NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

Home trends of the mega rich: Design and decor of the wealthy

By Anna Tyzack
Daily Telegraph UK·
20 Feb, 2020 08:55 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Gone are the days of blinged-out homes, as the rich welcome minimalism and tranquillity. Photo / Getty Images

Gone are the days of blinged-out homes, as the rich welcome minimalism and tranquillity. Photo / Getty Images

Beneath the games room of a £15 million ($30.4 million NZD) house in the UK's Hampstead is the concrete shell of a swimming pool that the current owners have never fully installed.

They had it built four years ago, at the same time as the basement gym, car showroom and cinema, in case a future buyer insisted on having somewhere to take a dip – a good call, given that around 400 mansions in London now have subterranean pools.

Yet there's a chance that this pool could remain permanently hidden beneath temporary flooring.

New analysis of UK council data by law firm Boodle Hatfield suggests that the trend for"iceberg" homes – those with lavish, mega-storey basement extensions that contain underground banqueting halls or car museums, and are often significantly larger than the actual house above ground – is on the wane. Applications for basement excavations in Westminster fell by 27 per cent last year – 99 in 2019, compared with 136 in 2018.

"Buyers are becoming less excited about amenities that require maintenance and can easily go wrong," says Marc Schneiderman of north London prime estate agents, Arlington Residential. "In some ambassadorial houses, there are plant rooms of more than 3,000 sq ft. You need a manager to run it."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

According to developer Mike Spink, whose clients are some of the wealthiest people in the world, when it comes to decor, the super rich's priorities are changing. "I'm seeing more restraint and common sense. The home is a place to recharge. My clients want tranquillity and things that work."

Spink mainly works on grand, period townhouses and, while he still builds palatial basements, he insists that they are in proportion to the size and scale of the house. A recent project in Pembridge Square, Notting Hill, had planning permission for a four-storey basement yet, he ended up developing just one level. "It's not about quantity of space any more," he says, "it's about quality."

What the super rich are really splashing out on.

View this post on Instagram

“This house may be a case study, but our vision for it was built around our family,” insists Kanye West of the otherworldly oasis he and wife @kimkardashian crafted alongside #AD100 designer @axelvervoordt. One might wonder about the challenges of raising four small children in such a pristine, cream-colored environment, but Kim and Kanye are quick to point out that the house is eminently kid-friendly. Above, the family is pictured in a room devoted exclusively to a gargantuan, creature-like soft sculpture fashioned by artist Isabel Rower. Asked whether the space is a playroom or an art installation, Kanye demurs: “Everything we do is an art installation *and* a playroom.” . Visit the link in our profile to take a tour of the home. Photo by @jackie_nickerson; text by @mayer.rus

A post shared by Architectural Digest (@archdigest) on Feb 3, 2020 at 2:12pm PST

Super security

This is, by far, the biggest focus of a super-wealthy homeowner today, according to Guy Bradshaw, head of London residential at UK Sotheby's International. Bradshaw recently had a buyer who would only consider properties with a wall out the front and bullet-proof glass.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The super-rich also like their mansions to have "winter access", adds Gorrell, a covered underground access point where they can enter the house discreetly by car. Full-time security staff who operate as doormen during the day have also become the norm, and with so much run by wireless network, homes must be fortified against cyber attack. "They need a separate networks for guests, door entry systems and cameras," Gorrell says. Thermal cameras are also replacing CCTV with virtual alarmed trip lights across boundaries.

State-of-the-art energy systems

Until recently, only one per cent of super-rich buyers enquire about a house's energy credentials, says Spink, but the attitude is changing. "No matter how much money you've got, you don't want to be throwing it away," agrees Gorrell, whose business is increasingly being commissioned to integrate renewable green systems into mega mansions. "If you've got five homes around the world, you're going to be looking at consumption. There's a growing moral conscience." Gorrell uses car battery technology to run heating and electrics via solar cells, and air source pumps that can extracts heat from outdoor air, even when it's -10C.

Scuba storage

Increasingly, basements are returning to their traditional usage: storage. In one of Spink's houses, he installed a Big Yellow-style storage corridor, with separate rooms for luggage, scuba equipment, riding kit and winter coats, alongside a safe room, with tables for sorting valuables. "It made packing so easy for their staff – they could go to each room and get out exactly what was needed," he says.

View this post on Instagram

"I'm fascinated by their design and history, but I also like cars that I can actually drive,” says real estate developer Rick Caruso. One highlight of his collection is a Fiat Eden Roc (above), one of only two ever made, that was designed by stylish Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli himself. To store and display his collection of automotive masterpieces, Caruso enlisted #AD100 designer @danfinkstudio to craft an 8,000-square-foot personal office–cum–garage. To soften the hard edge of the industrial structure, Fink started playfully layering in materials that would reference the idea of a garage, but “express it in a dressier way.” . Visit the link in our profile to see more of the space. Photo by @trevortondro; text by @shaxriegler; styled by @amykchin

A post shared by Architectural Digest (@archdigest) on Jan 28, 2020 at 10:58am PST

Simpler tech

In the past, super-rich buyers were turned off homes that didn't have complicated lighting systems, but now simple is best. "I had a client recently who was closing the curtains whenever he pressed the light switch," Schneiderman says, "it was driving him mad." The lighting, heating and sound systems that Gorrell installs in super-rich homes are operated by no more than four intuitive single-press switches.

"These are the world's most sophisticated electronics hidden behind a beautiful and incredibly simple interface," he says. "And speakers are plastered into walls and ceilings, with music 'pushed' into around the house from your smartphone."

Serveries

Along with a designer kitchen, with two islands (one for the chef, and one for you to sit with a glass of champagne), super-mansions increasingly have a smaller, more functional, hidden kitchen, away from the living space, where the chef and kitchen staff can get on with their prep. "It ensures the food has a more seamless appearance," Gorrell says.

The entertaining space is also now a cross between a dining room and a sitting room, with furniture designed for relaxing over long periods, while being served tapas-style dishes.

The gym suite

Not just one gym, but a series of light-filled studios with sprung floors, dedicated to free weights, Pilates, techno gym, yoga and meditation – some even have beauty treatment rooms and hairdressing salons and Formula 1 car simulators. Surge pools and snow caves, which produce real snow for muscle recovery, are also popular as well as saunas and whirlpools.

No bling zones

Gold, marble and diamante finishes are being replaced by calm, understated, tasteful interiors. "We live in an age of information overload so buyers want their homes to be a calming, relaxing space without too many images, buttons and colours," Gorrell says.

View this post on Instagram

#AD100 designer @axelvervoordt describes the process of reimagining @kimkardashian and Kanye West’s California estate in terms of distillation. “We didn’t talk about decoration but a kind of philosophy about how we live now and how we will live in the future. We changed the house by purifying it, and we kept pushing to make it purer and purer,” the designer explains.” The furnishings, kept to a bare minimum, consist mainly of Vervoordt’s characteristically subtle designs accompanied by sympathetic creations by the likes of Jean Royère and Pierre Jeanneret. Click the link in our profile to see more of the home. Photo by @jackie_nickerson; text by @mayer.rus

A post shared by Architectural Digest (@archdigest) on Feb 12, 2020 at 3:02pm PST

Instead, top architects are focusing on simple, bespoke features – a sculpted staircase, for example, or a nine-metre aquarium – and creating bedroom suites with dressing rooms and bathrooms for each family member. Pools and car museums are a sideshow, Spink says.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Lifestyle

No more crying in the kitchen: 'Tearless' onions launch in NZ - at a cost

07 Jul 06:27 AM
Premium
Lifestyle

My weird week on a Government-prescribed ‘perfect diet’

07 Jul 06:00 AM
Premium
Lifestyle

What makes someone cool? These six traits it seems

07 Jul 01:08 AM

Sponsored: Get your kids involved in your reno

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

No more crying in the kitchen: 'Tearless' onions launch in NZ - at a cost

No more crying in the kitchen: 'Tearless' onions launch in NZ - at a cost

07 Jul 06:27 AM

Tearless onions are now being grown in Auckland and sold nationwide.

Premium
My weird week on a Government-prescribed ‘perfect diet’

My weird week on a Government-prescribed ‘perfect diet’

07 Jul 06:00 AM
Premium
What makes someone cool? These six traits it seems

What makes someone cool? These six traits it seems

07 Jul 01:08 AM
Premium
I thought my stitch was from over-exercising. It turned out to be cancer

I thought my stitch was from over-exercising. It turned out to be cancer

07 Jul 12:25 AM
Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP