But it isn’t just in property prices where West London is streets ahead. The amounts of money being ploughed into interior design, from Richmond’s mansions to Belgravia’s apartments, runs into hundreds of millions, far outstripping markets elsewhere. So what are clients spending their money on, and why are they doing it?
Trends
Trends shaping non-luxury interior design are of course influencing the schemes freshening up West London’s luxury homes. But while in parts of the city the focus might be on marrying light-capturing white walls with gorgeous, retro character pieces, or classic patterns, in the luxury market the focus always remains on working with the highest-quality materials and achieving flawless finishes. Technology has also taken off, helped by advanced luxury developments like One Hyde Park; luxury clients are demanding greater control over their living environment, from lighting to temperature. Finally, as the wealthy look for ways to make their money work harder for them, artworks, and a means of showing them off, are becoming even more important.
Money is no object
Combining high quality material and perfect execution is a recipe for big bills, but the truth is that, for a small but significant group of West Londoners, the odd million-pound renovation is a drop in the ocean. The best rental property West London has to offer attracts the world’s most affluent people and the prime residential market in the capital is the most lucrative anywhere in the world. For all manner of reasons, not least the status, billionaires like steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal have London bases and when clients are worth billions, designers can let their imaginations run free.
Keeping up with the Abramoviches
And to some extent, designers are under instruction to do so. The concept of keeping up with the Joneses does not disappear when someone’s net worth tips over the £100million-mark. Whether it is the number of cars, the value of artworks or the luxury of their homes, the very human instinct for aspiration and competition has the potential, among the ultra-rich, to involve expenditure on an eye-watering scale.
Protecting investment
Of course, West London’s wealth is not just based on foreign billionaires. Many of the richest Britons live there, and own multi-million-pound homes of their own. The competitive urge to have the best home is no less strong and spending can be huge. But there is also the question of managing a home as an asset. Whether it is to attract the best return at sale or maximise rental income, interior design is a key weapon in a market flooded with gorgeous, luxury property. Properties on websites of agents like Domus Nova, are shrines to contemporary taste as Landlords look to snag London’s most affluent tenants.
