Latest Homes magazine

Parker Bathrooms are putting the style into the plumbing

Bathrooms have undergone a massive transformation in the last few years. Once hidden away, the rooms where you went in private and never really talked about are suddenly chic. Bathroom style is as hot as kitchen style was in the 1990s and they come in all shapes and sizes, from under-stair WCs to massive family spaces. Bathroom chic was no doubt spurred on by the advent of the boutique hotel, where en-suite facilities were steeped in luxury. Taking a bath or a shower has become more than just a way of getting clean, these days it’s a sensory experience, a place to relax and linger, to indulge yourself at your leisure.

Enter centre stage Parker Bathrooms who have been in business here in Brighton for 22 years. They have a long standing customer base that includes both trade and the public and these days they deal directly with a lot of designers and architects offering a fantastic service.

Part of that service is the massive range of designs and manufacturers that Parker offers. To that range they are about to add two new suppliers to the portfolio, Catalano and Vitra – both smart modern Italian design orientated companies.

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Latest Interiors moves outdoors to achieve the perfect summer vibe

Bowls (set of 4) £8, plates (set of 4) £10, hi balls (set of 4) £8, placemats (set of 4) £6, runners £8 each, all at www.next.co.uk

Cressida table and chairs, £259, www.houseoffraser.co.uk

Obviously, in these times of economic uncertainty, we’ll be the first to tell you to get out there and support your fabulous local restaurants. And so you should – use ‘em or lose ‘em. But come the summer (which will probably start around October, if recent snowfall is anything to gauge the seasons by), eating out will be the next big thing. Eating outdoors, that is. So pack up some dips, a bottle of something chilled (possibly rosé), and let us take you for a sneak preview of sultry summer evenings outside.

Space

Whether your space outdoors is a balcony, yard or rolling garden, entertaining outside is simple. Define the space using different floor finishes – decking, tiling or even gravel work well in contrast to lawn or concrete. Plants and structures can be used to make an open space seem cosy and private. Give some thought to overlooking properties when planning the area. If your patio or garden has an obvious feature – a lovely old tree or a natural bamboo ‘screen’, make the most of it. Read the rest of this article »

HomeBuy purchasers can benefit from a tough housing and lending market says Marilyn DiCara, Director of Sales and Marketing, Moat

We are assaulted by almost daily reports of mortgage lenders closing for new lending or demanding ever larger deposits from house hunters at the moment. But in a tough housing and financial market, there are still areas of the market providing an excellent deal for both home buyers and lenders.

The HomeBuy shared ownership schemes, where buyers purchase only part of the equity of a home, represent lower risk for both buyers and lenders.

The issue of housing affordability has not gone away. While prices have stabilised, they are still extremely high by historic standards. In many parts of London and the South East, the average house price is over ten times local incomes – well out of reach for most first-time buyers. Even if prices drop by ten percent, as some commentators think possible, homes will still not be affordable for large numbers of local people.

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Andrew Kay is in a confessional mood and worried about the state of our streets

I am feeling so ashamed. The shame is weighing heavy in my heart and my soul. It burns there, like smokeless fuel. Smokeless because I have felt unable to talk about it.

Let me start at the beginning. It was a freakishly warm day and my brother, wife and my two nephews had come to stay. They live a few hundred miles away so I like to do lots with them when they are here. Which is why you could find me on the beach and ten pin bowling. We also like to go out to restaurants as they live in sleepy town on the edge of the Black Mountains.

“What can you do to fight hate crime and protect kids from things that they should not see or hear?”

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The Paul O’Grady Show’s Marc Abraham champions the message of responsible pet ownership set out in National Pet Month

I’ve just spent the last twenty minutes trying to convince the owner of Jessie, a lovely seven-year-old Border Collie, to agree to have her spayed. With recent improvements in veterinary knowledge and resources, pets are enjoying longer healthier lives, and with safer anaesthetics for animals, preventative surgery for dogs and cats has never been so important. In females, spaying eliminates the chances of both pyometra (pus-filled womb) and mammary tumours. Male pets will benefit from the non-existent risk of prostate and testicular cancer, as well as alleviating associated behaviour problems.

“With improvements in veterinary knowledge and resources, pets are enjoying longer lives”

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Malone sticks it to the bourgeoisie by eating tinned spaghetti and bacon sarnies

I’m wearing sunglasses and a T-shirt, it’s boiling hot and yet I’m staring at an unmelted snowman from yesterday’s snow. Why hasn’t it melted? I walk past a sign from the police, which says: “Remember to keep a light on to deter burglary”, then I consider all the advice to ‘switch off‘ to save the world via lowering one’s carbon footprint. I’m confused. At this moment a large African woman wearing a purple bikini top walks past, carrying a very big orange Iceland cool bag on her head, presumably full of her Iceland shopping. Only in Lansdowne Place eh…

Brighton is a funny place; the more I live here the more I can’t move away. It’s like the Bermuda triangle of the south coast. Who doesn’t know someone who went to university here, then never left (you know, – they studied design but now they work at Inkfish and the closest they’ve come to being an illustrator is doodling while on the phone)?

“It’s like someone watered it with money made from property and London incomes, giving life to a blossom of 4 x 4s and Bugaboos buggies”

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I gotta get outta this place

It was my third day in Cairo and I’d just rushed out into the street, having escaped from my old friend Mr H’s flat after he’d told me he ‘loved’ me. Strange though it may sound, I honestly hadn’t seen it coming as I’d known him as a friend for over 20 years and he’d never before suggested anything untoward. Perhaps the fact that he’d postponed his own wedding because I was due to arrive should have given me a bit of a clue.

More pressing was the problem that I was alone in a strange, downtown area and had nowhere to go. This, coupled with the fact that Mr H could well be running after me made me hail a taxi immediately, although I hadn’t a clue where to go, so I just said ‘hotel’, which sent him puttering off in the direction of the River Nile. I later thought how ironic it would have been if I’d hailed a taxi and Mr W had been the driver. Well, maybe ‘ironic’ isn’t quite the word.

“While by day, as I made various excursions, I
was regarded as a hooker”

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Latest Interiors guides you stylishly through the world of sofas

If you’re not sitting comfortably, then it may be time to invest in a new sofa. Don’t get up just yet though – not until you’ve read Latest Interiors’ indispensable guide to the season’s most sumptuous settees…

TriBeCa sofa £1816 - Design Studio, 56 Western Road, Hove 01273 206016

What sofa where?

There has been a real move back to comfort this season, as a ‘lifestyling’ ethos takes hold of interior design. We want our homes to be warm, welcoming and eco-friendly. So the first thing to think about when buying a sofa is whether you can salvage or update your existing piece with new seat cushions or covers. If it’s gone beyond changing covers or you just want to buy new, invest in a piece that suits the scale and style of your room. One large sofa will give more of a feeling of space than two smaller ones – if you need extra seating, go for a modular or corner design so that the lines remain unbroken.

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Andrew Kay gets into a pickle with his mobile

I have a friend who has had a mobile phone since the very first bricklike model and has kept them all, charger, packing and manual, ever since. It’s a sad obsession but maybe one day they will command a price as collectibles. My mobile changes every year but I have been loyal to the same company for nearly ten years and to the same dealership almost as long.

I go back every year, get good advice, they make sure my tariff matches my usage and deal with my queries. They also understand that a man who carries a high quality camera at all times does not need a widdly camera in his phone, or an MP3 player. Not that they come without, but they respect that I will not pay a premium for them.

“They could brand it the ‘codger phone’, I wouldn’t care, as long as it does the job”

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The Paul O’Grady Show’s Marc Abraham celebrates the return of some magnificent birds of prey to the local area

The Sussex Heights peregrine falcons are back – hooray!

Confused? Well if you’re interested in local wildlife, then there’s a real treat waiting for you online, as coverage of these stunning birds of prey is once again available for us all to witness via their nest-box webcam!

This unique ‘nestcam’ is already streaming live pictures from the nest box throughout the day – refreshed every minute – giving us a fascinating insight into the behaviour of these beautiful birds throughout their breeding season.

There’s video footage too. Check out mum and dad preparing their nest, then chatting and flirting with one another before any eggs appear; there’s even the actual tail feather-shaking moment when the fourth egg is being laid – available to watch from the comfort of your own home.

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