Property of the Month: A Chiswick mansion with a star-studded history
Recently featured on BBC’s Crazy Rich Agents, The Vicarage in Chiswick is anything but puritan
Located on leafy Stamford Brook Road in Chiswick, don’t be surprised if this magnificent former vicarage seems familiar. Owned by multi-millionaire property developer Kam Babaee, you may recognise it from BBC’s Crazy Rich Agents, or from the social pages, with the grand family home having hosted Hollywood and royal A-listers in their droves, with famous visitors including Eva Longoria, Will.i.am and Antonio Banderas.
Listed for sale for £6.95m, the home’s 7,075 square feet of luxury living space are simultaneously bold and contemporary, but bursting with character and heritage-rich charm. Totalling seven bedrooms and four reception rooms, as well as a courtyard garden, lower ground floor leisure and entertainment space, and off-street parking, the property is ideal for parties, and can easily host up to 100 people.
Set on a vast plot on the corner of Stamford Brook Road and Flanchford Road, The Vicarage, designed by architect Chas J Gladman, was originally built in 1886 in a Victorian-era Gothic-revival style to serve the neighbouring church of St Mary’s. Having been converted into flats in 1984, Kam Babaee purchased the building in 1999 as a home for his family.
Architect and heritage specialist Anthony Mcguire, along with a team of artisans, undertook a meticulous refurbishment in 2003, enlarging and modernising the unique space, including the addition of a new lower ground floor.
The refurbishment highlighted the existing period features while adding new interior flourishes. The impressive ground-floor entrance hall has an original limestone fireplace bearing the date AD1886 as well as granite flooring, while off the hall is a Gothic-style staircase leading to the upper floors, where original stained-glass windows bathe the landings, stairwell and hall with natural light.
The centrepiece of the house is a magnificent 40ft long, light-flooded reception room, with oak parquet flooring, arched Gothic windows, an original Victorian fireplace, and an exquisite high ceiling, framed by ornate plasterwork. Here you’ll also find a bespoke cocktail bar by renowned furniture designer, Smallbone, whose team has also worked its magic throughout the house, from the kitchen to the bedrooms.
Indeed, the significant restoration project inspired Kam Babaee to launch his now-acclaimed property company K10 Group in 2008, with the property serving as a precursor to the lavish luxury heritage restorations and new-builds for which K10 is now renowned.
Babaee says: “With its sense of history, grand Victorian Gothic architecture and wonderful entertaining spaces The Vicarage is one of the finest residences in West London, its superb location in Chiswick, with its brilliant schools, made it the perfect place for a family home.”
The Vicarage is listed for £6,950,000, visit dexters.co.uk
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