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
Making the most of your DIY weekend
It is the little things that make the biggest difference. Barbara Chandler suggests weekend DIY projects and the advice centres that can give you help
Give old furniture a lick of paint
Jazz up your junk
Give old furniture a lick of paint; even rusty items are covered by Hammerite's Direct to Rust Paint (£6.49 for 250ml).
Help: a guide to painting furniture is on homesandproperty.co.uk; for tips on painting metal go to hammerite.co.uk.
Put up a pole
Replace a dreary old curtain track with a smart pole and buy some ready-made curtains. Tab tops or eyelets are cheapest, with no need to buy rings.
Help: find an excellent guide to fixing a curtain pole on polesandblinds.com.
Banish wall scuffs
You'll need to paint the whole wall to avoid a patchy look - apply two coats for a good finish. B&Q and Homebase have good own-brand colours at about £15 for 2.5 litres (enough for most rooms), though a big can of white emulsion is likely to be cheaper. A designer paint will cost £22-£25 (see farrow-ball.com or firedearth.com). To change a room's look add stencils or stickers.
Help: most painting info is on the can. Tips and a free iPhone app are at dulux. com; or call 08444 817 817. Crown also has a colour/painting app at crownpaint.co.uk. B&Q does interactive room design at diy.com. Stencil designs/tips are at hennydonovan.com and stencil-library.co.uk.
Melamine paint gives kitchen units a facelift
Cupboard love
Give dreary kitchen units a facelift with a specially formulated paint for melamine. A new type by International gives a lacquer-like shine (six colours, £24.99 for a litre, right). There are also special paints for tiles and appliances. Help: there are painting videos and tips at international-paints.co.uk.
Date with a blind
The quickest way to change a window's look is with a new roller blind. Buy one for £10 to £20 at a DIY store, or pay from £30 to have one made to measure.
Help: video tips on measuring and fitting blinds are at web-blinds.com.
Board already
Hire a sander and sand your floors. Then, either add a couple of coats of lacquer, or simply paint them. International Quick Drying Floor Paint costs from £27.99 for 2.5 litres. Painted floors stand up to traffic amazingly well.
Help: for a step-by-step guide, go to hss.com, which has all the tools you need for hire. If you are painting, the tips are on the can.
The right filler makes fixing cracks easy
Fill in the cracks
Fixing chips and cracks is easy if you have the right filler. For example, Fine Surface Polyfilla erases hairline cracks and little chips. Flexi Gap tackles holes around door frames and skirtings. Liquid Sanding brushes on to grotty old paintwork making it all ready for paint.
Help: watch step-by-step videos on polycell.co.uk; or call the Polycell advice centre on 08444 817 817.
Hang it
New "paste the wall" wallpapers mean you don't need a table or messy glues. Prices start at around £20 a roll.
Help: for calculations, designs and video tips, download a free iPhone app from superfrescoeasy.com/index.
If you do need to call in a professional, visit www.homesandproperty.co.uk/tradesman.
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Chelsea Flower Show 2012 preview
A spectacular 80ft tower - Chelsea's very own Shard of Grass - plus a glorious new Royal Jubilee rose and 18 show gardens will offer London gardeners inspiring ideas at this year's show.
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Perfect extensions
Londoners planning to extend their homes should follow a simple golden rule: go for quality, not grandeur.
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My home: Mark Christophers
Mark Christophers, who co-founded the West Cornwall Pasty Company, also had ingenious ideas for a tired terrace house, which he transformed into a jaw-dropping, light-filled home.
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Innovation: Clerkenwell Design Week
Fantastic fibre-optic and iridescent acrylic lighting forms one of the many dazzling displays as we preview this year’s design show in EC1.
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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.
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The Chelsea Fringe flower show
You many not have a ticket for Chelsea Flower Show but the hottest show in town is on the streets of London, and, for the most part, the Chelsea Fringe is free.
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Bargain news
Deals on wall stickers and quirky furniture, a garden hammock, shoe wheel, Chinese stools and timber folding doors.
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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.
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New: The Goldsmiths' Centre
Clerkenwell's new school for goldsmiths, silversmiths and jewellers is set to turn out world-beating graduates.
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Jubilee street parties and picnics
From vintage bunting to regal table settings and quirky cake toppers - we've found everything you need for a right royal knees up.
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