Homes gossip: Kim Kardashian; Taylor Swift; Winnie the Pooh; James Franco; Festival of Britain

Kim Kardashian eyes up London

Kim Kardashian made herself at home at The Dorchester hotel on her latest visit to London, but she also wants to buy a house here. She sees similarities between London and New York but thinks our streets are cleaner and prettier.

The reality TV superstar is said to be looking for a glamorous property to share with her rapper boyfriend Kanye West.

Her favourite hangouts include Chinese restaurant Hakkasan in Mayfair and The Rose Club in Marylebone, so a W1 pad should be just up her street.

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Taylor Swift chooses London as European base

Taylor Swift has enjoyed her time in London so much she’s keen to buy a house in the capital.

Three months ago the country singer, whose hits include We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, splashed out £3.1 million on a seven-bedroom beachside home in Massachusetts to be close to boyfriend Conor Kennedy, son of Robert F Kennedy Jr. But the couple have since split up.

Maybe she wants to be near new best friend Ed Sheeran, who shares a flat in London with his brother. The pair collaborated on her song Everything Has Changed and hit it off.

Although Swift, 22, lives in America, where she also owns a mansion and a penthouse in Nashville and a Beverly Hills house, a British pad would be her main base when touring in Europe. After recently scoring her first UK number one album with Red, it seems like the ideal time to invest in a London flat.

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Hunny for tea at home of Winnie

Winnie the Pooh creator AA Milne once lived in the dreamiest of locations next to the village church in Steeple Bumpstead, Essex. Broadgate House (pictured) was his home when he lived with his parents while a student at Cambridge.

The five-bedroom house is surrounded by beautiful gardens, and there’s a coach house, too. Surely this lovely spot fuelled the author’s imagination for all those wonderful children’s tales.

This literary haven is listed with Carter Jonas for £1.275 million (homesandproperty.co.uk/milne).

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The great festival, 1951 and all that

The property in which most of the Festival of Britain was planned is for sale. Forge House was built in the late Thirties for News Chronicle editor Gerald Barry, a radical intellectual who was also the initiator and head organiser of the 1951 event that aimed to give Britons a lift after the war and fuel ideas for science, design, architecture and the arts.

Now Jackson-Stops & Staff has listed his seven-bedroom home in West Sussex for £1.35 million (homesandproperty.co.uk/festival). The gorgeous retreat is conveniently close to cultural and recreational hotspots, including Chichester Festival Theatre and Cowdray Park, the home of British polo.

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James Franco buys into LA style

James Franco has bought Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant’s Los Angeles home. Built in the Twenties, it comprises a two-bedroom main house and one-bedroom guest home. The rumour is that the 127 Hours actor, who bagged the pad for £488,000, plans to spend time putting his signature stamp on the place. It has belonged to a succession of stylish owners, including Princess Tatiana von Fürstenberg (daughter of fashion designer Diane).

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