The WhatHouse? team recently started the working day a little earlier than usual to take up an invitation from Richstone Properties for a first look at Upton House, a unique, luxury detached residence in a sought-after street in Roehampton, right on the western fringe of the London Borough of Wandsworth and only a few minutes’ walk from Richmond Park.
The company is owned by David and Laura Rich-Jones, who for over 20 years have been designing and building elegant luxury properties in the UK and overseas, in places such as the Côte d’Azur and Mauritius. They won a WhatHouse? Award in 2014 for a four-unit contemporary-design development in East Sheen, and have won many awards for homes built in likes of Kew, Richmond Hill and previously in this exclusive part of Roehampton.
If you take a look at Roedean Crescent and its neighbouring streets on Google, you’ll see the size of the properties in demand here – this area has a fair smattering of celebrity residents too, so don’t be surprised to see a famous face here and there when you explore this area.
So, it’s through the gate to the drive and into Upton House. The character of a Richstone home is there right from the start – a very large and welcoming hallway and a view ahead to the substantial kitchen/dining/family room at the rear, and the garden beyond. The size of this home – a total of 4,832 sq ft of living space – is immediately clear, helped by very high ceilings throughout, higher still on the ground floor. There are quite a few guests here already but there is no sense of it being at all crowded – it’s a perfect size and layout for party people.
Laura greets us and explains how pleased she is that the home is now completely finished – this launch has actually been postponed a few weeks because she wanted to make a few changes and ensure it was perfect for people to see for the first time.
We start our show home tour from the top floor, getting there via another Richstone ‘stamp’ – an elegant, bespoke solid oak staircase – to reach yet another, a large, oval skylight brightening up the landing. Bedrooms 4 and 5 are here, both with en suites (one a bathroom, one a shower room).
Down to the first floor and bedrooms 2 and 3 are both very spacious and located at the front of the house, with a lobby area between them. Each has its own large bay window and a luxurious en suite with marble flooring. We also note the light switches here, which are in bronze and used across the building.
Across the way is the lavish master bedroom, 291 sq ft of space with views out over the rear garden. It has an extensive dressing room with a host of built-in, handmade wardrobes and its en suite has a stand-alone bath, separate shower and his-and-hers vanity units.
Downstairs and there’s what we call ‘floor half’, not quite on the ground floor, it’s actually a very large room above the garage that really could be used as anything – another bedroom, a TV room, games room, home office/studio, take your pick.
To the ground floor and we turn right to the kitchen/dining family room. It’s a huge area – 581 sq ft – with an expanse of marble worktops, high-end appliances and bespoke, hand-built storage units at one end and a marble fireplace and more bespoke cabinetry at the other. Between them is a lot of flexible space to accommodate dining and relaxing, enhanced by the large doors to the hallway on one side and extensive bi-fold floors to the garden the other. This garden comes beautifully landscaped and isn’t overlooked by neighbours. Back inside and our host pushes one of the kitchen storage units to reveal a large utility room, with plenty more storage and a window of its own, and access to the large garage.
Back through the kitchen and out to the hallway: there’s a large space under the stairs, a cloakroom and WC opposite and then the dining room and sitting rooms at the front of the house, again, each with their own impressive bay window for maximum space and light.
The tour has given us a real impression of the detail and quality of every part of this home. Taking a look at the overall specification, we see many examples of the sort of thing discerning high-end buyers look for. Things like underfloor heating, a cooling system and wireless lighting system can make the home very comfortable while being ‘invisible’. There’s also a discreet sound system and customisable wifi set-up.
CCTV, intruder and fire alarm systems from Banham, together with audio/video systems for the gate add peace-of-mind, while solar panels on the roof and an EPC A rating mean exceptional energy efficiency and low running costs.
This is a very secluded, and exclusive place to live - there aren’t any shops and cafés very close to home here, so it’ll require a bit of a walk or popping along in the car to get to the nearest, but the ones you’ll find are very salubrious.
For leisure, the north end of Richmond Park (Roehampton Gate) is just around the corner, and the Thames at Mortlake or Barnes Bridge is about half-an-hour north on foot. You can drive to the splendour of Kew Gardens in about 20 minutes. The Roehampton Club is just up the road and it offers a whole range of sports and pastimes to adults and children alike, from the gym and pools to golf, squash and tennis. Tennis is very big here, with the Lawn Tennis Association and Annabel Croft Tennis Academy close by too.
Roehampton itself is a little off the grid with rail connections – the nearest are Barnes and Mortlake, both a 25-minute walk away, but much quicker by cycling or driving and there’s a 265 bus service along here. By car, it’s easy to get to the likes of Richmond (15 minutes), Wimbledon (20 minutes) or Kingston upon Thames (30 minutes).
Viewings at Upton House are by appointment only. Find out more at www.richstone.co.uk. Please tell the team there you heard about it through Whathouse.com