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The Househunter 4/7/14

So what with it being Independence Day and all, I was going to feature all American properties this week but then I found this fabulous Tudor mansion and I couldn’t resist. I mean look at it! And it’s only £2.75m which for a Grade I listed Tudor house doesn’t seem at all bad – I mean in a fantasy househunting kind of way.

tudor house for sale via savills

It’s also, while we’re in the realms of fantasy, a very manageable seven bedrooms and six receptions – perfect for family with teenage children when no-one can bear to be in the same room as anyone else.

fireplace

I’m sad to see there are no pictures of the kitchen but I don’t suppose anyone who buys this house will actually go in there much so perhaps it’s irrelevant. If it were mine I might never leave the hall, with that fabulous fireplace.

plasterwork

Well, I might wander into the sitting room and lie on the floor admiring the plasterwork ceiling.

staircase

It was built in 1520 and has ten chimneys, decorative brickwork, and lots of heraldry and is on the market with Savills.

So how can we top that? Well how about this: Located on the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, it’s apparently where Stephen King wrote Duma Key, his 2008 novel. Yes, we went to America after all.

Exterior Front

It’s for sale for $4,250,000 via Michael Saunders and really it’s all about the location – the inside isn’t really doing it for me I have to admit.

Interior Space/Layout

But if you fancy 360 degree views, including from the lift, which is all glass, a private boat dock, and your own beach access …. well you better start filling out those lottery tickets.

Aerial View

And finally, I had to show you this because there’s a giraffe in the front room. Whether that justifies its price tag of £12.5m (yes you read that right) is a moot point but I thought you might fancy a poke about.

giraffe

It’s either quite fabulous or a dreadful example of the housing market gone mad depending on your point of view. I tend towards the opinion that every sitting room should have room for a giraffe but not at that price.

view from the bath

The thing is it’s in Holland Park. We had better gloss over the fact that it’s a flat. A four bedroom one, and they would rather call it an apartment, but it ain’t a whole house. Although you do have direct access to the shared garden.

bedroom with bath in

It’s on the market with Domus Nova, who do have a habit of snagging some of the most fabulous houses in west London.

white kitchen

But I show this, not to make you angry at London, but more for a little Friday property porn. Or, on a practical note, as inspiration for a possible design steal of your own. Not, probably, the giraffe, but the lights, the colours, the bath in the bedroom – very hotel that.

white dining table

Would I live in it? Probably not – I’m an only child and I can’t share anything let alone a garden. I’m off to the Tudor mansion this week, what about you?

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

1 Comment

  1. Twelve and a half million for a flat?!! AND you have to share something?! I’m with you on the only child point of view, I couldn’t share a sandwich. Should you call the agent to cancel or should I…

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