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.
Fast new commuter routes are changing London's property map
Regeneration throughout London continues to change the property map, with the orbital train network and recent Tube line extensions creating faster commuter routes with good-value homes, including Deptford, Bromley and Woolwich.
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.
Canterbury spotlight
The compact city of Canterbury sits 60 miles south-east of London in Kent. In recent years its property market has been boosted by a high-speed rail service into St Pancras, which cuts the journey time to the capital to less than an hour.
Chelsea Flower Show preview 2013
This year the RHS Chelsea Flower Show promises to be suitably fabulous as it celebrates its centenary year with stunning gardens, including the Forget-me-Not Garden by B&Q and Prince Harry's charity.
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: Stoke Newington, N16
This modern home of almost 1,000sq ft is close to Stoke Newington's high street. A 27ft reception room and two large bedrooms give the flat a spacious feel.
Out of town: Tetbury, Gloucestershire
The beauty spot of Leighterton, with its poppy fields, ivy-covered churches and popular local gastro pub, is home to this four-bedroom house with stone-walled gardens.
Life-changer: Dolwyddelan, Conwy
Have a station all to yourself by buying the Old Station Master's house at Roman Bridge, where trains will stop at your door on request. You also get three bedrooms and 10 acres of grounds.
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.-
Buy of the week: Stoke Newington, N16
This modern home of almost 1,000sq ft is close to Stoke Newington's high street. A 27ft reception room and two large bedrooms give the flat a spacious feel. -
Out of town: Tetbury, Gloucestershire
The beauty spot of Leighterton, with its poppy fields, ivy-covered churches and popular local gastro pub, is home to this four-bedroom house with stone-walled gardens. -
Life-changer: Dolwyddelan, Conwy
Have a station all to yourself by buying the Old Station Master's house at Roman Bridge, where trains will stop at your door on request. You also get three bedrooms and 10 acres of grounds.
Property search
Design news: going eco
By Katie Law
Bedtime is bliss: Luma
The home of beautiful organic and Fairtrade cotton and woollen textiles sells vintage recycled Indian blankets from £125, patterned jute rugs from £79.95 and — in the clearance section, which has a rolling selection of discounted items — organic cotton hemstitch bedlinen, from £4.95 for a pillowcase (pictured). The store has also just opened a second branch in Bath.
Drink responsibly: Orla Kiely’s Wottle
Next time you go into Robert Dyas, pick up a free Orla Kiely reusable “Wottle” water bottle, made with fully recycled materials. The homewares chain is giving away 100,000 (rrp £4.99). Just go to robertdyas.co.uk to download the voucher to take to your nearest store, or add to your online puchases.
Recycle it as you DIY it: B&Q
DIY superstore chain B&Q says it aims to have a dedicated “eco adviser” in every one of its shops by the end of the year. Taking pride in its environmentally aware credentials, the company has just started selling recycled paint which would otherwise end up in landfill; powdered paints (£21.98 a kilo) made from Cornish china clay, which you then mix at home with water; carpet underlay made entirely from recycled clothing (£29.80 per 10 sq m pack), and OWL electricity monitors (£19.98) to help you cut your energy consumption.
Find Fairtrade bedlinen, wallpapers (pictured) made with recycled paper (£12.98 a roll) and energy-efficient, halogen-compatible lighting, too.
Find more details at the B&Q website, diy.com.
This old house: keep the heat in
Old Houses Can be Warm Houses is the topic of a Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings conference on October 12. New research into heat loss in older buildings will be revealed — sure to be of interest to architects, designers and anyone planning to revamp an old house. Held at Shaw House, Berkshire (9am to 5pm) it costs £100, including lunch. Visit spab.org.uk. for more details.
Iconic style’s got a lot of bottle: Emeco
The new Emeco 111 Navy chair (pictured) combines responsible recycling and good design — it takes 111 old Coca-Cola bottles to make one. Modelled on the original iconic 1944 design for the US Navy, the new version so appealed to Livia Firth — creative director of the Eco shop in Chiswick, documentary producer and wife of actor Colin — she is using the chairs in her new Umbrian eco-home. They come in six colours, cost £230 each and are available from The Conran Shop, or online at conranshop.co.uk.
More articles
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A guide to Chelsea Fringe 2013: London's alternative garden 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.
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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.
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Chelsea Fringe 2013
The eccentric Chelsea Fringe garden festival is set to take over the streets of London this month. For three weeks the city will be host to almost 200 events, including 'edible high roads', garden cocktails and wildflowers on the Tube.
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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.
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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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Mission possible: our Cornish home
It wasn't all plain sailing when a London family set out to turn a derelict building in a glorious Cornish location into a modern waterside home.
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Bargain news
Add some colour to your home with Aztec print lamps; get up to 30 percent off luxurious upholstered sofas; receive a 50 per cent discount on comfy mattress toppers; and get made-to-measure storage for your home.
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A guide to Chelsea Fringe 2013: London's alternative garden 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.
-
Chelsea Fringe 2013
The eccentric Chelsea Fringe garden festival is set to take over the streets of London this month. For three weeks the city will be host to almost 200 events, including 'edible high roads', garden cocktails and wildflowers on the Tube.
-
Extending an Edwardian home
A family in Crouch End convinced their neighbours that extending their Edwardian home wouldn't block out light, and the result is a bright house with spacious living areas.
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