Rees founded Agent Provocateur in 1994 with her then-husband Joseph Corré, building it up from scratch and eventually earning around £30 million from its sale 13 years later.
The husband-and-wife team were hailed as one of the great British entrepreneurial couples of the 1990s. Spotting a gap in the market, they pushed ahead with bold, bright colours, eventually deciding to design their own underwear as they struggled to find a supplier making the sort of things they had in mind.
It's slightly surprising, with that in mind, to see the elegantly understated design of her London home, a five-storey house (now up for sale) on the John Nash-designed Cumberland Terrace, overlooking Regent's Park. It's a famously beautiful street, described by Savills's Stephen Lindsay as 'one of London’s most magnificent terraces'.
Rees bought Cumberland Terrace in 2014, refurbishing the place entirely to her own tastes – she wanted to avoid using an interior designer since 'they make everything match' she told The Times earlier this year.
Since buying the place she has moved on to both to a new business and a new partner, and is selling up.
The house is as grand within as its magnificent facade suggests. The master bedroom, for example, occupies the entire second floor and includes an original fireplace, large windows with sensational views over the Royal Park, as well as a dressing room and en-suite bathroom.
There are three further bedrooms (two of which are en-suite), a family bathroom and separate staff accommodation.
In addition there are five grand reception rooms, a kitchen/breakfast room, study/dining room, two guest cloakrooms, a superb wine cellar and garage.
Rees describes it as a 'privilege' to have lived in this Nash masterpiece, which she calls 'a special place of such beauty and landscape. To have total greenery in sight from one’s window, despite being so centrally situated, is remarkable.'
We can only imagine. But life moves on and no doubt the new owners will get every bit as much pleasure from the place.
Serena Rees's house on Cumberland Terrace is for sale through Savills with an asking price of £13.95 million – see more details and pictures here.
One of John Nash’s least-known country houses comes to the market
Principally designed by John Nash, Warrens at Bramshaw in Hampshire is surrounded by the New Forest.
Cumberland Lodge: The 17th century marvel 'a thousand times more agreeable than Blenheim'
This year, a remarkable educational foundation in a spectacular parkland setting celebrates its 70th anniversary. John Goodall considers the history
A chance to buy a house next to the Duke of Buckingham's former home
Gazing out from the windows of Wotton House, a famous Grade-I listed Georgian house in Buckinghamshire, you perhaps wouldn't imagine
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'The whole house shook. Everything was white. For four months, it felt as if we were on Mars': The story behind one of Hampshire's most breathtaking gardensWhen Kim Wilkie sculpted a tiered grass amphitheatre behind this 17th-century house, the garden finally settled into place, as Non Morris discovers.
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'I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed': Inside Jane Austen's Winchester home, the house where she penned her final words and drew her final breathJane Austen spent the last days of her life in rented lodgings in Winchester, Hampshire. Adam Rattray describes the remarkable recent discoveries made about the house in which she died.
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An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country LifeAn Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
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Soft tones and a sense of place: A Mayfair duplex that breaks the modern mouldA new designer-led residence at 60 Curzon in Mayfair reminds us that everything new doesn't necessarily have to look it.
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'The very best North Yorkshire has to offer': The £25 million Kirkham EstateWith 1,103 acres and on the market for the first time in a century, we've got a new frontrunner for the sale of the year.
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The reality of 20 years of house price rises in Britain, from the places that have had a charmed life to the spots where it's a struggle to move back homeAt first glance the ups and downs of the property market seem to even out over time — but dig in to the numbers and you'll see wild regional variations which paint a very difference picture. Annabel Dixon analyses new research which tells the story.
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A historic Yorkshire hall, meticulously restored to its former 18th-century magnificenceWomersley Park is a masterpiece and one of Yorkshire's great historic houses. And it could be yours.
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Rowing past dreams: An idyllic riverside home with a boathouse, croquet pitch and Olympic pedigreeThe Manor in Long Wittenham is a perfect Thames-side getaway. Comes with a free boat.
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A bucolic Sussex home that's 'like stepping into a fairytale', yet just 30 minutes from central LondonFelmere House is a playground for nature and only 30 minutes from London.
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Magnificent mansions across the Home Counties, from £3 million to £14 million, as seen in Country LifeA waterside dream home and a house and estate with over 1,100 years of history make our round-up this week.
