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      in Luxury

      Home of the Week: Singer Ellie Goulding’s Historic London Townhouse Hits the Market for $7.7 Million

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      British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding is hoping to lock in a sale of her historic London mews house, once home to the city’s most famous locksmith.
      Tucked away on Oldbury Place, a cobbled side street in London’s bustling Marylebone neighborhood, the five-story townhouse was once part of The Bramah Lock Company’s workshops.
      Founded in 1784 by Joseph Bramah, the company famously challenged anyone who could pick their patented Bramah Precision lock with a prize of 200 guineas—a small fortune at the time.

      The challenge stood for more than 67 years until American locksmith Alfred Hobbs succeeded, but only after 51 hours of trying, spread over 16 days.
      London-based real estate investor Boultbee LDN acquired the rundown Victorian warehouse around 2015 and transformed it into three stunning, brick-faced townhomes, burrowing down 21 feet to create two subterranean levels.
      Goulding, 33, bought the five-bedroom, 2,961-square-foot end unit in 2017 at the height of the London property boom, for £6.22 million—around $9.45 million at the time.
      The kitchen with its Gaggenau appliances.  Photo: Aston Chase/Tony Murray Photography

      Even if she gets her £5.95 million asking—around $7.7 million in today’s currency values—she’ll be in the red profit-wise.
      With its interior designed by hot London architects Stiff + Trevillion, the home has an industrial loft feel. Trendy design details include blackened steel stairs with inlaid oak treads, light wood plank flooring, matte-gray kitchen cabinetry and bronze fittings.
      An unassuming, street-level side door off Oldbury Place leads into a small foyer, with towering black-framed glass doors opening into the main, brightly lit, first-floor mezzanine living room.
      The cozy TV room.  Photo: Aston Chase/Tony Murray Photography

      A cool feature of the room is its frameless, low wall of glass that overlooks the lower-ground level with its kitchen and dining room.
      A black metal staircase leads down to the kitchen with its sleek, simple design and suite of high-end Gaggenau appliances. Close by is a dining area and casual, TV-watching space.
      In the depths of the basement are two guest bedrooms with a shared bathroom and small utility room. With little natural light, they’re definitely not spaces for the claustrophobic.

      The metal touches like this staircase give the home its industrial loft feel.  Photo: Aston Chase/Tony Murray Photography

      Back up the stairs—there’s no elevator—and the second floor is home to the primary bedroom; at 16-feet-by-11 it is far from grand, but it is in line with many other London offerings. Closet space is also on the tight side. That said, new owners could convert the second, smaller bedroom on this level into a roomy walk-in dressing room.
      Climb the stairs again up to the third-floor level, and the full-floor bedroom here is arguably the most fun, being set beneath the pitched roof with big, opening skylights.
      The home office, just off the garden.  Photo: Aston Chase/Tony Murray Photography

      No doubt much of the home’s appeal is its impressive location in one of London’s hippest areas. A five-minute stroll takes you to André Balazs’ ultra-hip Chiltern Firehouse hotel and eatery – Balazs also owns LA’s Chateau Marmont and New York’s Mercer Hotel.
      A similarly short stroll leads to London’s leafy Regent’s Park, while 10 minutes away you’re in the shopping nirvana that is Oxford Street.
      The third-floor bedroom.  Photo: Aston Chase/Tony Murray Photography

      Not that the newly married “Lights” singer has been spending much time at her Oldbury Place pad. According to the London Times, she’s been spending the Covid-19 lockdown with her new hubby, MBA student Caspar Jopling, and Wallace the cat, at their cozy country cottage near Oxford.
      Socially distanced country living seems to suit the singer. In the past few days she’s listed a second London mews home she owns, this one a converted hay loft in the Paddington neighborhood.
      The rustic 2,000-square-foot, two-bedroom, three-story house is on the market for £3.25 million, or around $4.3 million.
      Both properties are listed with realtor Simon Rosenblatt, of London brokers Aston Chase.
      The primary suite’s bathroom.  Photo: Aston Chase/Tony Murray Photography

      Don’t expect Goulding—she has a new album—Brightest Blue—to use the proceeds of both sales to go more spacious and palatial in her next purchase.
      She recently told Vogue: “I’m a bit funny when it comes to houses, because I don’t like big, big houses. I like being enclosed.

      “I did actually rent a ginormous rockstar house for a bit, and I hated it. You could hear a pin drop. It was too big, and I didn’t need any of the rooms.”
      As for where she’s buying next, she’s keeping that news firmly under lock and key.
      Check out more photos of the London mews townhouse below:
      The sitting room.  Photo: Aston Chase/Tony Murray Photography

      The dining room opens to the kitchen.  Photo: Aston Chase/Tony Murray Photography

      The Oldbury Place townhouse is well located.  Photo: Aston Chase/Tony Murray Photography More

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      in Luxury

      Home of the Week: Inside the $17 Million London Mansion That Tom Ford Turned Into a Den of Style

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      The stately London mansion once owned by fashion icon, perfumier and filmmaker Tom Ford, and with the designer’s stunning interior touches left intact, has just hit the market for $17.4 million.
      While clean and elegant on the outside, the inside of this four-story Victorian is all stainless steel, black glass, striated Macassar wood, and jet-black wall paneling. Sexy doesn’t even come close.

      Ford, who’s credited with reviving the fortunes of Gucci and YSL before launching his own brand in 2006, is believed to have purchased the house in 1997 for £2.55 million—around $4.08 million at the time.

      His exhaustive makeover saw the interior gutted and the Texan designer’s own inimitable style reflected in every room. Back then, the 3,700-square-foot house featured just two bedrooms.
      For Ford, the home’s considerable appeal was no doubt its coveted location in the Boltons, a swank enclave of just 30 sprawling Victorian houses in West London’s A-list Chelsea district.
      The living room.  Photo: Alex Winship/Knight Frank

      Current or former neighbors have included Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, the late David Bowie and George Michael. Rumor has it that the home’s previous owner was Duran Duran keyboard player Nick Rhodes.
      It’s not clear how long Ford and his longtime partner Richard Buckley lived in the house. All we know is that it was listed in 2009 for £8.5 million—roughly $13.3 million.
      The cozy study.  Photo: Alex Winship/Knight Frank

      We suspect that some time between 2009 and 2012, the house sold in an off-market deal, with the new owner adding a third bedroom, but leaving all the fabulous Tom Ford design cues in place.
      Eventually the home was sold in 2014 for £12 million ($18.7 million), with the new owner again electing to leave the Tom Ford design features intact, an homage to the longevity of designer’s creative talents.
      The dining room with its black walls.  Photo: Alex Winship/Knight Frank

      Today, imposing black double gates, under the watchful eyes of a barrage of security cameras, lead to the home’s white stucco-style facade. While photos might give the impression of the double-fronted mansion being free-standing, it’s actually joined to a row of similar-style homes at one side.
      Steps lead up to the single front door and into an entrance lobby with its stunning, alabaster marble open staircase edged with mirror-finished black glass walls. To one side there’s a black-walled, black sofa-filled reception room, on the other an elegant wood-paneled dining room.

      A guest bedroom.  Photo: Alex Winship/Knight Frank

      Large, floor-to-ceiling windows in the reception room look out on to a quiet, serene courtyard that’s hidden away behind towering trees and hedgerows.
      Back inside, stairs descend to the lower ground floor—don’t call it a basement—with its stainless steel and stark white kitchen, ensuite bedroom, compact gym, steam room and wine cellar.
      The primary bedroom with its stainless steel walls and ceiling.  Photo: Alex Winship/Knight Frank

      Now take the stairs—there’s no elevator in the residence—to the second level and there’s a gorgeous Mad Men-style Macassar wood-paneled study on one side and a cozy, gray-paneled guest bedroom on the other.
      You’ll find the true Tom Ford style, however, in the third-floor primary suite with its jaw-dropping bedroom with three walls and even the ceiling, lined in matte stainless steel. It might seem a little strange, sleeping in a steel box, but it works.
      The marble staircase appears to float.  Photo: Alex Winship/Knight Frank

      Across the hallway is the spacious, though uninspiring all-white master bath and the huge dressing area with endless closets, no doubt once filled with those trademark Tom Ford black suits and crisp, white dress shirts.
      Keep heading up the staircase, and you’ll step out on to the vast rooftop deck with views of the London skyline.
      The private courtyard.  Photo: Alex Winship/Knight Frank

      Charles Olver, partner and head of sales for listing broker Knight Frank, says the interior of the house gives “an overall sense of being immersed in an exquisite piece of fine art.”
      “With an interior created by none other than one of fashion’s biggest creative names, Tom Ford, perhaps you’d expect nothing less. But still prepare to be blown away,” he adds.
      The home sits in one of London’s best districts.  Photo: Alex Winship/Knight Frank More

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      in Luxury

      £75 Million New Build In London, England

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      Front Exterior LOCATION: Avenue Road, London, England, UK SQUARE FOOTAGE: 25,000 BEDROOMS & BATHROOMS: 10 bedrooms & 10 bathrooms PRICE: £75,000,000 This newly built Neoclassical style brick home is located on Avenue Road in London, England, UK. It features approximately 25,000 square feet of living space with 7 bedroom suites, foyer with staircase, elevator, formal […] More

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      in Residential

      London is top city for commercial real estate investment in the world

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      London is still the world’s top destination for investment in commercial real estate despite ongoing uncertainty about Brexit, well above both Manhattan and Paris, the next two biggest markets, new research shows. Some £16.2 billion was invested in central London’s commercial offices in 2018 compared with £14.3 billion in Manhattan, £12.1 billion in Paris and […] More