New homes in London's Zone 1 on a Zone 2 budget
Our exclusive research shows a "price wall" formed by the Northern line, with property values to the east less than half those in the west. We reveal the emerging lower-value districts in Zone 1 for buyers on a Zone 2 budget.
Embassy exodus returns acres of central London to its residents
As the embassies exit Mayfair and Marylebone, their former bases will free up stunning family homes. While the move of many embassies to Nine Elms at Vauxhall is creating a new residential quarter including thousands of new apartments.
Oxford spotlight
The small city of Oxford is famous for its university and honeyed stone architecture, but its huge range of property - from affordable new homes to luxurious Victorian houses - and one hour commute to London, are big attractions to home buyers.
Brighton spotlight
The East Sussex city of Brighton and Hove offers its residents the best of both worlds: a relaxed life at one end of the line within an hour's commute of London, and a good mix of Regency terrace houses, seafront apartments and family homes.
Chelsea Flower Show 2013: the highlights
We highlight the best of this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show gardens, with modern British designs among the gold medal winners featuring exuberant sculptures and inspiring planting ideas for Londoners.
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: Putney Hill, SW15
This glossy new apartment just off Putney Hill has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus a bright open-plan reception space with floor-to-ceiling windows and spectacular skyline views.
Out of town: Wigginton, Oxfordshire
This three-bedroom Grade II-listed thatch in the pretty village of Wigginton, near Banbury, is a tempting package of beams, wood burners and cottage gardens.
Life-changer: Tiverton, Devon
A five-bedroom house set in a valley at Cheriton Fitzpaine, Tiverton, surrounded by farmland and sweeping gardens, with B&B potential and a garage block ripe for conversion.
East Grinstead spotlight
East Grinstead in West Sussex is 30 miles south of the capital in the High Weald. The town's exclusive gated estates attract celebrity home buyers such as Tom Cruise, while London families are drawn to the area's good mix of period homes and modern flats.-
Buy of the week: Putney Hill, SW15
This glossy new apartment just off Putney Hill has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus a bright open-plan reception space with floor-to-ceiling windows and spectacular skyline views. -
Out of town: Wigginton, Oxfordshire
This three-bedroom Grade II-listed thatch in the pretty village of Wigginton, near Banbury, is a tempting package of beams, wood burners and cottage gardens. -
Life-changer: Tiverton, Devon
A five-bedroom house set in a valley at Cheriton Fitzpaine, Tiverton, surrounded by farmland and sweeping gardens, with B&B potential and a garage block ripe for conversion.
Property search
A basement conversion full of light
A gloomy basement in north London was transformed by Coffey Architects into a fabulous suite of rooms with sliding glass windows looking out on to a bright courtyard.
Get inspiration
Suffolk's Balancing Barn
Light and airy with enormous windows and a glass floor above a plunging 45-degree grass slope, the Balancing Barn is causing a sensation as Suffolk's most exciting new holiday home.Notting Hill's vertical home
A narrow plot of land in Notting Hill created a challenge for award-winning architect Cezary Bednarski, who has created a light and bright contemporary family house that still connects with its urban surroundings.Reduce your energy use at home
The average London household spends about £1,200 a year on fuel and could save about £250 of that by making home and habits more energy-efficient.Design news: going eco
Beautiful organic bedlinen and textiles, recycled wallpaper and paint, free reusable water bottles and designer chairs made from old bottles.
Architecture
Surrey bungalow's extreme makeover
A drab bungalow in Surrey was transformed into a modernist family home complete with an infinity pool and LED lights around the ceilings. It's so eye-catching that film-maker Ridley Scott asked to use it as a location.
A home underneath the railway arches
Across London there are 10,000 railway arches dissecting neighbourhoods. Archway Studios is a live-work building in Southwark built in and around a railway arch that takes advantage of the unused space around these viaducts.
Add space: extend the attic
Adding a loft extension is an obvious way to create more space and add value to your home but when your home has an odd shaped roof it can be trickier to convert.More your home & garden
My home | Shopping & design news
Decorating & DIY | Find a tradesman
Recipes | Outdoors | Architecture & eco living
More articles
-
A guide to Chelsea Fringe Festival
The shops, streets, galleries and gardens of London go flower-crazy as the alternative flower show, Chelsea Fringe, takes place. Don't miss any of the festival's highlights with out guide.
-
Bargain news
Relax in a versatile ottoman bed; enjoy a 10 per cent discount on luxury sofas; commute to a gorgeously green garden office; enjoy a spring sale on tiles; and spruce up your period property with made-to-measure windows.
-
Mary Berry's chocolate brownies
Mary Berry shares her decadent - and easy - chocolate brownie recipe, with a hint of coffee and the crunch of chopped walnuts.
-
Chelsea Flower Show 2013: the highlights
We highlight the best of this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show gardens, with modern British designs among the gold medal winners featuring exuberant sculptures and inspiring planting ideas for Londoners.
-
Perfect extensions
Londoners planning to extend their homes should follow a simple golden rule: go for quality, not grandeur.
-
Chelsea Fringe: signature cocktail
The top bartenders at Sketch have created a signature cocktail to celebrate this year's Chelsea Fringe Festival, infusing fresh fennel with Kentish strawberries, lemon, honey, lavender, pressed apple and Tanqueray gin.
-
Chelsea Fringe Festival: what's on this week (May 24-29)
Pattie Barron highlights what's on at the Chelsea Fringe Festival this week, from the edible wildflower meadow at Broadgate and urban bird watching to a guerilla gardening tour of Elephant & Castle.
-
Jasper Conran: my design London
Jasper Conran, designer and CEO of The Conran Shop, is a champion of cutting-edge British design. Here he reveals his favourite London-based designers, interiors pieces and fabric shops - and shares his top tips for transforming a room.
-
Bargain news
Save 10 per cent on classic V&A planter sets; 20 per cent off Egyptian cotton sheets; and huge discounts on contemporary sofas, striking garden statues and elegant hand-carved chairs.
-
Chelsea Flower Show 2013: the highlights
We highlight the best of this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show gardens, with modern British designs among the gold medal winners featuring exuberant sculptures and inspiring planting ideas for Londoners.
Advertisement
