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by Simon Barnes

Why the master bedroom is a priority for buyers of prime property

Priorities of life take their shape in this room – the master bedroom. This is where you wake to a new day. This is where you return and reflect on how each day went… and you spend hours in this room sleeping and preparing for the next day. It’s an important space and needs priority attention. The master bedroom is a reflection of you. It should speak to you and create a sanctuary, which is your own intimate private retreat.

Duke’s Mews, on the market with Arlington Residential

Increasingly, the hurried pressure of the outside world and the demands of hectic lifestyles have made homeowners want to retreat from this busy world and feel a sense of peace, well being and calm within their homes; this has elevated the importance of the master suite, drawing inspiration from the luxury hotel interiors domestic design.

Walk-in wardrobes

After the kitchen and main reception area, the walk-in wardrobe will add most value.  Prospective buyers will usually have made their decision after seeing the kitchen and reception room.  If you can get them to the second floor, then assuming the master bedroom has a spacious, well planned walk-in wardrobe, complete with separate his and hers space, then more often than not, you will seal the deal!

Master bedrooms and suites, just behind kitchen and family living areas, are the most important areas in our projects today.  Gone are the days when these luxury suites are just a larger than average bedroom with an en-suite. Today’s master suites encompass a large sleeping area, a sitting area, sometimes a connected study room, his and hers walk-in wardrobes with separate dressing rooms, freestanding bespoke designed cabinets and storage for belts, watches, shoes and handbags, and either one or two en-suites.

Filed Under: LIfestyle, Luxury Tagged With: luxury lifestyle, master bedroom, property intelligence, Simon Barnes

by Simon Barnes

Superyacht owners: insight, trends and chartering

Superyacht owners fall into two types – those who want to be on show and be seen in all the right places like the Cote d’Azur and those, who are an emerging new breed, who want to explore unusual places such as the Galapagos Islands or North Canada.

superyacht

St Tropez is a magnet for the owners who hire a yacht or a boat from the marina only to sail around the corner and moor up at Pampalone beach for a couple of weeks.  Some would argue that spending in the region of £1 million per week to charter a luxury boat only to stay in the same place is a little peculiar, but you pay your money and you make your choice and this is a tried and tested formula by those who can….

The new breed that charter agents are noticing, are owners looking for the spirit of adventure.  Over the last 15-20 years, the style and build of boats has changed dramatically and now that GPS and wifi and vastly improved communications can be installed into a luxury boat, it means that owners can set sail and still remain in touch or even work as they travel across the sea.

st tropez superyacht

The key to successful chartering is knowing the right agent.  Experienced local agents will know the best and most interesting places to seek out.  They will advise on the most suitable bo  at and which marinas, harbours and ports will accommodate various sized boats.  Rather like property agents, there are the great and the good in the boat charter world, there are the likes of Savills who have offices and representatives in the prime places such as London, Antibes and Monaco and there are ‘hustlers’, those with insider knowledge, who make calls and make things happen to procure the superyacht no one thought was available.  It is a competitive market and there are deals to be had if you know who to go to.

Superyacht costs and technology

Costs are astronomical with fuel being one of the biggest.  I was once alongside a superyacht off the Sicilian cost, that took four hours to refuel and at the end the owner handed over £250,000.  Taxes and the cost of moving a boat from one beautiful location to another does not come cheap and can cost in the region of £10,000 just to move from one bay to another.  Running costs can be around 10 per cent of the value of the boat; so some private owners will charter their boat to recoup the running costs each year.  Even when a boat is standing still the costs continue with generators and air conditioning to be maintained.

Luxury yacht

These days technology extends to tracking superyachts across the globe, so in the summer from May to September you can see plenty of boats moored up along the coast of Ibiza for the club and party scene. Certainly the Med sees the most boats flocking to enjoy the host of islands and social life from June to August.  Croatia and Montenegro are now becoming popular new hotspots and the Ionian Islands are a perennial favourite.  In the winter months the Caribbean plays host to fabulous boats and glamorous visitors celebrating New Year on one of the luxury hideaway islands like St Barts and Richard Branson’s Nevis.

Filed Under: LIfestyle, Luxury Tagged With: Simon Barnes, Super-yacht, superyacht

by Joshua Buckley

Sotheby’s opening soon in Dubai

Sotheby’s has just announced that it will be opening an office and a gallery in Dubai run by Katia Nounou.
Katia Nounou Sotheby's Dubai
Katia Nounou

Sotheby’s Dubai Office will be run by the amazing Katia Nounou, who recently moved to Dubai after being part of the Sotheby’s private client group in London since 2008. Katia’s focus has always been that of generating new Middle Eastern clients as well as nurturing a new generation of collectors globally. With her Iranian and Iraqi background, in-depth knowledge of the market and contacts in the region, Katia has been central in cultivating Arab and Iranian Contemporary art at Sotheby’s.

As the head of Sotheby’s new office in Dubai , Katia will now focus on developing a comprehensive new calendar of events to build on Sotheby’s numerous travelling exhibitions across the region. Her role will encompass liaising with the Sotheby’s network of clients, as well as organising exhibitions and lecture series to showcase myriad highlights from Sotheby’s worldwide sales.

To coincide with the official opening , Sotheby’s has arranged one of the largest and wide ranging exhibitions which will open to the public on the 14th March. This exhibition will be led by a preview of Modern and Contemporary Arab and Iranian artworks from the London 20th Century Art / Middle East auction.

Dubai

Bringing together worldwide highlights from Sotheby’s international auction calendar spanning the forthcoming season, the exhibition will star highly sought-after masterpieces by celebrated artists from the region alongside myriad pieces of historical importance and a selection of extraordinary jewellery and watches.

The view will take place at Level 1, Gate Village Building 3, Dubai International Financial Centre, UAE from Tuesday 14 – Sunday 19 March 2017. The exhibition is open to the public from 10am – 8pm (please note an early closing time of 5pm on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19) with events ranging from gallery tours to a book launch with Rose Issa and Juliet Cestar.

Dubai International Business centre - photo credit Jackardsiffant
Dubai International Business centre – photo credit Jackardsiffant

Located in the DIFC, Sotheby’s Dubai will present an expanded programme of year-round events, including selling and non-selling exhibitions, events and talks, reflecting the spectrum of Sotheby’s international sales and extensive client services. The office will complement the existing network of offices across the region.


This article first published on Wild Free Innocent by Olivia Innocent Buckley

Dubai International Business Centre image by Jackardsiffant (own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Filed Under: LIfestyle, Luxury, Olivia Innocenti Buckley Tagged With: Katia Nounou, Olivia Innocent Buckley, Sotheby's Dubai, Sotheby’s, Wild Free Innocent

by Simon Barnes

Luggage – The heritage of luxury leather goods

Once upon a time, the aristocracy and luggage went together like a horse and carriage.  Today, people might think quality luggage has to flaunt a flashy logo and a brand; in fact for those in the know, the finest luggage really is masterfully understated.

luxury leather goods

Authenticity is the watchword. Old money and royalty demand their bags, cases and briefcases to give more than a nod to exquisite workmanship and smoulder with heritage.  This really is an accessory class where less is more, no place for showy logos, brash colour or shiny newness, all of which suggest newer wealth.

Europeans have always taken their luggage seriously.  In a Parisian workshop in the Rue Saint-Honore, Maison Goyard www.goyard.com has been crafting luggage since 1828.  The French nobility would commission a fleet of trunks and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes was a long standing Goyard patron.

Italians reject Prada in favour of Valextra. Legendary soprano, Maria Callas was a devotee of the renowned astounding pure white calfskin, super luxurious and soft.  The makers must wash their hands routinely at least every five minutes and packers wear white handling gloves.

leather luggage

Tanner Krolle

For the most grand of all, one cannot look no further than Tanner Krolle.  Founded in 1856 by a second generation master sadler, Frederick Krolle, working near St Paul’s Cathedral.  Krolle was something of a Victorian entrepreneur, spotting a captive luxury market to produce handmade luggage for first-class passengers with the rise of steamship and railway travel.

During the mid-19th Century, Krolle’s invention of the “portmanteau”, a solid hand-stitched dresser case made of heavy bridle leather became a sign of status and success.

Tanner Krolle went on to design some of the pioneering luggage designs for cars in the 1900’s.  Today you will find discreet boutiques at 11 Shepherd’s Market in Mayfair and Knightsbridge.  When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge drove off from Buckingham Palace in the Prince of Wales’s Aston Martin DB6 Volante MkII convertible, they may well have had Kroll’s ‘jigsaw’ cases in the boot. Prince William’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales never ventured overseas without her collection of Tanner Kroll luggage and both her sons’ school trunks were crafted by the company.

leather luggage craftsman

Luggage – bespoke and retail

Around 43 per cent of the company’s business remains bespoke, although the retail side is increasing. Customers include Queen Sonia of Norway, the Windsors, the Brunei royals and leading Middle Eastern members of the banking and oil dynasties, Russia and other parts of Europe. David Beckham is a devotee. Commissions can include multi piece luggage sets, travel cases for artwork, all using the finest leather in the world, including calf skin, alligator, ostrich, sometimes inlaid with precious stones, but absolutely nothing resembling modern day ‘bling’. Prices start around £1,500 for a classic calfskin bag and from £16,000 for a bespoke piece, taking eight weeks or longer to complete.

John O’Sullivan, Chief Executive at Tanner Krolle comments: “Tanner Krolle customers have a particular taste; let’s call it ‘high taste’. They exist in an isolated world which has nothing to do with fashion. They might bring in a bag belonging to their mother or grandfather, which we can then update, personalise…”

Filed Under: Luxury, Simon Barnes’ Property Scrapbook Tagged With: leather, luggage, Tanner Kroll, Valextra

by Simon Barnes

The smartphone market – peaking in 2018?

Analysts predict that the smartphone market will peak in 2018 and from that point begin on a slow decline.

Apple launched the iPhone 7 in San Francisco at an orchestrated media event, along with showcasing the second generation Apple watch.  Outside reviews were mixed with the analysts less than impressed and this was reflected in a slight dip in the company’s stock.  However, Apple are confident and expect the latest handset model to sell out. This is the first iPhone upgrade that does not significantly differ from its predecessors and highlights how post Steve Jobs, Apple is perhaps taking less creative position, or possibly just pre-occupied on the latest European tax talk.

iPhone 7 smartphone market

Big news from Apple is their announcement that they have formed partnerships with Nintendo and Niantic, allowing them to bring Super Mario to mobile devices and the newly released, Pokemon Go to the Apple Watch.

In a sustained effort to penetrate the Chinese market and stave off local competition from Xiaomi, alongside new hardware and software, Apple communicated its intention to expand its iPhone Upgrade to both China and the UK.  This means that users will be able to pay for their new smartphones by instalments on zero interest and benefit from a free upgrade option, unlike the mandatory two year cycle other mobile service providers operate.

Recently the smartphone market came under fire with Samsung needing to recall around 2.5m Galaxy 7 handsets for safety reasons. This action is estimated to cost the Korean company in the region of $1bn.

Staying out of trouble and ahead of the communications game is what consumes the big firms in their respective industries like Uber, WhatsApp and Deliveroo, as they need to come up with strategies to grow and expand further.

Would you rather own a bespoke Smartphone ?

Read “Inside the world of bespoke mobile phones” by Simon Barnes

Filed Under: Luxury, Simon Barnes’ Property Scrapbook Tagged With: Apple Watch, Deliveroo, iPhone 7, Niantic, Nintendo, Pokemon Go, Samsung, smartphone, smartphone market, Uber, Whatsapp, Xiaomi

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