Greenwich: the new Olympic Royal Borough
Greenwich is celebrating the summer's Games with spectacular pageantry — and unlocking a bend in the Thames to offer riverside homes with views of the festivities.
Property insider: Camden
Camden offers canalside living in a range of converted period warehouses; first-time buyer studio flats and roomy Victorian family terrace homes. We take a tour of NW1's colourful streets and get the property lowdown.
Spotlight on Stoke Newington
Steeped in history and with a new rail link to the City, “Stokey” is raising its game for home buyers. The mainly Victorian housing stock attracts young professionals and families, who also enjoy the neighbourhood's arty and bohemian vibe.
Commuter watch - Chelmsford
With just over half an hour's train time into Liverpool Street, Chelmsford offers the best of both worlds. Now a £1 billion scheme will give Chelmsford's Beaulieu Park 3,600 new homes to add to the town's desirability.
Steal the style: tibits
In our new series, we visit some of the capital's most striking spaces and show how to get a similar look without breaking the bank. First up is vegetarian restaurant tibits in Heddon Street, where glamour comes with the meat-free menu.
Find a rated tradesman
Want to add value to your property, make your house a home, or sell your place fast? With 1,000s of tradesmen nationwide, rated and recommended by previous customers, this is the smart way to find a reputable tradesman.
Buy of the week: Primrose Hill
This plush flat minutes from Primrose Hill village and Regent’s Park has high-end details which include a bespoke German kitchen, an open-plan reception/dining space and a bedroom with clever storage. Priced at £735,000.
Swap of the week: Odiham
Heavenly views of Odiham’s ancient church in Hampshire come with this £750,000 beauty set just off the high street. It offers 2,000sq ft of space, four bedrooms, three reception rooms and kitchen with an Aga.
Life-changer: Shaldon, Devon
Reduced by £100,000 (now £750,000), this waterfront home overlooking the Teign Estuary, in Shaldon has gorgeous water views from the big windows in all four bedrooms and the open-plan living area. Heaps of B&B potential here.
Spotlight on Stoke Newington
Steeped in history and with a new rail link to the City, “Stokey” is raising its game for home buyers. The mainly Victorian housing stock attracts young professionals and families, who also enjoy the neighbourhood's arty and bohemian vibe.
Property search
London Design Festival 2009: the hit list
London is crammed with design events - some 200 in all - during the London Design Festival which runs from 19 to 27 September. Browse Barbara Chandler's hit list
For details of 100% Design and Tent London, the main players, plus Focus and Decorex, go to our September diary.
Size + Matter: Shigeru Ban installation on South Bank
V&A
The festival's central "hub" this year, with shows/happenings all over the museum; dramatic "chair arch" (in the garden) made from Ercol chairs by designer Martino Gamper; large and colourful benches in the entrance hall, by Sebastian Wrong and Richard Wood; sculpture and products made from waste materials in the tunnel entrance. In Praise of Shadows celebrating low-energy lighting; poster exhibition with 25 leading graphic designers. See the full programme of seminars with free lunchtime talks. Most events run from 19-27 September; South Kensington, SW7; www.vam.ac.uk.
Design Museum
Three shows: Super Contemporaries (until 4 October); Mariscal:drawing life (until 1 November); and Jan Kaplicky: architect of the future (also until 1 November). Meet the Museum's new "Designers in Residence" - Marc Owens and Dave Bowker - at Design Overtime, 25 September 6pm-10pm; Shad Thames, SE1; www.designmuseum.org.
Public art/installations
Huge ceramic chess pieces on a mosaic chess board at Trafalgar Square, WC2 symbolising the Battle Of Trafalgar by Spanish artist/designer Jaime Hayon, now living in London.
Size + Matter: large pieces of sculpture on the South Bank; Australian designer Marc Newson's mushroom shape of enamelled steel and Japanese architect Shiguru Ban's elongated pyramid of cardboard tubes.
Brompton Design District
More than a dozen specialist shows and seven pop-up shops conveniently close to each other and the V&A. Latest news: www.bromptondesigndistrict.com.
Royal College of Art
Various shows: CloseUp spotlighting ten years of European design projects by Helen Hamlyn research association; Kensington Gore, SW7; find more details on www.rca.ac.uk.
Losing the Plot
For Italian plastic giant Kartell's 60th anniversary: eight Philippe Starck Louis Ghost chairs customised by artists and designers; 19-27 September; 11a Kingsland Road, E2; www.lifestylebazaar.com.
Ligne Roset
Urban Nature Textiles and hand-painted upholstery in modern furniture store make a (marginally ironic) pastoral paradise; 19-27 September; Ligne Roset, 18 Mortimer Street, W1; www.ligne-roset-westend.co.uk.
Extrusions
A world first: one-piece metal furniture designed by architect Thomas Heatherwick, and extruded by machine, including six aluminium polished benches; 18-30 September, closed Sundays; Haunch of Venison, 6 Burlington Gardens, W1; www.haunchofvenison.com.
Heritage Boy: carpet installation by Lee Broom
Heritage Boy
Lee Broom's cupboards and tables in simple shapes get dazzling treatments with carpets, parquetry and tiles; 22-27 September; The Future Gallery, 5 Great Newport Street, WC2; www.leebroom.com.
Transforming Passion into Products, 1989-2009
Design retrospective celebrates 20 years of Hidden Art; products from current design luminaries such as Cressida Bell, and Susan Nemeth, early members of this successful organisation for promoting design; plus lots of new talent; 16-20 September; thegallery@oxo, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, South Bank, SE1.
Knit wit with Iittala
Knitting wizard Barley Massey transforms iconic Iittala artefacts, such as Alvar Aalton vases and Oiva Toika birds, with slip-over covers; 24-27 September; Skandium, 245-249 Brompton Road, SW3; www.skadium.com.
The Dock
Installations and temporary "pop-up" shops in the not-yet-let space around Tom Dixon's new showroom on the Grand Union canal, with Hidden Art, Donna Wilson, Thorsten van Elten, Case Furniture, The Rug Company and other cool creatives; 21-27 September; 344 Ladbroke Grove, London, W10; www.portobellodock.com.
Oxo Tower
Festive opening for 26 artists' and design studios on the first and second floor of this London landmark; new designs for sale; 18-27 September; Bargehouse Street, SE1; www.coinstreet.org/shopeatdrink.
Britain Can (Still) Make It
An eclectic mix of design - naturally all made in the UK; huge Anglepoise lamp covered in a Timorous Beasties fabric; new pieces from design veterans, Ercol; 20-27 September; Liberty, Great Marlborough Street, W1; www.liberty.co.uk.
Ceramics in the City
Selling show with 50 makers; 18, 19, 20 September; Geffrye Museum, Kingsland Road, E2; www.geffrye-museum.org.uk.
Made It
Contemporary ceramics for sale from 16 makers; Somerset House, Strand, WC2; until 30 September; www.contemporaryceramics.blogspot.com.
The Apartment
Stunning installation of "design art"; open now until 16 October; 30 Ledbury Road, W11, www.caa.org.uk.
Giles Miller pop-up shop
Cardboard king Giles Miller and other artists including new-girl Abigail Borg; 17-26 September; Unit 1, 12 Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, W1; www.gilesmiller.com.
Designer-makers one-day sale
Monday 21 September, 12 noon to 7pm; Craft Central, 33-35 St John's Square, EC1; www.craftcentral.org.uk.
Super Squat
In a Georgian house; first furniture from Bodo Sperlein, gifted ceramic artist, plus work by other designers, including Shin Azumi; 19-27 September, 30 Wandsworth Road, SW8; www.bodsperlen.com.
For fuller details, and more listings, go to www.londondesignfestival.com.
More articles
-
Greenwich gets an Olympic-size beach
Greenwich Beach, set to be the longest artificial city beach in Europe, will open in May with an Olympic-size volleyball court and plans for a restaurant and live events stage catering for crowds of up to 5,000.
-
London's oldest streets offer today's hottest opportunities
The City's fringe districts have moved with the times for 1,000 years. Now they are ready for spectacular change.
-
Five hot homes: east London
First-time buyers have until 24 March to hunt for a home under £250,000 in order to avoid paying stamp duty. We take a look at flats for sale in Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, Aldgate and Hackney.
-
Five hot homes: west London
First-time buyers looking to avoid paying stamp duty have until 24 March to hunt for a home. We take a look at what's on offer in west London.
-
London’s twelve hot areas for 2012
London is bursting with regeneration schemes and transport improvements that are creating new property-buying opportunities — and not just for the city’s wealthy elite. Resourceful buyers on modest budgets can be winners, too.
-
Affordable Stratford: move in before the Olympics
First-time buyers don't have to wait until after the Olympics for a Stratford flat with cracking views.
-
Central St Martins gives King's Cross the edge
Central St Martins' new campus is fizzing and the first of 2,000 homes are launched, as 67 acres of King's Cross becomes London's hottest district.
-
Five things to see in February
February is a great month for ceramics, with three inspiring shows, but you can also get to grips with 3D printing and bone up on British architects.
-
Home near substation sparks health concerns
We have found the perfect home - almost. It has an electrical substation in a fenced-off area just behind the house. Should we have any health concerns about being so close to a substation?
-
Diary of an estate agent: Chelsea
Our Chelsea agent finds a home for a breakfast TV host, and reveals a fear of lifts - which for an estate agent is equivalent to a pilot who is scared of flying.
Advertisement
