Budge up, bankers - the stars are putting the shine back into Kensington

Celebrities house-hunt in packs - and add cachet wherever they go. As the Beckhams, Williamses and Kardashian-Wests head, erm, west, we look at the hottest houses in town
4 December 2013

If you’re a multimillionaire celebrity used to being at the centre of things why would you live anywhere but London? The capital has always had high social cachet but its streets are about to become paved with even more stars. The Beckhams and Robbie Williams are back and have both bought in Kensington and Chelsea in time for Christmas, while Kim Kardashian and her fiancé Kanye West — or Kimye — are frantically house-hunting.

“These people are putting the gloss back into London,” says Ed Mead, director of Douglas and Gordon estate agents. “Kensington and Chelsea has recently become associated with rich hedge fund types, with their huge super-basements. But now the entertainers are coming back, which makes a lot of people happy. Residents enjoy the added lustre people such as the Beckhams bring. Let’s move it away from bankers and bring back the interesting people.”

Having a Beckham on your street increases its desirability. “It’s difficult to quantify whether it will put prices up,” says Mead. “But it improves marketability tenfold.”

Mead has noticed that celebrities tend to house-hunt in packs. “They seem to draw comfort from being in the same area. Although to find a detached house in Chelsea with security and privacy is rare, so they are desirable.”

Kimye initially considered the Beckhams' former home Rowneybury, or Beckingham Palace as it is better known, but “the lure of Kensington and Chelsea” was too powerful to resist, says Harry Wigram, a partner at the Chelsea office of estate agents Strutt & Parker. “This area offers the best international shopping, eating out, nightlife, culture and sights.” Kardashian is likely to have been influenced by her friend Victoria Beckham, who “sees Kensington as the epicentre where things are happening”.

The north-west London brigade will be relieved to hear this lot are going west. They’ve had their fill of celebrity visitors. Rupert Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth and her husband Matthew Freud have been given a ticking-off by their neighbours after the parties at their £24 million Primrose Hill pad got too loud.

Police were called to the most recent Murdoch/Freud fiesta, after the GQ awards. Guests included Russell Brand, Jemima Khan and Samuel L Jackson and neighbours said the quiet area felt like a “little Beverly Hills”, where guests were making “a right old racket”.

Graham Harris, managing director of SHH architects, which has many high-profile clients, says he has worked with some who request special soundproof walls for when they are entertaining, or in their home recording studios. Sounds like a good idea for West and Williams.

Imagine their housewarming parties. Robbie Williams and Victoria Beckham were once pop world rivals, and the Beckhams even considered buying the place Williams now has, so there is bound to be a bit of healthy competition as they nose around the neighbourhood. So who will have the best party pleasure palace?

Beckingham Palace 2.0

USP: Beige goes bling.

Who’s coming to dinner: Gordon Ramsay will hang with David, while Tana and Victoria settle down in the spa with Eva Longoria, who says VB is “an inspiration”. Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s playmates include mini Madonna Rocco Ritchie.

Star feature: There’s four of everything! And that includes the nail bars.

The well-heeled borough of K&C is the perfect place for the woman formerly known as Posh Spice. She and David are rumoured to have bought a £30 million place near Holland Park — the smartest part of the area. They have put aside another £5 million to make it their own, with four nail bars, a catwalk and even a waterfall.

Interior designer Kelly Hoppen MBE — who is a friend of the couple — is masterminding the redesign. Victoria has long been a fan of the queen of beige and flew her out to decorate their £13.5 million Los Angeles home six years ago. A source says Hoppen gets the job done quickly and to a high standard, with her signature clean lines and calming neutral tones.

Hoppen says: “London is the most incredible city in the world to live, with diverse homes to choose from and exceptional schools. It is the centre of fashion, art, design and business. I am thrilled that so many people are moving to London as it is great for the country’s economy.”

She has plenty to work with. The house, built in the late 19th century, has eight bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a subterranean swimming pool installed in the Nineties by its then-owner, a horse breeder.

Although they will be in the centre of town, the Beckhams will have very little reason to leave their house. A source says: “Victoria wants four of everything, in case she has friends over.”

Harris says: “People are requesting spa-like facilities, dressing rooms that are more like Prada changing rooms with memory mirrors that photograph you from behind, motorised clothes rails, refrigerated cosmetics in the bathroom, and ‘man caves’ with car showrooms and 4D cinemas.”

For the chef of the family, David, there will be a restaurant-standard kitchen — so he can impress his friend Ramsay. And the kids, Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 11, Cruz, eight and Harper, two, will of course have a play area. Harris says parents are devoting a lot of space to these and snooker tables are popular.

There’s a secret tunnel entrance too, underneath the 100ft Oriental garden, and there’s a hidden door that looks like a bookcase, for when the grown-up Beckhams need a break.

The Kim-Kanye Kolony

USP: Downton goes bling.

Who’s coming to dinner: As well as the Kardashian Klan, expect cameos from West’s fashionable friends including Phoebe Philo and Riccardo Tisci.

Star feature: Kanye is a serious Connect 4 player so a giant competition space is a possibility.

Kimye are currently in Miami promoting West’s sixth album, Yeezus, but they are looking forward to kicking back in Kensington soon. They’re calling the planned move the “next phase of our empire growth”.

West has been seen looking at the kribs in Chelsea and Kensington and the couple are keen to invest in property over here and introduce baby North West to the city. With a combined net worth of £50 million, they should be able to have their pick of the pads. Either way, they’ll be glad to have their independence after living with “momager” Kris while their Bel Air HQ is renovated.

As for the décor, West is a huge fan of Downton Abbey, so expect some stately home style fit for Lady Kim. But before that, there will be some breaks with tradition. An insider says West likes to have his own “movie theatre, bowling alley and basketball court” too. Harris adds: “Bowling alleys are popular and sometimes we put them in secret passageways. Some men say, ‘I don’t care about the rest of the house as long as I have my man cave and my car showroom’.”

It’ll be kracking for Kardashian’s krew to have a kubby hole in Kensington. Khloe had a shoot here last month promoting her Lipsy range and littler sis Kendall, 17, sees London as the ideal place from which to launch her modelling career. Their mum has been poking around King’s Road, obvs, to see if she can find a pied-à-terre for Kendall.

Robbie’s retreat

USP: Old bling.

Who’s coming to dinner: The Let Me Entertain You singer is an expert host. His protégé Olly Murs will be around for some singing tips as will songwriter Jonathan Wilkes, who included Williams in his wedding vows — wife Nikki had to vow to take Jonny AND Robbie as her husbands. Maybe Gary Barlow too, now that Robbie’s back for good.

Star feature: A ballroom, so Robbie can rock, DJ.

The LA-based singer has spent a year looking for a place to come back to in London with his wife Ayda, 34, and one-year-old daughter Theodora Rose. He complained about “astronomical” London house prices but has now settled on the grade II*-listed Woodland House, complete with cinema room, swimming pool and editing suite. He paid £17.5 million for it. The 46-room mansion used to be home to the late Michael Winner. There’s a chandeliered dining room, where Winner used to host fabulous celebrity parties, and a ballroom-sized master bedroom that was once described by King Edward VII as “one of the finest rooms in London”.

Williams already owns an £8 million 18th-century mansion in Wiltshire but that only has seven bedrooms. And he wants Theodora to grow up in London. Let’s hope he knows what he’s taking on. Winner once said: “There are more than 3,400 electric bulbs in this house. Someone’s constantly changing them. I got a bill the other day: £1,000. For changing bulbs. It is just getting too much, like running a museum.”

Andrew Langton, chairman of Aylesford estate agents, who was handling the sale, has said: “The most important thing is that Woodland House has gone to a family and not a developer, which is really what Winner wanted.

“That was an absolute priority so everyone is happy. I’m sure Michael will be looking down with a wry smile.”

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