Separate wings give super-rich couples space to fly

THE more money we have, the less we want to share space in our home with our partners — or at least that’s the way it seems when you walk around the homes of the super-rich.

Where once having twin sinks seemed a sign of luxury, now hisand-hers bathrooms are the norm in high-end new homes; and separate dressing rooms, studies, hobby rooms and master bedrooms are on the rise.

Some properties are taking this gender division a step further.

A development in London’s Greenwich Millennium Village has 12 split-level apartments with “hisand-hers balconies”.

The two top-floor bedrooms each have a separate terrace: “hers” with three scooped fabric armchairs, a matching sunbed and side table calling out for a bottle of fizz, while his terrace is designed for activity, with 20 hexagonal planters to tend and an armchair when he collapses.

Meanwhile in Frensham in Surrey, a country mansion on sale for £19million (R320-million) – comes with “his-and-hers swimming pools”. As estate agent Alex Newall explains: “The Russian owners built a second swimming pool for him as he loves having a really hot banya — Russian sauna — then swimming lengths in the fresh air, whatever the weather.

“But her view is why would you go swimming outside on a cold day when you can relax in the warmth? So she has her indoor pool, with an exercise bike submerged in it for water aerobics.”

So is this a sign of increased marital discord among the ranks of the rich — or simply the way we would all secretly like to live, if space and money were no object?

Neither is in short supply at Millicent, a 1 600m² country house in West Sussex, available to rent for £50 000 a month. There, the lord and lady of the manor can retreat to their respective studies on the ground floor, then retire to the master bedroom suite, which has two private sitting rooms and two en suite bathrooms.

It is generally snoring to blame for the rise in his-and-hers bedrooms.

The British National Sleep Foundation recently found that one in four couples slept in separate bedrooms — and high-end agents report an increase, particularly in country houses, in “snoring rooms” — a bedroom near the master bedroom for the noisier partner.

“Separate master suites are a sensitive issue, but it’s something people will pay a premium for,” says Emily Williams, who has designed a penthouse in Bayswater with two master suites on different floors, and with separate entrances. “You could lead totally separate lives,” she says. “Separate dressing rooms and bathrooms just make complete sense when both partners are working and their schedules overlap. Who wants to share a bathroom with their husband anyway?”

Estate agent Susannah Odgers agrees that his-and-hers spaces have become a hallmark of luxury that buyers at this level have come to expect. “When you have the kind of square footage that London’s most prestigious homes command, one might as well make the most of the space on offer,” says Odgers.

There is one example of his-andhers space that trumps the rest, though, as property agent Giles Barrett recalls. “I went along to a penthouse valuation to meet a married couple and at the end, the wife asked me if I could see her apartment. Slightly confused and short of time, I asked if we could schedule a separate appointment, but it transpired that the wife’s apartment was actually the penthouse next door,” says Barrett.

“They were very happily married but living in adjoining penthouses. Hers was a mix of Art Deco and Impressionist art, his was supermasculine with lots of dark colours and leather.”

Now that surely is most married couples’ idea of his-and-hers paradise. — © The Daily Telegraph, London

His-and-hers spaces have become a luxury hallmark that buyers at this level expect High-end agents report an increase, particularly in country houses, in ‘snoring rooms’ for the noisier partner