81


When we buy or rent a home, we not only take possession of the property, but also of its views. If Sir Winston Churchill was right when he said “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us”, it follows that the perspective of the outer world as seen from that building will influence our inner thoughts. EM Forster’s A Room with a View, a novel that challenges narrow-minded Edwardian conventions, begins with two English travelling companions demanding a change of rooms at a Florence hotel because their room does not have a view of the river Arno they had been promised. When one of the travelling companions opens the bedroom window on her first morning in the new room it symbolises the fresh outlook on the world that she is to experience in the following weeks. “It was pleasant to fling wide the windows… to lean out


into sunshine with beautiful hills and trees and marble churches opposite, and, close below, Arno, gurgling against the embankment of the road,” wrote Forster. And it’s not only tourists who want rooms with views – so do many


homebuyers, some of whom will pay 50 per cent more for an abode that comes with an attractive vista than for a comparable property without one. The sea, mountains, olive groves, lakes, valleys and even golf courses are the types of view in demand. So too are views across city rooftops, of iconic urban landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, and of picturesque harbours, whether that be the glamorous, yacht-filled Dubai Marina or a tranquil Cornish fishing community. Aside from providing us with an opportunity to value beautiful surroundings,


SEPTEMBER 2016


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102