The surrounding English countryside inspired the design of this contemporary home. Words by Maggie Colvin. Photos by Johnny Bouchier
The view across 48 kilometres of undulating hills and meadows is a rare asset for any property in the South of England. It was the "view to die for" that Maddie Griffin first sighted while walking her dog, Barney, in open countryside near East Grinstead. She says it "took my breath away. I remember thinking the house looked in poor condition and was sited a bit too near to the road, but what a fantastic south-facing location." The house had been built in the 1960s and when it came up for sale a few years later, she and her husband, Nick, set their hearts on buying it - for the site alone.
"On the premise we should be able to get planning permission to demolish and start from scratch, we went ahead," says Nick, who remembers their first excitement, although he prefers to forget the later planning trials and tribulations. "It was a huge, expensive, challenging project, but enjoying the house as much as we do now, of course we feel it was all worthwhile.
"The initial planning was exciting once we had found the right architect, Nathaniel Gee. He had built a similar size of house in the area and knew what the planners would approve of. This was a big plus. He suggested a stone structure, a slate roof with oak joinery that blended with the site and complemented other houses nearby."
Nick wanted a contemporary, green and maintenance-free house. "Our heating is provided by a ground source heat pump and on every other score the architect interpreted what we asked for and really expanded our initial vision. And we, in turn, trusted him."
The most important part of the Griffins' brief was to maximise the view, orienting all the main rooms around it. Gee says working with a sloping site was an advantage. "Because the ground sweeps dramatically away it was possible to create two levels on the more traditional north-facing entrance elevation. For the south side, the design took on a more contemporary style with a lot of glazing and a third level, the basement. There is a swimming pool, sauna and gym at ground level."
A wall of glazed sliding doors opens to link the indoor pool area with a terrace partly enclosed by banks of bulrushes. On the ground floor above is a balcony spanning the width of the living room space and on the top floor are bedrooms with more balconies, each enclosed by glass barriers so as not to impede the view.
Maddie and Nick agree that the best design decision was the extravagant living room space, a three-storey volume topped by a barrel vaulted ceiling. "Some people might say this was a waste of space," Nick says, "but it is the essential one-off feature that elevates the house into a league of its own. The internal space feels light and airy - all the rooms flow into each other and the internal aerial views onto the sitting area from the gallery above are amazing." Tucked below the gallery is a more intimate space for the dining room table and chairs.
A snug sitting room and office for Maddie was another priority. "I knew we would need some small intimate rooms in contrast to the big space."
When it came to furnishing, Maddie realised her old furniture simply would not fit and had to go. "It was just not modern enough," she says. "I took inspiration from Sydney and San Francisco houses and the spa at One Aldwych in London influenced the pool design." She admits it was not easy because the scale of the house demanded such large pieces. A chance drive past the Roche Bobois showroom in Wandsworth brought the sitting room furniture to her attention and other pieces came together slowly.
In order to keep the focus on the large spaces and the view, all the walls in the house are white. Bright, vibrant colours have been introduced in deliberately controlled splashes. "I love colour and we brought back a roll of silk and other treasures from a trip to India," Maddie says. "I think we need more paintings, but Nick enjoys the amazing reflections of sunlight, which I have to say show up best on blank walls. We will fine tune the house I am sure. But a lack of clutter is vital."
In the meantime, it would be hard to find more satisfied and happy new house owners. Maddie says, "Friends and almost complete strangers have offered to house-sit when we are away and my son often comes down with his friends. It is proof of the pudding, as the saying goes. Everybody is amazed by the originality of this house."
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
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The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
