Mention "the strip" and you'll likely conjure up mental images of a blingy, neon-bright boulevard - Las Vegas-style - but "the Strip" is also the local moniker for an urbane thoroughfare in London's hippest neighbourhood, Notting Hill Gate.
Its real name is Westbourne Grove and these days it's festooned with smart shops and restaurants and opulent houses. Attracted by the edgy location and elegant architecture, the glitterati have made their homes in and around the area. It's not uncommon to rub shoulders with rock stars buying a baguette or flicking through the clothing racks in the upmarket boutiques.
However, for those with an eye for New Zealand's native flora there is a surprise in store. A short walk past Bill Granger's Australian-style eatery are two New Zealand cabbage trees in the front garden of a graceful grey Georgian house. As you might expect, it's the home of a New Zealander - international model Angela Dunn who, with her English husband Colin Radcliffe, an architectural and interior designer, has recently renovated this landmark building. (Angela and Colin's previous home in London's Lancaster Gate featured in
NZ House & Garden's February 2007 issue.)
Built in 1760 as a rectory for the local church, the house was turned into nine poky flats sometime in the 1960s. Angela and Colin have restored it in their signature style, creating a spacious, light and airy family home for themselves and their 10-year-old son Maximus. A familiar figure around Notting Hill, usually kitted out in casually stylish jeans and boots, Angela had had her eye on the house for some years. "We have always lived in the neighbourhood, but this is one of my favourite streets.
"We were very conscious of the house's origins, so we were keen to retain its integrity and reinstate some of the classic values, but it had to be completely modernised to make it liveable."
For the full story pick up a copy of the June issue, on sale May 20.
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