street

The Albert The most down-to-earth pub in the area. Make sure you work the pint and a pork pie with homemade piccalilli (for ÂŁ6) into your day. Also has a very nice garden. 11 Princess Road Recommended by the host at Darwin Court

The Queens The real prize seats here are on the balcony overlooking the hill. 49 Regents Park www.thequeensprimrosehill.co.uk Recommended by the host at Chalcot Road

The Engineer Many residents were left distraught at the changing of the guard here earlier this year, but for those with less emotional ties, the garden is the best. 65 Gloucester Avenue www.theengineerprimrosehill.co.uk Recommended by the host at Gloucester Avenue

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WHERE TO SHOP Elias & Grace Selling luxury fashion for babies and children, with labels including Chloé, Quincy, Marni and Miller, this is the hub of the neighbourhood’s famed moneyed mummies tribe. At sale time it is worth shoving your way through the parked Bugaboos though. 158 Regents Park Road www.eliasandgrace.com Recommended by the host at Chalcot Road Melrose and Morgan Irresistible deli/grocer/café/bakery /take-out/ eat-in hybrid. And the place to pick up a perfectly prepared picnic before heading to the hill. 42 Gloucester Avenue www.melroseandmorgan.com Recommended by the host at Darwin Court

Gallery 196 Run out of the extended porch of her house, Sue has turned her love for all things Indian into a real little business. Think delectable silk night clothes, antique quilts and the cutest children’s frocks, and not a tie-die T-shirt in sight. 196 Regents Park Road Recommended by the host at Chalcot Road Anna Marvellous multi-brand boutique with great shop assistants. Downstairs is where you find the discounted treasures. 126 Regents Park Road www.shopatanna.com Recommended by the host at Chalcot Crescent

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WHERE TO SHOP Primrose Hill Books A wonderful place for a browse. This familyrun store is proud of its relationship with many of the local authors including Alan Bennett, Margaret Atwood, Doris Lessing and Joan Bakewell who regularly attend events, readings and book signings here. 134 Regent's Park Road www.primrosehillbooks.com Recommended by the host at Lyme Terrace

La Petite Poissonnerie Owner Nic stocks the freshest fish around, along with a fantastic range of Japanese goods including everything from ginger and pickles, to rice and sake. Originally a chef, he is always happy to hand out cooking advice and holds classes downstairs occasionally â&#x20AC;&#x201C; heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll even throw in the herbs you might need for your fish supper from his well-stocked garden out back. 75a Gloucester Avenue www.lapetite-poissonnerie.com Recommended by the host at Chalcot Road

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local hero Melanie Press Melanie may be from the neighbourhood originally, but it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t till she had cut her teeth as a fashion designer at Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs in New York, followed by Cacharel in Paris and a stint as creative director at Whistles, before she felt fully up to the challenge of dressing the women of Primrose Hill. Heading an old-fashioned boutique, Melanie remembers your style and texts you when new stock arrives which she thinks you might like. She has even been known to text husbands a reminder of their wivesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; birthdays, along with a hint of something they might like from the shop floor. 3 Erskine Road www.pressprimrosehill.com

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5km run Lap Primrose Hill and slip down across the canal on the west side of London Zoo (spot the hyenas). In Regent’s Park, head right round the boating lake until you reach the sign for the ‘Inner Circle’. Run in, out, and round (you get to see the lovely gardens and cover some ground). Then you’re back into Regent’s Park proper – go east to the Broadwalk that cuts north. It’s up through the flower gardens and the boulevard for a straight mile to the grand fountain. Take a left and loop round the playing fields, back across the Broadwalk and up the path on the north-east edge of the park home. Recommended by the host at Chalcot Road

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local hero Local hero: Jean-Christophe ‘JC’ SLowik When L’Absinthe, the friendly French bistro with freshly made, well-priced and good food first opened in 2007, no one quite knew what to make of JC’s extraordinary accent. The jury on if it’s real is still out, but to be fair, the cheery proprietor has never faltered on it. In fact, the ‘Grand Fromage’, as he’s also widely known, has kept up the charming, characterful service from day one, in the same way he has kept up the quality of the onion soup. As a result most locals would agree he deserves all the success that this bustling restaurant, and now café and deli next door, has achieved. 40 Chalcot Road www.l’absinthe.co.uk

Local hero: Dolly Although Chalk Farm, is a mere minute’s walk from the neighbourhood, with no signpost the route can be somewhat baffling. Catch sight of Dolly, though, as she darts across the railway bridge, and you know you’re on the right route. The white Scottie is as much part of the furniture of Primrose Hill as the opulent antiques in homewares store Tann Rokka located on the bridge, which Dolly’s owner Lisa Lee has run since 2002. The informal café/vintage market/arts space/nursery, on the other side of the bridge, is run by Lisa’s daughter Chloe. 123 Regents Park Road www.tannrokka.com

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Where to eat L’Absinthe Charmingly cramped bistro in a corner slot. The steak frites and tarte tatin are a must. Closed on Mondays and throughout August, bien sûr. 40 Chalcot Road www.labsinthe.co.uk Recommended by the host at Edis Street

Odette’s This chic restaurant with a wine bar in the basement is so well-known it’s even on The Knowledge (London taxi drivers’ extensive test). It has always been the area’s top table and there’s no sign of that changing. 130 Regents Park Road www.odettesprimrosehill.com Recommended by the host at Edis Street

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York & Albany Slightly off the beaten track but a charming and elegant bar well worth the walk. A Bloody Mary with a plate of the salt and pepper squid is the order of the day for a Saturday aperitif. 127 Parkway www.gordonramsay.com/ yorkandalbany/ Recommended by the host at Primrose Gardens

Lemonia This huge but elegantly turned out Greek restaurant is the spot for a family Sunday lunch. Try the kleftiko. 89 Regent's Park Road www.lemonia.co.uk Recommended by the host at King Henryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Road

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Best thing since… Egg and Mayo sandwich from Melrose and Morgan For value for money in this pricey but ravishing deli, the sensational egg and mayo on white sourdough hits the spot. 42 Gloucester Avenue www.melroseandmorgan.com Recommended by the host at Ivor Place

Cheese on toast from Café Seventy Nine A rudimentary but warmly nostalgic menu – wonderful cheese on brown toast at this vegetarian café. 79 Regent's Park Road Recommended by the host at Edis Street Toasted chicken escalope on ciabatta from Anthony’s Delicatessen …and don’t hold back on the mayo. 146 Regent's Park Road Recommended by the host at Chalcot Road

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Primrose Bakery Cupcake mania lives on in this sunny cafĂŠ, but other bad boys worth getting sticky for include Melting Moment biscuits, plum cake and Victoria sponge. 69 Gloucester Avenue www.primrosebakery.org.uk Recommended by the host at Primrose Gardens Marine Ices Marvellous old-fashioned Italian ice-cream parlour which serves up top-quality sundaes, every day of the week. 8 Haverstock Hill www.marineices.co.uk Recommended by the host at Rochester Road

Lanka Chef-patron Masayuki Hara combines Japanese perfection with a donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t-hold-back-on-thecream French training, to create his exquisite cakes and macaroons. 71 Regent's Park Road www.lanka-uk.com Recommended by the host at Chalcot Road

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Coffee break

The Little One The area's flat white champion is to be found at The Little One. A tiny (they're not exaggerating here) coffee shop, but a bustling outside hangout. Muffins and bread, all made on the premises, include the delectable honey and cinnamon loaf and white chocolate and raspberry muffin, and tend to be gone by 11am. For those of a more savoury persuasion, the house specialities are the crĂŞpes. And if you're wondering what's with the funny colours, the pancake mix itself can be upgraded to contain carrot or spinach. 115 Regents Park Road Recommended by the host at Chalcot Road

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A selection of onefinestay members’ homes

London

Thurloe Square South Kensington Back in 1851, residents on the newly built Thurloe Square had but a short distance to walk to the glass palace of the Great Exhibition. Now there’s another marvel in the neighbourhood – a design benchmark for modern living. This five-storey home is the joint creation of two very talented people – an architectural designer and one of the country’s leading photographers. Exquisite in every detail, you might have seen the vast Georgian rooms grace various glossy pages before. But, just like the masterpieces at galleries and museums nearby, there’s nothing quite like experiencing the real thing.

Butler House Shoreditch Not so much as a decade ago, if you told your friends you were moving into a Shoreditch warehouse, you’d raise a few eyebrows. These days, when it comes to buzz, this part of London is a veritable hive, with a high concentration of the capital’s movers and shakers clearly marking their territory in this patch of town. And here’s a home that’s the very embodiment of this savvy attitude. Exposed brickwork, large, breezy original windows, and an expansive open-plan floor space hosting a showcase of contemporary European design simply waiting to impress. We’re preaching to the converted, right?

Hornsey Lane Gardens Highgate This home breathes intellectual passion providing you with plenty to muse on as you sit back on the Corbusier chaise longue. With some 10,000 books on the shelves, two pianos and Grecian artwork including a life-size replica of the horse of Selene taken from the Parthenon frieze, this mansion is maturity manifest, set across six vast floors.

Fournier Street Spitalfields Only 30 years ago, this historical home was derelict. Today it’s a reverentially restored relic – at this 300-year-old home’s heart, an original staircase wraps its way around four storeys, a harpsichord waits to be played and a secret garden beckons you outside. You’ll marvel at the architectural features ardently restored to their former Georgian glory, and at the same time be bowled over by the bold, contemporary dress that clothes each room. But, most of all, you’ll wish the walls could tell you what they’ve seen...

Palace Gate 2 Knightsbridge Designed by architect Wells Coates, this proportionally perfect apartment is, adhering to the modernist mantra, a ’machine for living’. See how the living room equals the height of bedroom above kitchen: it’s compact but never too contained. And we think there’s magic here, too… something about that organic spiral staircase, or the canvas of slim trees, echoed by the view from the vast sash window.

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Thurloe Square South Kensington, London

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1 Light bounces off the marble worktops in this roof-lit 10-seater kitchen. 2 The head of the table. 3 The peaceful, self-contained loft comes with an en-suite and hides an eyepopping green kitchenette behind a folding door. 4 All the inspiration you need is at the work station. 5 The trees sway outside the all-white bedroom. 6 The walled garden is a peaceful plot. 7 Space and floor-to-ceiling glass doors create a living room you’ll never want to leave. 8 The home’s crowning glory – the master bedroom and its super king-size bed. 9 Get toasty in the third-floor bedroom. 10 The elegant blue-and-white wallpaper in the bedroom is as delicate as china.

Butler House Shoreditch, London

4 1 Fun details and natural materials put the life in this open-plan living space. 2 The gastronomer’s kitchen seats four in original Eames Eiffel dining chairs. 3 Inspiration comes in small packages, with smart touches scattered across the home. 4 Kick back after a hard day’s shopping at nearby Redchurch Street in the living area’s sofas. 5 Old boozers like Bricklayer’s Arms on Charlotte Road cater for the hip crowds and local stalwarts alike. 6 The retro metro tiles in the all-white bathroom. 7 The spacious bedroom with original window frames and exposed brick is cherry-topped by design classics like the Kartell Fly ceiling light.

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Hornsey Lane Gardens Highgate, London

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1 The first of two sitting rooms invites conversation and conviviality. 2 The home is set across six vast floors. 3 The master bedroom’s blue-and-white colour scheme is inspired by the host’s Cypriot heritage. 4 Round-table discourse flows easily in one of the three dining areas. 5 Calming bedrooms in pristine white. 6 Tomes, an open fire and the piano – this living area remembers its Victorian roots. 7 The kitchen/breakfast room. 8 The white kitchen gets soaked by southern sun. 9 Bibliophiles beware, tearing yourself away from this home might prove hard. 10 The size of this bedroom stems from its origins as a standalone flat.

Fournier Street Spitalfields, London

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1 Regency elegance pervades the sitting room. 2 Neutral colours and tactile textures add their modern twists. 3 Loft bedroom with four-poster double bed. 4 Open fires to warm your soul. 5 The harpsichordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mellow tones fit the homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambience. 6 The secret garden. 7 Soak in a scented bath among original wood panelling in one of the two bathrooms. 8 The house comes with two resident cats, hence the flap. 9 Float away on a silvered bed in the master bedroom.

Palace Gate 2

Knightsbridge, London

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5 1 If you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see the wood for the trees in the living room, climb the sinuous staircase for a better view. 2 A mighty sash window lets in the daylight. 3 Find everything and the kitchen sink in the galley kitchen. 4 Got time for a cuppa? 5 Stroll through the formal avenues of magnificent trees and flower beds in nearby Kensington Gardens. 6 The marblecovered bathroom. 7 A stern-looking bench chair is softened with a sheepskin. 8 The peaceful master bedroom for rest and reflection.

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A selection of onefinestay members’ homes

NEW YORK 4th Avenue Union Square ‘Artist’s garret’ has always conjured visions of dingy bohemian hovels, candle-lit, ink-stained and impoverished. If that’s still true, then 4th Avenue is a home that’ll change your perspective forever. This double-height space is wallpapered with the open sky and its scrapers, the rooms filled with vintage furniture and original art. The residence of a London-born artist who manages a leading photography studio, with panoramic views of the sprawling city from the desk, it’s easy to see why she wakes up filled with inspiration. So, if an empyreal thought occurs to you up on the roof terrace, one day it might end up on those burdened bookshelves.

East 8th Street East Village The East Village – it’s an archetypal gentrification story. And this loft conversion is a case in point. Your host, a veteran director and pillar of a local literary institution, answered an ad in the Village Voice in the 1970s, bought the place and renovated it with his own hands. A landmarked building, it once served as a school for wayward boys. Today, the steel door opens to reveal a breathtaking open-plan space filled with original steel Corinthian pillars, ceiling–height bookshelves and antique furniture.

Union Square North Union Square This gem of a living space is minutes from bustling Union Square. From half a dozen different angles, this open-plan studio easily feels like half a dozen different rooms: a whitewashed palette, original wood floors, and 18ft ceilings, the pristine space is then kitted out with a carefully chosen selection of Danish mid-century modern furniture. Home to a film producer, it has served as a backdrop to various cinematic scenes.

Judge Street Williamsburg The home of two sisters (one a photography editor, the other a chef), Judge Street is a perfectly formed nest lodged in an apartment block in Williamsburg. There may be a lush green garden out back, and the urban jungle of Williamsburg beyond, but the true wildlife is inside: find the carved antelope peeking out from the wall and the original ornate ceiling like a leafy canopy above your head.

Barrow Street West Village A film director’s hideaway tucked away in the tree-lined streets of the refined West Village, your host shares this sunny, eclectic retreat with his two floppy-eared bunnies. A calm, gentle interior, the emphasis here is on comfort. A much-loved Eames armchair beckons from one corner, a slouchy couch is perfectly placed for the large, flat-screen TV opposite while the magnificent, handcrafted Hästens bed may well be the downfall for those with a packed morning ahead.

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4th Avenue Union Square, New York

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1 A home made for blue-sky thinking. 2 Stacks of books, chunky candles and ceilings as high as the owner’s ambitions in the living area. 3 Say goodnight to Manhattan’s twinkling lights from the roof terrace before you bunker down. 4 This groovy garret is filled with vintage furniture and original art. 5 Climb the spiral staircase to the eyrie – a whitewashed master bedroom. 6 Art is everpresent without drawing attention away from the view.

East 8th Street East Village, New York

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1 Corinthian pillars and culture adorn this bibliophile’s home. 2 Browse the hand-built library. 3 The owner's friends’ art adorns the walls of the living space. 4 Curious collections collide. 5 Warm yourself by the open, exposed brick fireplace. 6 Sleep tight in the tucked away master bedroom. 7 There’s plenty of room to manoeuvre. 8 The master bedroom is a serenely private cell. 9 A robust kitchen, with cast-iron stove and butcher-block counters.

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Union Square North Union Square, New York

6 7 8 1 This loft’s floor is a collage of varnished wood, mosaic and soft furnishings. 2 Each corner of the living space has its own ambience. 3 Survey your domain from the window seat. 4 Play host from behind the kitchen stove without leaving the conversation. 5 When it’s time to doze off, sleep like Swedish royalty in a luxurious Hästens bed. 6 Sleek Danish mid-century modern furniture adorns the space. 7 Textures from rough mosaics to soft sheepskin add tactility. 8 Light streams in from lofty windows. 9 The spa-like serenity of the spacious bathroom. 9

Judge Street Williamsburg, New York

1 The airy master bedroom, with its natural wood floors. 2 Arty and interesting, this living room is suffused with personality. 3 The colourful kitchen leads out to a verdant garden. 4 A quiet spot for contemplation. 5 The second bedroom has a sumptuously deep mattress. 6 The expansive kitchen with shelves stocked full of ingredients. 7 One of many independent coffee shops in this part of New York.

4 5

barrow Street West Village, New York

3 4

1 2

1 The sound system of a true-born audiophile. 2 Take breakfast by the window in the kitchen. 3 Retro furniture and modern art furnish the living space. 4The living room is filled with interesting artefacts and comfortable furniture. 5 A much-loved Eames chair beckons from the corner of the bedroom. 6 A chest of drawers topped with little objets dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;art.

RESERVATIONS

Central operations

marketing

HOST RELATIONS

NEW MEMBERS

FINANCE GUEST SERVICES TECH TAKE ON

NEW YORK

LONDON

ONEFINESTAY: THE BODY CORPORATE

HOME SERVICES

MAintenance

Or An Anatomy of the Unhotel illustration Katie Scott

SUPPLY and LOGISTICS

HEAD OFFICE Wherein promises are made, expectations are set, and many things are planned Central operations The brains of the company, with more fancy degrees than a scientific thermometer, here you will find the team that encapsulates the master-planning, data-crunching, and process-engineering activities necessary for a well-oiled operation. This organ expresses Excel models and home-brewed beer at times of stress. Tech Technology provides control and automation for almost everything at the unhotel. The software and hardware engineers that are its fizzing synapses will regularly be spotted peering at lines of computer code late into the night bedecked in trendy T-shirts with obscure puns about snakes and gemstones. Marketing The marketing sub-system educates the world about the several and varied ways of associating with the unhotel. As likely to be seen sipping champagne of an evening as they are poring over market research reports. Finance This is the team that counts more than any other. Responsible for taking money from guests, paying hosts, and honouring invoices, they work closely with every other team in the organisation. For where there are beans, the beans must be counted – lest those hills of beans become mountains (or mountains molehills).

Reservations Although otherwise unlike a disco, onefinestay employs DJs. These are the Reservation DJs, the frontline agents who jockey bookings through to closure, as each and every interaction is not just a chance to clinch a deal and delight a host, but to match each guest with the perfect pied-à-terre or tip-top townhouse.

Guest Services Yin to the host team’s yang, but as close to the beating heart of the unhotel, is guest services. All manner of helpful, front-facing functions are fulfilled by these amiable souls as from check-in to check-out they work tirelessly, shadowing visitors throughout their stay, ever on hand in case of questions or concerns.

City Operations (London, New York, &c.) Wherein hosts & guests are delighted, and much curiosity is satisfied

Home Services onefinestay’s undisputed horologists, home services dances attendance with metronomic precision upon the unhotel’s homes. Although more likely to be seen sporting an iPad than a tiara, just like Cinderella they must be out by the stroke of 12 with bed linen, towels and toiletries positioned perfectly (lest the host return to find them at 6s and 7s).

New Members The organ most capable of rapidly absorbing afternoon tea, the new members team strides through city centres in pursuit of the curious, the charming and the characterful. But it’s not all crumpets and small talk: back at the ranch, they will have to convince a sceptical, pragmatic bunch that everything is just so before passing the conch to… Take On It takes two to tango, and a little dalliance is required before a new member’s home becomes part of the portfolio. Many such pas de deux are in session at any one time, as the team binds together each operational datum and every pretty picture needed for full member-ship. Only then, once dancing shoes are off, does talk turn to the relationship... Host Relations In this special padded cavity of the unhotel, attentive at the end of a telephone, sits host relations. Here is the team to attend to our members’ cares and concerns, there to celebrate or commiserate with equipoise. As all partnerships are about balance, we come to the matter of… THE SNUG

Supply and Logistics To navigate its natural environment, the urban jungle, means onefinestay must always put its best foot forward. It is a team knee deep in the daily complexities of scheduling, route planning, picking, packing and delivering. And it is a fleetfooted team which carefully plans each leg of every journey. Maintenance Maintaining the unhotel is no mean feat, for homes are diffused about the cities, and everything varies: appliances, layouts, member preferences. Pipes may burst at any hour which need fixing, and the team will be there plugging the waterworks and stoppering the tears. They also keep the office ticking over quite nicely too.

EVENTS

Pulling all the right strings at an architectural affair, London We borrowed one of the city's grandest architectural masterpieces and onefinestay hotspot – The Violin Factory – and invited London’s top architects. Met at the unremarkable garage door, guests were ushered through the winter garden and into the breath-taking double-height, glass-ceiling dining room. Here, treated to champagne courtesy of Moët & Chandon, and canapés by Cook and Waiter, we introduced the capital’s design community to onefinestay. There followed a couple of hours of stimulating conversation, while a string quartet, in honour of the venue’s enthralling past, strummed picturesquely.

Our Social Whirl

A dodgy weekend, London It was a grey September day in South London when hordes of fancifully dressed folks, all good sports, were brought together by three things: the wish to support Mencap, the burning desire to hurl balls at each other and the golden vision of raising the Mencap Dodgeball trophy aloft to thunderous applause. Among the teams was a dazzling delegation from onefinestay who, after a quick post-work training session the previous week, embarked on their bid for glory. We didn’t win, but we did join in. And great fun it was too.

GUESTBOOK

The third unbirthday of the unhotel, London When onefinestay turned three we celebrated like a toddler of the same age by eating far too much cake. But unlike your average three year old, we managed some bubbles, beer and bourbon too. The evening began as a sophisticated soirée, kindly hosted by Foto8 Gallery. Being ‘all grown up’ now, we attended a private view of onefinestay: A Retrospective, and some eyes became teary as they remembered times gone by, pictured on the giant timeline. But, not inclined towards being overly profound for too long, we turned our attention to the important matter of the cake – and what a magnificent cake it was…

Our members set the Pace in Chelsea, New York A pioneer of the Light and Space movement in the 1960s and the first person to receive the MacArthur Genius Award, a private view of installation artist Robert Irwin’s Dotting the i’s and Crossing the t’s at Chelsea’s Pace gallery seemed an appropriate place to host our first member’s event in New York. An occasion to say a big thank you to our New York hosts and a chance for them to meet and mingle over a cocktail or two.

THE SNUG

ENDNOTE

Character Study Rather than an all-singing iPad app, onefinestay has chosen to make its first foray into publishing an old-school, paper-based affair words GREG MARSH CEO & Co-founder of onefinestay

t’s an odd thing, isn’t it, for a business founded by a team of tech entrepreneurs to turn its hand to printing books? Then again, onefinestay is a bit of an odd thing. Which is most of the point, really. We’re not exactly a hotel, not quite an internet business, not precisely an e-commerce company, and no longer simply a start-up. But we are still most of those things. (Demetrios, my co-founder, used to show people a picture of a sphinx when describing the business: something mythical, whose whole was other than the sum of its parts.) Stop and think of it, though, and most of the interesting things in life are odd. Picture yourself in your sitting room (if you are not there already), and ask yourself what it is that makes it uniquely yours. When I think about my flat in London with its wonky floors, assortment of new and old furniture and assorted detritus, I realise that what I’m picturing is the very opposite of a ‘space’ as an architect might describe it. Far from a negative thing, if anything it’s more like a conch, an environment I have warped around me, which reflects in its more or less artful disarray my own idiosyncrasies. When we get excited about homes – and at onefinestay we still do get excited about them, almost every time we are invited to tea – it is their individuality that captivates us. While some of them are stylish, style is not the same thing at all. Style may be something to aspire to, something ideal, just out there beyond reach, like the impossibly smooth curves and high tolerances of a slick Californian smartphone. Character, however, is the lines on a face. It is what is left behind when the glaciers recede. Which is precisely what we like about paper. It may not blink into life, perfectly crisp and unchanging, time after time. Instead it tells the whole, unvarnished truth – from the scars left by the printing press, to the fingerprints, dog ears and coffee stains inflicted by its less fastidious readers. At least, it does if it’s any good; there’s nothing sadder than a pristine book. May this one suffer terribly at your hands.