We love looking at the homes of others. We love to know how others decorate, and what choices they make. It is why you are reading this article. It is why I write them.
When I lived in New York City, before the internet, friends of my mother would spend their Sundays viewing luxurious apartments, not for the purpose of buying them, but just to see what goes on behind closed doors. Old women in New York have strange hobbies, but that’s an article for a different time.
The best people to snoop on are the famous. Do they have good taste? Are they just like us? I have seen the interior of many a celebrity-home-for-sale. I have seen things you people wouldn’t believe. I judge a home on its merits, rather than its owner, which makes it all the more exciting when the home of someone famous is also a home of exceptional beauty in a prime location. They are rarer than you think.
Graham Norton’s London home in Pier Head is one such example. It is hard to think of few people more famous to the British public than Norton. He has been on the TV and on the radio absolutely loads and for absolutely ages, by my very precise calculations. The good news is he also has great taste.
The property, for sale with Knight Frank for £4.95 million, is a four-bedroom townhouse on a private garden square in Wapping. It is very close to the River Thames. It has four floors, a patio, a private garden and direct access to a communal garden. The interiors, I think you’ll agree, are beautiful.
I am a big fan of exposed bricks, period features, wooden floors and beams. So too the period elegance of the library, with its well stocked bookcase (always reassuring to see that people read) and wooden window shutters.
What of the kitchen? It is modern, but not overwhelming. We have discussed the elegance of functionality. The office/study space is ideal for home working — and with even more books. In between, the contemporary patio space, a bridge between two different buildings.
It is rare to find a house in London that is two things; one half being a traditional Victorian townhouse, the other a warehouse-style conversion. It is clever because it allows you (the potential owner) or Norton (the current owner) to have separate spaces — one for entertaining, the other for private living.
Is this the first party barn in central London? The very literal definition of ‘business at the front, party at the back’.
I am sure many fans of Norton and, indeed, many people in general would have wished to know how that great icon of entertainment lives. The answer, thankfully, is elegantly and with taste. The evidence is right here.
So why would he want to leave? Because all good stories must come to an end. 'I have loved my time in Pier Head over the last 20 years. The house has the ideal mix of cosy and open plan living that spills out to the riverside. It has been the perfect home for many memorable occasions, as well as a haven from city life,' Norton says.
'I know I’ll miss waking up to the river with its big sky and boats gliding by, but as life moves on, so must I. It’s a truly special spot and I look forward to finding someone who will cherish it as much as I have.'
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Fords Farm is on the market for the first time in over half a century.
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