Clerkenwell: the home of loft living
Clerkenwell has become so achingly cool that the affluent young entrepreneurs who work in its creative businesses are desperate to live there, too.
The best new homes 2012
Here we showcase this year's winners of our London Evening Standard New Homes Awards - the capital's property Oscars.
Spotlight on Camden Town
The shops and markets clustered around the high street and canal make Camden one of the most colourful of London's neighbourhoods. The area's period homes and loft-style apartments attract a mix of homebuyers.
Move to St Albans and you get two cities for the price of one
Moving out of the capital doesn’t have to mean a longer commute or even a change of job.
My design London: Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Hurley reveals her latest design project; discusses friend Damien Hirst's artwork, as well as her favourite restaurants and design shops in London.
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: high church
This former masonic chapel in Chiswick has been converted into a three-bedroom home (£1.175 million) with a 30-foot open-plan, double-height reception room. The kitchen is a black glossy affair, there’s a study, a cinema room and a decked roof terrace.
Swap of the week: Blackboys, East Sussex
Honeys Green farmhouse is a Grade II-listed pile that sits in a couple of acres and offers versatile living with an annexe and outdoor heated pool. Inside has character galore among four bedrooms and an attic room with pretty views.
Life-changer: South Petherton, Somerset
Willowbrook is a five-bedroom beauty (£1.15 million) with a 52-foot reception room and garages that could become a holiday apartment. Make a B&B business there and your guests could use the indoor pool and gym complex or roam your two-acre garden.
Spotlight on Tunbridge Wells
It may have temporarily lost its iron-rich spring but Tunbridge Wells has buckets of charm to make up for it.-
Buy of the week: high church
This former masonic chapel in Chiswick has been converted into a three-bedroom home (£1.175 million) with a 30-foot open-plan, double-height reception room. The kitchen is a black glossy affair, there’s a study, a cinema room and a decked roof terrace. -
Swap of the week: Blackboys, East Sussex
Honeys Green farmhouse is a Grade II-listed pile that sits in a couple of acres and offers versatile living with an annexe and outdoor heated pool. Inside has character galore among four bedrooms and an attic room with pretty views. -
Life-changer: South Petherton, Somerset
Willowbrook is a five-bedroom beauty (£1.15 million) with a 52-foot reception room and garages that could become a holiday apartment. Make a B&B business there and your guests could use the indoor pool and gym complex or roam your two-acre garden.
Property search
Cashback sites
By Lucy Tobin
One of the easiest ways to save money while buying expensive items is to buy online and shop via a cashback website. These sites pay you when you buy something from thousands of retailers, including B&Q, Heal’s, and Currys. They pass on the commission they get from stores and are free or cheap to join.One of the biggest is Quidco.com. Members have saved £70 million in the five years since it was set up, and it’s easy to use: simply check if the shop you want to buy from is one of its listed retailers.
House of Fraser, for example, offers five per cent cashback, M&S pays three per cent and Laura Ashley gives members six per cent back. Quidco pays the money directly into members’ bank accounts or via Paypal.
Other useful sites include topcashback.co.uk and greasypalm.co.uk. It’s a good idea to sign up with a few, as each site covers different shops. It deducts £5 from earnings every year, but if you do not earn cashback, you do not pay.
How to earn cashback while shopping on the high street
A fledging trend amongst cashback websites is offering shoppers money back when they buy from high street stores. Quidco.com, Greasypalm.co.uk and MutualPoints.com are some of the sites that already do so.
You register your credit or debit card online (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro and Solo are amongst the cards currently accepted), and when you use it to pay for something in a shop, the purchase triggers cashback into your bank account.
Retailers who have signed up so far include Halfords, Feather and Black, Superdrug, Austin Reed and Sports Direct.
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London’s epidemic of discounting
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New Homes Awards 2012: the winners
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New homes bloom in Chelsea
New townhouses and flats will divert the crowds from Chelsea's annual flower show this year, with the property market in SW3 something of a hardy perennial itself, growing stronger with each year.
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Secret money-saving tips
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Homes that slash your heating bills by 90 per cent
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The best new homes 2012
Here we showcase this year's winners of our London Evening Standard New Homes Awards - the capital's property Oscars.
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Property insider: Islington
Well-connected Islington is a hotspot for City workers and young professionals who are seeking more space than a Square Mile crash pad without a long commute. We take a property tour of N1 and its surrounding neighbourhoods.
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New Homes Awards 2012: the winners
From classy commuter mansions to city-centre apartments at NEO Bankside and first-time buys to penthouses, this year’s best new homes were awarded for innovative design, eco living and impressive architecture.
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