The 16 London areas tipped for growth
Price ripples spreading from prime central London are driving up values in surrounding districts, so where should you buy? We reveal the 16 lower-priced areas with new homes and growth potential over the next 10 years.
Waterloo and London's South Bank: 2,000 new homes
The South Bank's residential population is about to get a significant boost with nearly 2,000 new homes underway on the doorstep of Waterloo station - including 877 flats with spectacular views next to the London Eye at the iconic Shell Centre.
Banbury spotlight
The small town of Banbury in Oxfordshire is a home-hunter's dream, with good-value elegant family houses and charming cottages surrounded by attractive countryside villages - all within an hour's commute to London.
Rochester spotlight
Rochester sits close to the river Medway in Kent, 30 miles south-east of London. The cobbled streets of this ancient city have set the scene for some of Dickens's most famous works, while its mix of period homes and riverside flats attract Londoners.
Home aboard the Mary Rose
Henry VIII's famous Tudor warship capsized more than 500 years ago. Now, the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth is a time capsule that reveals the elegant simplicity of this astonishingly well-preserved early English oak furniture.
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: Fulham, SW6
This smart Victorian garden flat in sought-after Sands End, Fulham, has two double bedrooms and an open-plan reception/dining space opening to a stylish walled garden.
Out of town: Lower Slaughter, Glos
This Cotswolds cutie is in Lower Slaughter - one of Gloucestershire’s prettiest villages. The three-bedroom home has a spacious drawing room, a fine conservatory and stunning views over clipped gardens.
Life-changer: King's Lynn, Norfolk
City living might become a distant memory once you up sticks to The Old Coach House in the village of Ingoldisthorpe. There is bags of potential with this 4,000sq ft house to turn its seven bedrooms into guest suites.
Spotlight on Berkhamsted
Nestled in the rolling hills of Hertfordshire, Berkhamsted is 30 miles north-west of the Londonand has a pretty high street, a picturesque canal and a good mix of family houses and town centre flats.-
Buy of the week: Fulham, SW6
This smart Victorian garden flat in sought-after Sands End, Fulham, has two double bedrooms and an open-plan reception/dining space opening to a stylish walled garden. -
Out of town: Lower Slaughter, Glos
This Cotswolds cutie is in Lower Slaughter - one of Gloucestershire’s prettiest villages. The three-bedroom home has a spacious drawing room, a fine conservatory and stunning views over clipped gardens. -
Life-changer: King's Lynn, Norfolk
City living might become a distant memory once you up sticks to The Old Coach House in the village of Ingoldisthorpe. There is bags of potential with this 4,000sq ft house to turn its seven bedrooms into guest suites.
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Design trends: surrealism
By Amira Hashish
Salvador Dali and his contemporaries would delight in the latest demand for all things weird and wonderful. Surrealist style has made a big return to the fashion world, with Diane von Furstenberg, Lanvin and Moschino using lip and eye motifs to add a dreamlike quality to their recent collections. And thanks to fantasy-inspired furniture and decor, it is easy to add a surreal touch at home.
1. Jeeves hat lamps
Jake Phipps’s witty table and pendant lamps, made from authentic bowler and top hats, evoke surrealist artist René Magritte’s iconic 1964 painting, The Son of Man. Phipps, a graduate from John Makepeace’s furniture design school, set up his London design studio in 2005 and is now stocked in major department stores as well as quirky boutiques (£155-£195; jakephipps.com and heals.co.uk).
Jake Phipps’s witty table and pendant lamps, made from authentic bowler and top hats, evoke surrealist artist René Magritte’s iconic 1964 painting, The Son of Man. Phipps, a graduate from John Makepeace’s furniture design school, set up his London design studio in 2005 and is now stocked in major department stores as well as quirky boutiques (£155-£195; jakephipps.com and heals.co.uk).
2. Fornasetti chairs
Italian painter, sculptor and interior decorator Piero Fornasetti created more than 11,000 items with the face of opera singer Lina Cavalieri as a recurring motif. His son, Barnaba, has ensured Fornasetti remains a leading name in modern design. Splash out on his balaclava chair (£3,559; farfetch.com) or bag his Profili su Russo tray with stand (£625; selfridges.com).
Italian painter, sculptor and interior decorator Piero Fornasetti created more than 11,000 items with the face of opera singer Lina Cavalieri as a recurring motif. His son, Barnaba, has ensured Fornasetti remains a leading name in modern design. Splash out on his balaclava chair (£3,559; farfetch.com) or bag his Profili su Russo tray with stand (£625; selfridges.com).
3. Fabio’s face armchair
Italian architect and designer Fabio Novembre is a master of fantasy furniture. The flamboyant figure loves to instil a sense of drama in his abstract creations and the Nemo armchair is as spooky as it is stylish. Like a mask, it simultaneously conceals and reveals its inhabitant and would make a scarily surreal addition to an indoor or outdoor space (£2,417; madeindesign.co.uk).
Italian architect and designer Fabio Novembre is a master of fantasy furniture. The flamboyant figure loves to instil a sense of drama in his abstract creations and the Nemo armchair is as spooky as it is stylish. Like a mask, it simultaneously conceals and reveals its inhabitant and would make a scarily surreal addition to an indoor or outdoor space (£2,417; madeindesign.co.uk).
4. Dwell clocks
Dali was inspired by a collapsing Camembert cheese to create his famous melting clock. Dwell has a modern version (£14.95) that makes a budget-friendly way of giving your home a speedy surreal edge. Or why not choose a more contemporary take on the surrealist timepiece with this TV test card version (£45; dwell.co.uk).
Dali was inspired by a collapsing Camembert cheese to create his famous melting clock. Dwell has a modern version (£14.95) that makes a budget-friendly way of giving your home a speedy surreal edge. Or why not choose a more contemporary take on the surrealist timepiece with this TV test card version (£45; dwell.co.uk).
5. Nicholette Yardley-Moore cushions
New designer on the block Nichollette Yardley-Moore has based her surrealist cushions on Picasso’s paintings. The artist’s muse and love, Dora Maar, is featured on the reversible duck-filled pieces which are made from silk scarves or flags and adorned with vintage buttons, ribbon seams and zip pulls (from £69; vintagecushions.com).
New designer on the block Nichollette Yardley-Moore has based her surrealist cushions on Picasso’s paintings. The artist’s muse and love, Dora Maar, is featured on the reversible duck-filled pieces which are made from silk scarves or flags and adorned with vintage buttons, ribbon seams and zip pulls (from £69; vintagecushions.com).
6. Studio 65 Heller Kiss sofa
The deliciously tongue-in-cheek Kiss one-seater sofa is part of the Studio 65 series by contemporary furniture company Heller. It surely takes inspiration from Salvador Dali’s Mae West Lips Sofa, shaped after the mouth of the Hollywood actress. Made from lightly textured lipstick-red resin plastic, it is pretty practical. But most importantly, it is an item that will add a spectacularly surreal twist to a room (£439; artdecodesignshop.co.uk).
The deliciously tongue-in-cheek Kiss one-seater sofa is part of the Studio 65 series by contemporary furniture company Heller. It surely takes inspiration from Salvador Dali’s Mae West Lips Sofa, shaped after the mouth of the Hollywood actress. Made from lightly textured lipstick-red resin plastic, it is pretty practical. But most importantly, it is an item that will add a spectacularly surreal twist to a room (£439; artdecodesignshop.co.uk).
7. Dust cabinets
Surrealism pioneered the juxtaposition and distortion of reality, encouraging us to expect the unexpected. And it is not every day we see cabinets bent, twisted and stacked on top of each other. Vincent T Leman’s pieces for Dust Furniture are wonderfully wacky. His cabinets play with shape, form and colour to create eye-catching designs (approximately £2,781; dustfurniture.com).
Surrealism pioneered the juxtaposition and distortion of reality, encouraging us to expect the unexpected. And it is not every day we see cabinets bent, twisted and stacked on top of each other. Vincent T Leman’s pieces for Dust Furniture are wonderfully wacky. His cabinets play with shape, form and colour to create eye-catching designs (approximately £2,781; dustfurniture.com).
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