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
Compare prices for the best-value deals
By Lucy Tobin
The rapid spread of price-comparison websites means most people no longer go for the first energy-provider they see or insurance policy they read about, but shop around for the best-value. The biggest personal finance comparison sites, such as Confused.com and GoCompare.com, help save drivers, home-owners and travellers thousands of pounds on their insurance premiums. In a Which? Money magazine survey of 1,700 people, 77 per cent said they had used a comparison site during the past six months.
But just because the most common searches are for energy deals and insurance, don’t restrict comparison site searches to just personal finance products. They exist for a huge range of goods and services.
Next time you’re in the market for theatre tickets, check out Comparetheatretickets.com, theatrebillboard.com and SeatChoice.com. The sites don’t all cover every show but between them should serve your needs. Want to buy a book? Don’t just visit Amazon – Bookfinder4u.com lists results from 130 book shops, new and second-hand.
For music, avoid heading, robot-like, to the biggest name. Tunechecker.com lists the up-to-date price of both singles and albums from the likes of iTunes, Tesco, Play and HMV. It shows Rihanna’s album Loud, for example, costing £5.49 to download from TuneTribe, compared to £8.49 from Orange.
Travel is another big source of comparison bargains. Why pay more for the same room in the same hotel? Both Tripadvisor.co.uk and Trivago.co.uk allow users to compare hotel costs from brokers like Hotels.com and Opodo.co.uk to track down the cheapest. Kelkoo.co.uk and Skyscanner.co.uk does the same for flights.
More articles
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London’s epidemic of discounting
A combination of greedy sellers, nervous buyers and unscrupulous estate agents who promise sky-high prices in order to tempt clients, is being blamed for an epidemic of discounting in the London property market, where a third of all homes for sale have had their original asking price slashed.
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Only 639 new homes are for sale in Greater London
The scarcity of land is changing the face of London as offices become homes and commercial centres go residential.
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Homes gossip
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have reduced the price of their magnificent Malibu beach house; and electro-pop pioneer Gary Numan has put his "all pink" cottage, which enjoys acres of woodland in east Sussex, on the market.
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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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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
Times are tight but frugal life doesn’t have to be boring. Follow these secret money-savers - from discounts at Starbucks and the cinema, to free kids meals at restaurants.
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Homes that slash your heating bills by 90 per cent
The UK’s first “greenhauses” - highly efficient German-designed homes said to slash utility bills by 90 per cent, have been unveiled in west London.
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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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