People in glass houses

Saturday on Gloucester road, I can’t find a bin to put my empty water bottle in but there’s a bin for knives. I didn’t know Kensington was the epicentre of knife crime. It is open house weekend in London. First stop: The Luxpod, a box room transformed into a luxury pad, apparently. It’s all mod cons but you couldn’t fit a cat in it, let alone swing the thing. The mews houses around the corner, which aren’t part of the open house look far more inviting, with their small village like streets. It’s great, you come to a city and look for a village feel.

At the mews house in Camden everything is sleek, white and there’s nothing out of place. It feels strange looking in a stranger’s wardrobe. There’s lots of light and space but somehow it doesn’t quite feel like home with everything shut behind doors. The bookcase that reaches to the ceiling is impressive though with its ladder that reaches the top shelves. Also the fridge, which opens like a drawer.

Our final stop is a three storey glass and concrete house up by Highgate cemetery. The concrete steps between the floors make you long for painted walls and carpet, something soft, but the kitchen at the top with its remote controlled ceiling that rolls back to let in the open air is tremendous.

We head towards Pimlico, the water bottle still in my hand.