Category: OPULENCE & SPLENDOUR

Luxury and the arts From houses to cars and from Hockney to van Dyck, a profile of the best and the worst

  • Pug-faced but well dressed

    Pug-faced but well dressed

    A 1982 Rolls-Royce Camargue that has covered just 900 miles since new

     

    Named after Europe’s largest river delta in the south of France, the Camargue is a 2-door coupé introduced by Rolls-Royce Motors in March 1975. Kensington classic car specialist GraemeHunt is currently selling a 1982 example that has covered just 900 miles at a price of £62,500.

      (more…)

  • Naylor3 at Jak’s Bar

    Naylor3 at Jak’s Bar

    A special offer for readers of ‘The Steeple Times’

     

    Join the Naylor3 – Alexandra, Jessie and Emma Naylor – at Jak’s Bar at 87 Walton Street in Chelsea, SW3 on Saturday 22nd June from 3pm to 6pm.

      (more…)

  • Blighted Bassett

    Blighted Bassett

    Robbie Williams’ Wiltshire estate for sale again for £2.6 million less than he paid for it

     

    Singer Robbie Williams paid £8,100,000 for Compton Bassett House, near Calne in Wiltshire in 2008. In the years since he’s tried to sell it several times but even now that it has been relaunched for just £5,500,000, will it sell?

     
    (more…)

  • Five of the best: Compact living

    Five of the best: Compact living

    Living on a small scale in Central London

     

    Space is at a premium in Central London, so here we share five of the best one bedroom apartments currently on the market. Prices range from £725,000 to an astounding £6,950,000.

     

    B.03.3, One Hyde Park, Knightsbridge, SW1X – £6,950,000

    One Hyde Park reception room 550 One Hyde Park plan 550The highest priced apartment in this Candy & Candy landmark building sold for £136,000,000 so naturally even what agents Strutt & Parker described as a “the ultimate London pied-a-terre” was bound to be expensive. 989 square foot in size, there is a 26ft by 12ft reception room with a champagne bar, an 18ft by 10ft bedroom and even a car parking space. The service charge for the apartment is a not so insignificant £16,750 per annum but for that you get access to a 60 man Mandarin Oriental concierge team, a private spa and swimming pool, a squash court, an entertaining suite with spaces for canapé receptions for 100 guests and a private screening room with seating for 18 guests.

     

    Cranley Gardens, South Kensington, SW7 – £725,000

    Cranley Gardens 1Cranley Gardens 2Converting a single high ceilinged room into a one bedroom flat wouldn’t normally work but the transformation of this 453 square foot ground floor apartment has produced spectacular results. As well as a bright 15ft by 13ft sitting room, there is a mezzanine kitchen with a dining area, a small internal double bedroom and what agents Marsh & Parsons call a “stylish” shower room.

     

    Upper Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, W1 – £6,000,000

    Upper Grosvenor Street 1Upper Grosvenor Street 2If you’re a bachelor who enjoys entertaining on a grand scale, the star attraction of this 2,047 square foot first floor apartment, which is for sale through Knight Frank, will be the 100 square foot paneled reception room with four floor to ceiling windows. For the dandy, there is a dressing room kitted out with burr walnut fittings and if you’re a studious sort, there’s a compact study/library.

     

    Queen’s Gate Mews, South Kensington, SW7 – £775,000

    Queen's Gate Mews 550With a private entrance and 732 square foot of accommodation, this lower ground floor flat is surprisingly light. For sale through Marsh & Parsons and in need of a decorative makeover, it includes a 17ft by 13ft reception room, a dining room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and a small private courtyard garden.

     

    Shelley Court, Tite Street, Chelsea, SW3 – £1,895,000

    Tite Street reception room Tite Street 2Within a purpose built portered Victorian mansion block, Aylesford are selling a 1,050 square foot ground floor apartment that has the look and feel of a smart boutique hotel. As well as a 20ft by 13ft reception room with double doors into a 27ft by 13ft bedroom, this stylish abode also features a large dining kitchen and is just moments from the Kings Road.

     

     

    Subscribe to our free once daily email newsletter here.

  • A tour of ‘Putin’s Palace’

    A tour of ‘Putin’s Palace’

    ‘The Steeple Times’ takes a look around a palace that allegedly cost $1 billion to construct

     

    Located on the Black Sea coast is a palatial residence that the press have named ‘Putin’s Palace’. The reported construction cost of this property is an astounding $1 billion.

      (more…)

  • Plated II

    Plated II

    20 more of the best plates spotted by readers of ‘The Steeple Times’

     

    As promised, here’s the follow-up article in our number plate series.

      (more…)

  • Gulf Street

    Gulf Street

    Evidence that Sloane Street may as well be renamed Gulf Street

     

    The supercar hater and resident of Sloane Street Panda Morgan-Thomas won’t be amused to hear that an Arabic owner of a 2013 Lamborghini Aventador has parked it in her “village” and placed a sign in its window offering it for sale.

     

    The £320,000 Lamborghini Aventador currently parked and being marketed in Sloane Street
    The £320,000 Lamborghini Aventador currently parked and being marketed in Sloane Street
    A for sale sign in Arabic is displayed in the vehicle
    A for sale sign in Arabic is displayed in the vehicle

    (more…)

  • Heroes, villains and angry taxi drivers

    Heroes, villains and angry taxi drivers

    The Chelsea Arts Club courts controversy with their Heroes and Villains exhibition

     

    This summer the Chelsea Arts Club has chosen to exhibit 180 works by their most prominent members to raise funds for the Chelsea Arts Club Trust and the Artist General Benevolent Institution (AGBI). The exhibition’s title – Heroes and Villains – was bound to attract controversy but it has been because of the paintings on the front façade of the club’s Old Church Street premises that passions have truly been aroused.

     

    Amongst the images displayed on the facade of the club is one of Tintin paired with Hannibal Lecter
    Amongst the images displayed on the facade of the club is one of Tintin paired with Hannibal Lecter
    Another controversially features Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring with Jimmy Savile
    Another controversially features Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring with Jimmy Savile

    (more…)

  • A happy mansion

    A happy mansion

    The sale of the £18 million Sir John Soane designed Tyringham Hall

     

    Property developer Anton Bilton and his Brooklyn born wife Lisa Barbuscia-Bilton (better known as Lisa B.) bought the Sir John Soane designed Tyringham Hall in Buckinghamshire for £2.5 million in 2001. They’ve recently put it on the market at the staggering price of £18 million.

      (more…)

  • A bit of a steel

    A bit of a steel

    The Mittal family market one of their three “Billionaires’ Row” homes for £7 million less than they paid for it

     

    One of the world’s richest men, Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal paid £117 million in 2008 for No. 6 Palace Green in Kensington. He bought the property for his son, Aditya, from an Israeli-American banker named Noam Gottesman but is now selling the property for £110 million.

      (more…)