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Rutland Gardens, Bartholomew Landscaping ­not for sale

     PROPERTY  &  ARCHITECTURE

Up on the roofGlass staircases, fireplaces and minimalist kitchens... designers anddevelopers are taking the inside out and turning urban roof terraces intoal fresco living rooms

There is scarcely a designer or developer in the land who doesn’t enthuseabout "letting the outside in", but the rich and famous are now taking that onestep further; they are taking the inside out, turning their urban roof terracesinto extensions of their living rooms down to the fireplace, rug and evenunderfloor heating.

For those with six figure sums to spend on their roof terraces, decking hasgiven way to huge handcut slabs of stone, rattan has been replaced withpowder-coated aluminium and flick-clean furniture by the likes of Spanishdesign company Gandia Blasco. And you can ditch the tacky white hot tub asyou’ll be wanting a stone bath that serves as both minimalist water feature

and a place to have a private dip. You canforget the firepit too. A real fireplace on achimney breast is far more fashionable. Andthe old spiral staircase? Try a glass staircase

BY ZOE DARE HALLAPRIL 22, 2015 12:24

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instead. Pierre Wilter, director of UrbanRoof Gardens, recently installed one inWaterloo that spanned four storeys at a costof £15,000 per tread.  

“It’s very exciting and very expensive butyou have to get the return on investmentright,” says Wilter, whose mantra is thatroof terraces are not gardens – they areoutdoor rooms. “If you match the quality ofproducts inside and out, you will createvalue. If you are spending £1,000 per squaremetre on redecorating the inside of yourproperty, you need to spend the sameoutside.”

Wilter’s creations include a beach-liketerrace in Bermondsey with woodenwalkways fringed by long grasses,

illuminated resin-bound paving to resemble sand and designated sunbathingzones. Or there’s his Mediterranean hill village overlooking Victoria with acrunchy gravel path, perforated Sardinian brick walls and huge terracottaplanters for fruit and vegetables. “Others simply want sheer minimalism –grey metallic walls and not a plant in sight. They are often the most lavishterraces,” he says.

Budgets of £50,000-£120,000 are typical, though it’s easy to spend a fewhundred thousand if the project also includes some interior redesign so thatthe inside “relates” to the terrace. It appears to pay off, though. Wiltercalculates his London clients – who include “an extremely famous tennis

player, a very famous rugby player, and lotsof musicians and politicians” - have alladded at least 15 per cent to their property’svalue. One West Hampstead flat’s valueincreased by 27 per cent after a new-lookterrace that included an “infinity garden”that provided a seamless transition betweenthe terrace’s greenery and the communalgardens below.

The best roof terraces provide the ultimate oasis in the city, offering privacy,decadence and escapism, ideally with panoramic views too. On sale for£10.5m on Lansdowne Crescent (domusnova.com), the roof space of a five-bed penthouse designed by Richard Hywel Evans at Studio RHE looks like aluxury cruise liner where you can stand Winslet and DiCaprio-like, soaking upthe views from high above W11.

It all points to a great party and for today’s rooftop revellers, the preferredaccoutrements include outdoor wet bars with built-in, underlit ice bucketsand sleek, minimalist outdoor kitchens. “People want all requirements to bemet in their external space. We’ve installed kitchens, wine storage units,

heating, televisions, multimedia and anynumber of seats, sculptures and lights,”comments Barry Burrows, managingdirector of Bartholomew Landscaping,whose projects include turning a disusedrooftop on top of a Georgian house inPimlico into an Ibiza-like haven of lavender,lanterns and bespoke daybeds.

Burrows is among those doing animpressive job of taking the inside out soconvincingly that not even a drop intemperature would remind you that you’ve

Urban Roof Gardens, South Bankpenthouse, urbanroofgardens.com

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Rutland Gardens ­ not for sale.Example of BartholomewLandscaping's projects

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gone al fresco, given the latest trends indesigner overhead or underfloor heating. OnBartholomew Landscaping’s award-winningmakeover of a terrace in Knightsbridge’sRutland Gardens, there’s little to distinguishinside from out, with the terrace featuringdecked walls with a fireplace, TV andmirrors. There’s also a retractable glazedroof – a concession to a climate that doesn’tallow for as much terrace action in thiscountry as we’d like. A glazed sun room –housing a cocktail bar – fulfils a similarpurpose, as seen in The Bingham II, theremaining five-bed house at The Firs inWimbledon Hill Park, on sale for £4.95m(berkeleygroup.co.uk).

As for those outdoor rugs, the designerLaura Hammett has used one in her stylingof the roof terrace of a Grade II listed, five-storey house in Belgravia’s Wilton Street, onsale for £14.25m (savills.com). If it weren’t

for the ancient olive trees dotted around the furniture, you might forget youare outdoors. Or you could go for a ceramic tile "rug" of the sort Finchattonhave designed next to the Portland Stone outdoor fireplace in Kingwood, a£24m work in progress in Hans Place (Knight Frank; Savills).

Now we need no longer imagine what’s going on behind the closed doors ofthe super-rich as this inside out city living puts it all on show.

Laura Hammett, One Wilton Street ­ forsale Savills £14.25m

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