The super-prime landmark has been restored for the 21st century high life.
It’s one of London’s most desirable addresses: and yet also one of its most discreet. One Palace Green, overlooking Kensington Palace Gardens, was originally completed in 1870 for George Howard, the 9th Earl of Carlisle, and a celebrated landscape painter and patron of the Pre-Raphaelites.
Luxury London and Monaco-based property company REDD, co-led by Jacopo Marzocco and Russell Smithers, are behind the project. Under their direction, the Grade II* Listed mansion is now a prize collection of private residences with a standalone triplex coach house.
The mansion was converted into apartments by The Crown Estate in 1957, and acquired in abandoned condition by REDD. Its original interiors were shaped by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, the richness of their work becoming apparent during the five-year project. In the ground and lower-ground floor duplex apartment (which boasts over 4,500 square feet), the dining room has been sensationally restored, bringing Morris’s decorated ceiling and gilded passages from The Earthly Paradise back to life. The celebrated Burne-Jones Cupid and Psyche frieze, which accompanied it, is now held in a museum collection.
At the top of the building, George Howard’s original studio has been transformed into a spectacular living room with an astonishing 4.5m ceiling height. Martin Kemp Design led the interiors, balancing the unique historical character with contemporary craftsmanship, bespoke detailing and modern technology. “The finest heritage projects don’t preserve buildings as museum pieces: they allow them to evolve with sensitivity and integrity, so that another generation can enjoy them in ways that are relevant to modern life,” explains the eponymous Kemp.
Contemporary heating and cooling systems, meanwhile, are concealed within bespoke cabinetry, whilst original plaster mouldings and timber panelling bring a sense of fresh grandeur when complemented by chalky heritage paint colours, richly veined natural stone and timber floors.
As REDD CEO Russell Smithers acknowledges, “One Palace Green has all the ingredients that are almost impossible to bring together in London: an extraordinary history, exceptional architecture and a position on Kensington Palace Gardens.” The ultra-private road with manned barriers, and neighbours including billionaire businessmen Len Blavatnik and Lakshmi Mittal (as well as the Sultan of Brunei and, of course, the royal residents of Kensington Palace) is famously one of London’s most secure, as well as sought-after, enclaves.
Prices start at £15 million for the individual residences: however, REDD’s meticulous evolution of One Palace Green could also present the rare opportunity to acquire all six residences together, creating a single private compound (a portfolio purchase might also qualify for a lower effective Stamp Duty Land Tax).
More than 150 years after its original design for one of the leading families of the day, an exciting new chapter has begun. Click here for enquiries.
