TRULY TASTEFUL HOMES!
Developers are tempting house buyers with swish on-site restaurants, says Laura Latham
WHen legendary French chef, Michel Roux, 76, announced he and his son, Alain, were opening a new restaurant, it caused a ripple of excitement among foodies.
But Roux at Skindles, as it will be known, will be very different from the family’s signature three-Michelinstarred establishment, the Waterside inn, at Bray in Berkshire.
For a start, the restaurant is within the site of a new residential development, taplow Riverside, being built by Berkeley ( berkeleygroup.co.uk).
the scheme on the bank of the thames near the village of taplow in Buckinghamshire, will mark the first time Michel Roux has been associated with a residential project.
‘i knew the location. it’s a beautiful part of the world and will be a superb development and wonderful for the community,’ he says.
Roux at Skindles is in an enviable waterfront spot and will offer a dining room and bar. it is named after a famous hotel that stood on the site and, in its heyday, was visited by Princess Margaret, Winston Churchill and the Rolling Stones.
it’s the latest example of a shift towards combining residential sites with restaurants. Developers are increasingly seeing fine dining as a means to attract not just buyers but higher- spending visitors. ‘A quality restaurant brings a valuable element to the perception of a new development,’ says Andrew Saunders-Davies, director of Berkeley. ‘it offers residents a lifestyle choice.’
the residential aspect of taplow Riverside comprises 139 homes in 17 hectares of land between the thames and Jubilee rivers. Properties come in a mix of new-build houses, apartments and renovated heritage buildings.
Prices for a two-bedroom flat start at £650,000, and five-bedroom houses from £1.85 million. the prime properties are the four-bedroom, waterfront villas, priced from £2.25 million.
City centre mixed-use projects often stray towards the chains when it comes to dining, but, with foodie culture on the rise, some developers are trying to keep things independent.
City & Country specialises in conversions of heritage buildings and has three locally owned establishments at its Bristol site, the General, a former hospital ( city andcountry.co.uk).
Michelin- starred italian, Casamia, first opened in nearby Westbury- ontrym, but moved into the General last year. Also on the premises is a tapas restaurant and pizzeria. ‘ the restaurants have put the General and the area on the map, not only as the smart new address in Bristol, but also as an exciting food destination,’ says Helen Moore, of City & Country. ‘ A Michelin- recognised name like Casamia has a certain cachet.’
Conversion properties at the General, which is Grade ii-listed, start from £525,000 for two bedrooms, with a limited number of newbuild apartments priced from £745,000 for three bedrooms.
Similarly, when the Wykeland Group designed the masterplan of the renovated Fruit Market in Hull, it made a conscious decision to invite local restaurateurs to apply for spaces there.
the development on Hull’s waterfront, will have 101 homes plus restaurants, shops and workspaces.
‘We’re trying to create an urban village,’ says Dominic Gibbons, of Wykeland. ‘ We wanted to achieve a different atmosphere. So, we targeted independent, regional restaurants.’
Dining options include a gourmet tapas restaurant, a bistro and fine dining indian restaurant tapasya. Other offerings are an artisan
chocolatier and patisserie, and yorkshire’s first gin bar and distillery.
the mix of apartments and townhouses is being sold through Beal Homes ( beal-homes.co.uk).
A further 14 apartments are also available in converted character buildings with ten more in the pipeline. there is room for another 80 new homes on an adjacent site.
‘it’s all about making the development a place people want to be,’ says Gibbons.
THEY are especially tempting at this time of year, when one longs to slide off for the rest of summer and not look back. But, how would you decorate that seaside retreat or country cottage so it’s homely and hassle-free, and with a sense that you are somewhere special?
When Liz Addison bought her holiday apartment in Margate she wanted to pay homage to the seaside town, as well as the painter Turner who was inspired by its beautiful light. She has sea-faring connections, too — her godfather was a captain of the QE2.
‘The flat is in a gorgeous regency building and I tried to make it look like a luxurious captain’s cabin. We’ve called our holiday home the Captain’s Quarters, and its interior follows the theme,’ she says.
Guests can sit in an authentic leather captain’s chair, and look out to sea with a pair of binoculars while studying the shipping charts Addison has placed in the flat.
Painted mainly in breezy blues, Addison even commissioned a huge wall- size print of an old world map and decorated the bathroom to resemble a ‘tropical island, so that guests can step from the captain’s cabin into a sort of paradise’.
She says that although the apartment reflects her interests and passions, guests, who book through Mulberry Cottages adore it, too. ‘They love the fact that it reflects the town’s seafaring history,’ she says.
There is even a collection of Toby jugs (resembling sailors) picked up in local curio shops.
We might not all want to take a theme that far, but a holiday home does represent a chance to have fun.
Interior designer Joanna Wood, who has a two- bedroom holiday home in the Cotswolds, which she occasionally lets, advises using the odd over- the- top piece. ‘Boldly patterned small sofas or armchairs work well,’ she says. The Peacock Patchw or k Sofa (pictured right) is a flamboyant example, £ 960, outthereinteriors.com.
West Elm’s tiled coffee tables are for outdoors but would be just as eye- catching inside. They are on sale for £187.95 (down from £469), westelm.co.uk.
‘Try a lovely dresser in the bedroom or an unusual side table in the dining room,’ says Wood. ‘Guests love a place with the odd quirky piece’. (Nine Schools Oriental Decorated Blue Cabinet, £ 195, harleyandlola. co.uk). Wood approves of theming holiday homes, especially if they’re near the sea. ‘Driftwood lamps look terrific in a seaside holiday home, while lots of floral fabrics and throws work well in a Cotswold cottage’.
Doris Brixham has a range of driftwood table lamps (from £125, dorisbrixham.
co.uk) and Jim Lawrence sells ship’s lights in
antiqued brass (from £ 166, jim- lawrence.
co.uk). Ebay is a good place to find fabric for cushion covers or curtains.
Cliff Harris, who has an apartment in St LeonardsonSea, says the colour scheme he and his husband, Jack, used was influenced by the seaside location.
‘We used a natural paint palette of white, green, pale blue and grey. We wanted to make sure that it really was a home from home, and the decoration is one of the reasons we visit so regularly. We’ve probably invested more time and love on our holiday home than on our flat in London,’ he says.
Vanessa Brady, president of the Society of British Interior Design and owner of a holiday home in Bournemouth, agrees that the secret to an easy but stylish interior is painting the walls a neutral colour and accessorising with interesting pieces.
‘A touch of almond works well in a room without much natural light because that tone creates a feeling of warmth ( Dulux Almond White, Easycare, 2.5 litres £31.49, dulux.co.uk). While a hint of green or blue will create an immediate sense of peace,’ she says.
NEuTrAL walls can be contrasted with colourful rugs, throws and cushions. Habitat has a good collection of washable throws, (Kaz multi-coloured Jacquard woven throw 150 x 170 cm £65, habitat.co.uk). Zara Home is constantly updating its collection of cushion covers ( multicoloured paisley cushion cover, £19.99, zarahome.com) so you can ring the changes inexpensively. Avoid linen fabrics on chairs and sofas because they stain easily, Brady advises. Opt for leather, which doesn’t mark so readily. ‘You can clean it with a baby wipe,’ she says. ( Parker Knoll The Derwent Collection Eastmoor 3- Seater Leather Sofa, £ 1,779, furniture village.co.uk). When it comes to crocker, keep it simple — and affordable so broken items can be replaced cheaply. John Lewis has a 12-piece basics china dinnerware set for £25, johnlewis.com.
Add a dash of Cornishware, a classic for seaside homes (four mugs from £32, four bowls from £ 24,
cornishware. co. uk) or Sainsbury’s pretty Blue Daisy Dinner range (from £3.50, sainsburys.co.uk).
And supper served off a porcelain lobster plate will please even those who don’t have a sea view (£ 35, brassicamercantile.co.uk).