Absolutely fabulous Fitzroy
Usually it is the hallowed pages of EG or some lesser property title where the benefit of top-notch office space is lauded. But that’s not good enough for Exemplar and Aviva.
Their Fitzroy Place scheme, W1, has been given the once-over by none other than Cosmopolitan.
The new offices of Estée Lauder have been described by the glossy as “like a HOTEL inside” and it says that “you can tell how nice it’s going to be inside from the lifts alone”.
And there’s more: “Whether it’s a vacancy for CEO or office cleaner, we’re applying.”
Rumours that Exemplar chief Dan Van Gelder is to write an agony aunt column for the title are unconfirmed.
You can read the full glowing report at http://bit.ly/esteeoffices
Red-tinted wallpaper
“Beauty” is one word you don’t often hear from politicians speaking about the housing crisis.
But it was no surprise to hear a controversial view from shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who famously brandished the Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong’s Little Red Book at George Osborne during a House of Commons debate.
“I am a socialist and I come from that socialist tradition which includes William Morris,” he said this week at a U+I breakfast entitled Building Great Places – The View from the Left.
He went on: “Aesthetics are important as well.”
Alas, those hoping for a prop – maybe a roll of Morris’s celebrated wallpaper – to be brandished in support of his argument were left disappointed.
“Having thrown around the red book a while ago, I’m not allowed any,” he said.
Cate strutts her stuff
From estate agent to fashion statement, Strutt & Parker was seen gracing the showbiz pages of the Daily Mail’s website this week when Hollywood starlet Cate Blanchett was papped carrying an S&P-branded shopping bag.
The blue-top tabloid deconstructed every aspect of the double Oscar winner’s appearance but said: “The nature of her trip to England is unclear.”
Given the bag, house-hunting, perhaps?
Either way, Diary reckons the agent must be tickled pink by the free exposure.
Nothing a hot toddy won’t cure
Fresher’s flu, Corfu cold, and now the MIPIM… malady.
It seems more than a few people suffered the effects of the cold and rain in the week following MIPIM, with EG’s offices no stranger to the sniffling and coughing brought on by the rain-soaked south of France.
But those under the weather were keen to stress that the various lurgies were not the result of late nights, drinking or general misbehaviour.
It was all the fault of the weather.
You’ve got to laugh
It’s that time of year for spoof news that will have your ribs tickled and your heads laughed off.
Apparently. This year’s efforts include an online resi agent launching an “extreme house-selling menu”.
Offering a semi-nude model (snigger) or marching band (chortle) to help promote your home, those wags at the House Shop sure know how to make April Fools of us all.
Have you seen any other (less obvious) pranks? Tweet and tell us at @EstatesGazette.
Have a look at House Shop’s effort at http://bit.ly/extremesale
