FORBES HOUSE, LONDON

Built for Mr and Mrs Sean O'Brien, this new brick-built house follows the scale and flavour of the elegant 18th and 19th Century houses overlooking Ham Common in SW London

It is enriched with two colours of brick, reconstituted stone, wide timber window surrounds and a heavily carved front door case by Dick Reed.

The five family and reception rooms at ground floor - drawing room, circular dining room, family-room/kitchen, children's' snug and study - open onto a generous garden at the back of the house.

On the first floor are four bedrooms and three bathrooms; in the attic, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a studio and roof terrace; in the basement, a billiard room, cinema and wine cellar. A secret spiral stair connects all four floors.

Two double garages, a pool house and an open-air swimming pool, adjoin the house. The garden with its fine mature trees is laid out to provide a variety of contrasting environments - an open lawn, a herb garden, a wilderness, and a lily pond.