Tag: garden

A £70k Shed

Pint sized studio house for sale for £70,000; it’s unmortgageable and undoubtedly “one of Britain’s smallest detached properties”

A glorified garden shed in Edgeley, Stockport has gone on sale for £70,000 ($90,900, €82,600 or درهم333,800). Available only to cash buyers as it is “not deemed a suitable security for mortgage lending purposes”, the 176 square foot “bijou studio unit” is described “as niche as it gets”.

Marketed by Joules Estate Agents as “the smallest house we have ever sold” and as one “with the biggest heart”, the property consists of a living room, kitchen and shower room with an open plan bed deck over access via a fixed ladder.

Outside, ‘The Studio’, as it is known, has a small courtyard garden with raised beds and a toolshed. Joules describe that “as an oasis hidden from view”.

May 6, 2017
Little Italy

English country house style flat in Earl’s Court complete with Italianate garden for sale

A ground and basement maisonette in Earl’s Court with a garden reminiscent of Tuscany has gone on sale for £2.25 million ($2.90 million, €2.66 million or درهم10.65 million).

The 1,503 square foot flat in Penywern Road, Earl’s Court is described as “spectacular” and “at tranquil oasis with an atmosphere and grandeur reminiscent of one of Britain’s great countryside estates” by selling agents Russell Simpson.

Featuring a grand reception room, a bar, a dining kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, the share of freehold property is situated within a stucco fronted building that gives little indication of what lies within.

May 3, 2017
A Big Priced Basement

Cadogan Square flat for sale for a sum that, if achieved, could make it the most expensive subterranean home in London; it is offered at a price that equates to £2,130 per square foot

Created from the merger of two flats, one of which was marketed for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم14.1 million) in 2013, a basement apartment in Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge has gone on sale for the staggering sum of £6.25 million ($8.01 million, €7.35 million or درهم29.42 million).

Possibly one of the most expensive subterranean homes in London, if not the world, the 2,933 square foot remodeled apartment comes with a Moroccan themed courtyard garden and includes not only 2 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, but also a coffee bar, a television room and a steam room. It is described as providing a “flexible living” space.

The share of freehold property is offered by Strutt & Parker and situated within a Grade II* listed building designed by the Scottish architect Richard Norman Shaw (1831 – 1912) in 1883.

April 26, 2017
A Serious Shed

South Kensington flat with ‘summer house’ shed for sale for £3.25 million

An apartment in Malvern Court, SW7 has gone on the market for £3.25 million ($4.2 million, €3.9 million or درهم15.3 million). It comes with an extra one wouldn’t expect to find with a pre-war mansion block flat just by South Kensington Underground Station – a rather snazzy14’ wide shed described as a “summer house or office”.

Offered by Knight Frank, the 1,571 square foot 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom lateral ground floor apartment has a good sized reception room, a dining kitchen and a utility room and is directly adjoined by a private landscaped garden with a water feature. It is held on a lease with approximately 99 years remaining and is subject to a service charge of £8,000 per annum ($10,300, €9,400 or درهم37,700 per annum).

Residents of this portered block also have the right to apply for access to the communal gardens of Onslow Square.

April 24, 2017
A Homely Castle

Britain’s smallest castle is for sale; it comes with 10 acres, a 44 million gallon moat and a narrow boat

Last marketed in 2003 for £1 million (the equivalent of £1.45 million, $1.86 million, €1.73 million or درهم6.83 million today), what is allegedly Britain’s smallest castle is back for sale for the slightly higher sum of £1.75 million ($2.24 million, €2.09 million or درهم8.24 million).

Offered by Belgravia based Henry & James, Starborough Castle is situated on the border of Kent and Surrey and stands in 10 acres of moated gardens and grounds. It is listed Grade II* and also as a scheduled ancient monument.

Dating to around 1754 and constructed on the site of a medieval house built circa 1341, the current dressed stone Neo-Gothic building on the site was restored by a farmer in the 1980s. He sold it to a purveyor of antique maps named Warwick Leadlay (1929 – 2013) in 1995 and in the years since, the grounds were landscaped and outbuildings and a cottage added.

Used by the Leadley family to host a “Glyndebourne of jazz-style” festival and more recently available for both short and long-term lets, Starborough Castle itself currently provides a total of 1,959 square foot of accommodation. There is a mini great hall, minstrel gallery kitchen, two double bedrooms and a bathroom in the main house and a detached one bedroom cottage offers further space for guests.

Of the pint-sized property, James Bailey of Henry & James told the Mail Online:

“It’s an amazing property, a complete one off, and a house of historical importance. The first recorded settlement was there in AD490. The moat was created around the medieval castle that occupied the entire island in the 1300s. That was torn down under Cromwell’s orders in the 1600s”.

“What is there now takes up just a small part of the island, it was built as a summerhouse and you could argue over whether it’s a folly or a castle”.

“It would be a perfect weekend destination place for a professional couple or an individual looking for something unique. The current owners have had it about 20 years and that’s what they have used it for, but they are based in London again now so don’t get to use it much”.

“They also put a barge on the moat to provide extra guest space. It’s a bit of fun, obviously you could only drive it in a circle round the moat, you can’t go anywhere”.

April 20, 2017
Checkmate

Former Lancashire farmhouse for sale for £1.69 million complete with giant chessboard

Until recently used as a holiday cottage rental, Low House at Eskrigge in Lancashire is described by selling agents Matthews Benjamin as “a joy to behold”.

Low House, Eskrigge, Gressingham, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA2 8LX

Fancy a game of chess?

Or a dip in the hot tub?

Dating to the late 17^th century and originally a farmhouse and barn, this 4,490 square foot Grade II listed property stands in 1.5 acres of gardens, 2.5 acres of woodland and 4 acres of paddocks. It has 4 reception rooms, 2 kitchens, 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and comes with a number of follies, a hot tub and a giant chessboard.

Reduced in price from £1.79 million ($2.24 million, €2.11 million or درهم7.78 million) to £1.69 million ($2.12 million, €1.99 million or درهم8.24 million), Low House is just seven miles from Lancaster.

April 17, 2017
A Federal Find

Federal-style New York townhouse for sale for £3.982 million; the West Village was previously the Home of the Sons and Daughters of Israel

A 2,212 square foot townhouse dating to 1833 on sale in New York comes with quite a history. Built in the Federal-style by a cartman named John C. Blauvelt, the property subsequently became the Home of the Sons and Daughters of Israel – a “home for aged male and female Hebrews” – in 1913 and was then converted to two residences in 1951.

232 West 10th Street, West Village, Manhattan, New York, NY 10014, United States of America

Reduced in price from £4.772 million ($5.975 million, €5.630 million or درهم21.946 million) to £3.982 million ($4.986 million, €4.698 million or درهم18.313 million), 232 West 10^th Street in West Village, Manhattan currently remains as two units and comprises of 3 reception rooms, 2 kitchens, 2 offices, 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It could, however, easily be reconfigured back into a family home and comes with both a terrace and garden.

The house is offered by the Farah team at Compass Realty and is described as “a renovator’s dream”.

April 16, 2017
Witchfinders and Watermills

Picturesque watermill used in ‘The Witchfinder General’ and ‘Dad’s Army’ for sale

Witches and water don’t have an affinity – with dunking being a common form of punishment for suspects in the 16^th and 17^th centuries – and at The Watermill on the River Black Bourn at Ixworth in Suffolk, just such activity occurred in the 1968 film The Witchfinder General.

The Watermill, which is now for sale for £1 million ($1.3 million, €1.2 million or درهم4.6 milllion) through Savills, was also a location in the popular BBC series Dad’s Army and of this property, which until recently was used as a holiday rental, the corporation’s Martha Kearney once remarked: “I can’t think of a more enchanted summer evening than sitting outside the Mill, gazing across the water lilies on the pond to the beautiful island beyond”.

The Watermill prior to renovation

A working mill from 1800 until 1946, the 5,848 square foot, three floor building comes with detailed restrictions about how it could be altered given it is Grade II* listed but currently provides 3 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

Previously rented from £1,450 to £3,000 per week depending on season, The Watermill is situated on a three acre plot that includes a picturesque lily-covered mill pond with island and mill race. An outbuilding has lapsed planning permission for conversion into ancillary accommodation whilst the former mill itself retains much of its original machinery.

April 15, 2017
Dining without Toto

Former Toto’s site in Lennox Gardens Mews, Knightsbridge to become a “contemporary Japanese” restaurant named Dinings

In April 2014, just off Walton Street in Knightsbridge’s Lennox Gardens Mews, Toto’s prepared to reopen after a £3 million makeover at the behest of a new Indian owner. In spite of serving the most delicious Italian food, its slightly off-piste location proved difficult and it again closed in early 2016. Now, after remaining empty for some time, this former artist’s studio is set to become a “contemporary Japanese restaurant”.

First mentioned by the lifestyle app Urbanologie earlier this week, Dinings, the Japanese tapas and sushi restaurant that has taken the site, already has an outpost in Marylebone and describes its offering as “a new style of Izakaya; Japanese tapas which combines traditional Japanese with modern European cuisine”.

The restaurant is due to open on 16^th May and will feature two dining bars and a ten cover sushi counter. Its interior has been designed by David d’Almada of Sagrada – a man whose previous commissions include The Arts Club on Dover Street and Sartoria on Savile Row – and, in spite of many recent closures in the area due to soaring rates and rents, we wish the new operators all the best in their venture.

Image depicts the restaurant and garden as it was in 2014.

April 6, 2017
A Blank Canvas

Chelsea “studio with living rooms” built for Augustus John and later owned by Dame Grace Fields DBE available to rent

Though the Pembrokeshire born artist, bohemian and pacifist Augustus John (1878 – 1961) was best known for his portraits of Lawrence of Arabia and Dylan Thomas, he is also said to have fathered as many as 100 children over the course of his life. A Grade II listed “Dutch farmhouse-style” studio he built and occupied for twenty years in Chelsea, London is currently available to rent.

This vast studio room is the most impressive feature of 28 Mallord Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 6U

Built in 1913 to 1914 from designs by a Dutch architect named Robert van ’t Hoff and Grade II listed, 28 Mallord Street cost an estimated £2,200 to build (the equivalent of £233,000, $291,000, €272,000 or درهم1.1 million today). It includes features influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and was described by Augustus John as “my new studio with living rooms” on completion. He lived there until 1934 and though initially delighted by the building’s “solidity and tautness”, ultimately termed it “this damned Dutch shanty” and moved to a new, purpose-built ferro-concrete at Fryern Court in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.

Owned by the thrice married actress and singer Dame Gracie Fields OBE (1898 – 1979) – who described it as “feeling like home” and “a love nest” – in the 1930s and sold for £5.4 million in 2009 (the equivalent of £6.6 million, $8.2 million, €7.7 million or درهم30.2 million today). 28 Mallord Street is now available to rent for £9,500 per week ($11,800, €11,100 or درهم43,500 per week) or £494,000 per year ($616,000, €576,000 or درهم2.3 million per year) through Aylesford International.

Augustus John OM, RA was celebrated for brilliant figure drawings, and for a new technique of oil sketching; his work was often favourably compared with Gauguin and Matisse

A Blue Plaque commemorating the artist was installed on the building in 1981

28 Mallord Street in 1981

Actress and singer Dame Gracie Fields OBE took up occupancy of the building soon after Augustus John sold it

Expanded to provide 5,109 square foot of accommodation over five levels, the house is dominated by a 38’3” by 25’2” studio reception room with a ceiling height of 18’4” and also includes upto 6 bedrooms, 2 kitchens and a temperature controlled wine cellar with Hermès wallpaper.

Aylesford describe 28 Mallord Street as “a true family home, the ultimate blank canvas and ideal for any art collector”. They offer it on an unfurnished basis.

March 31, 2017