Flats for the young, free and single
Flat 1, 30A Robert Street, Harrogate - �145,000 with Myrings, 01423 566400.
By John Grainger, Property editor
There’s something about the bachelor pad that sounds a little dated.
In fact, everything about it sounds dated. After all, an unmarried man is just an unmarried man nowadays; the term “bachelor” is almost as obsolete as “spinster”.
More importantly, young women are now as likely to have their own flat as young men, or even more so.
And yet the term “bachelor pad” survives, perhaps because it’s so heavily loaded with the glamour implied by a commitment-free lifestyle.
According to Wikipedia, the bachelor pad became “a symbol of the 1950s cosmopolitan male”, and “reflected his awareness of culture and the arts, while at the same time [acting] as a lure for potential female visitors”.
A typical “pad” included a bar, artwork, minimal décor and a stereo system.
Things have moved on since the 1950s, of course, but whether for a man or a woman, the principle of the bachelor pad remains the same: it’s a smart apartment for a single person.
The following four one-bedroom flats all fit this bill and all are currently for sale in Harrogate.
Flat 1, 30A Robert Street (main pic) is a fine example of the genre. The largest of the four, this ground-floor flat is on a quiet backstreet just a short amble away from the town centre and the Stray.
If you squint a little, it even has something of the superhero’s urban lair about it – fairly unprepossessing from the outside, but impressive once you’re across the threshold.
It exudes all the contemporary chic and open-plan informality you’d expect of a true bachelor pad, and even has a wider-than-average integral garage with remote-controlled door – perfect for the bachelor-mobile. Not far away, flat 3, 5 Church Square (pictured, top) is a first-floor apartment in High Harrogate.
More elegant than some other apartments, this property even has a Juliet balcony and gorgeous Stray views.
It also has its fair share of chic extras, such as ample spotlighting and a shower-room with de-misting mirror and radio speakers built into the ceiling.
Flat 1, 30 Belmont Road (pictured, middle) is a garden flat just off Cold Bath Road. Unlike the other flats, it has private front and rear entrances, as well as sole use of the rear courtyard garden.
The most affordable of the four properties, this one is arguably also the winner when it comes to cosiness, as it has its own brick fireplace with log-burning stove.
Finally, 12 Harrogate House (pictured, bottom) is a superb apartment on the fifth floor of Parliament Street’s tallest building.
Glamorous in its loftiness, its height gives it enviable views over Harrogate and its central location gives it easy access to the cultural attractions, bars and clubs of of Low Harrogate.
It has a communal entrance area with entryphone system, stairs and lift.
With stripped wood floors, spotlights and slimline radiators, it all looks suitably stylish, and an added draw may be the downstairs neighbour; the commercial unit at street-level is set to be converted into one of Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurants.
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Sunday 26 May 2013
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