Freddie Mercury’s London home listings now on sale

real estate

by Mary K. Jacob

Garden Lodge, the cherished former home of the late Queen icon Freddie Mercury, has hit the market for the first time since his death in 1991 with offers exceeding $38 million, according to a release from the listing brokerage. .

News of the deal, headed by Knight Frank, was first reported by Bloomberg.

Mercury bequeathed the London property, which he had owned since the 1980s, to his friend and ex-fiancée Mary Austin. Over the next 30 years, Austin lovingly preserved her home and its contents, keeping them in nearly the same condition as Mercury had kept them. This means that today’s buyers can get their hands on a seemingly untouched time capsule and a piece of great history associated with one of music’s biggest names.

“This house was a box of the most glorious memories because it was filled with so much love and warmth.”
Every room,” Austin said in a statement. “It’s been so much fun living here and I have so many great memories. Now that it’s empty, I go back to the feeling I had when I first saw it.”

“Ever since Freddie and I stepped through those legendary green doors, it has been a place of peace, a true artist’s home. Now it’s time to pass that peace on to the next generation.”

Located in the wealthy enclave of Kensington, this residence served as a sanctuary for the late star, born Farrokh Bulsara. He died at age 45 from AIDS-related complications.

Built in Neo-Georgian architecture, this mansion dates back to 1907.

Mercury stumbled across Garden Lodge in 1980 and bought it on the spot.

Excited by the prospect of redesigning his home, he commissioned interior architect and designer Robin Moore Ehde to bring his vision to life. This creative collaboration, under Mercury’s artistic leadership, yielded remarkable results.

Inside the house, there is a grand yet comfortable atmosphere, which Mercury affectionately refers to as a “country house in the heart of London.”

The heart of the house is the two-storey reception room, which was originally used as an artist’s studio for the house’s original owners. Here was the grand piano on which Freddie composed his masterpiece, Bohemian Rhapsody, and was surrounded by his own artwork.

The home was designed with entertaining in mind, with features such as a redesigned Bard’s Gallery (now a bar and music center) overlooking the main room and gardens.

Everywhere, from the intimate dining room with citrus yellow walls to the Japanese living room with exquisite French doors, are reminders of Freddie’s vibrant personality and eclectic vision.

The latter room opens into a beautiful Japanese garden featuring spring-blooming magnolia trees and an Asian-style water feature.

The main suite on the second floor includes a dramatic dressing room adorned with floor-to-ceiling mirrors that housed Mercury’s extensive wardrobe and stage costumes.

Last year, Austin decided to part with the castle tower and held a series of sales at Sotheby’s titled “Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own,” showcasing his collection and marking the end of an era. .

The event attracted more than 140,000 visitors from around the world and received 41,800 bids for 1,406 lots from buyers in the UK, North America, Germany, Italy, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and 50 other countries. Ta.

Paddy Dolling, Global Head of Prime Sales and Co-Head of Knight Frank’s Private Office, added: of the icon.

“We expect the exceptional provenance of this property, which has been carefully preserved with love and respect over the past 30 years, to be incredibly attractive to buyers from around the world. Despite its heritage, it is very rare for an unmodernized house of this scale, surrounded by such beautiful mature gardens, to come on the market, so it is definitely an exciting addition for prospective buyers. This is the outlook.”