Dominic Hourd, 52, lives with his partner, ticket broker Annuar Aziz, 35, in Belsize Park, where they’re keeping an eye on house prices to see when to buy their own place.
In the meantime, they have made the one-bed flat they rent a homage to their favourite painter, David Hockney – Dominic even works as a host at King’s Cross arts venue Lightroom, venue for the artist’s new show Bigger & Closer.
He tells Metro why Belsize Park is the perfect place to be until they make the leap to become home-owners.
How did you end up in Belsize Park?
We both lost our jobs at the start of Covid and this meant we couldn’t continue renting our flat in Whitehall. Our neighbours were the Canadian ambassador and the prime minister. I relocated to Nottingham as my father’s health was deteriorating, and Annuar stayed with friends in London. A very long two years passed and in the summer of 2022, we started the search to find another flat so we could reunite.
How was flat hunting?
Frustrating. I would book a day of viewings in advance but by the time I stepped off the train at St Pancras from Nottingham, all of the places had been let. After several wasted trips, I booked a hotel for a week and did nothing but viewings. Eventually we found the flat we wanted, although we had to pay 12 months in advance to secure it.
What kind of property is it?
It’s a first-floor flat in a large Victorian building. There are nine flats in total. It’s in Belsize Park, an area we know well as we used to live in Primrose Hill. North London is preferable as it’s easier to go back and forth to Nottingham. We love the very large, south-facing bay windows – these not only let lots of light in but heat it up incredibly well and have saved us quite a bit on energy costs. Although we have yet to live here during the summer, I suspect blinds will need to be down most of the time, otherwise we will bake.
Although it’s classed as a one-bed flat, it has a huge storage room, which could be used as a spare room but it is currently home to half of my collection of David Hockney posters.
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How have you decorated it?
The interior is wholly designed around my passion for David Hockney, particularly using my collection of his vintage posters. Hockney’s colour palette automatically puts a smile on my face.
I have nearly 100 of his posters and most are displayed on the floor and can be swapped and moved around. I created an Instagram account last March called @davidhockneyposters. Within a year I had over 2,000 Hockney fans following me – it’s fascinating chatting to people all over the world who also love his work.
Did you speak to the landlord about making any changes to the flat?
One of the problems with renting is receiving the full deposit back, which is generally just over a full month’s rent – over £2,000 in our case. To prevent problems, I decided not to ask if we could put hooks here and there, but as I like my art on the floor, this isn’t a problem.
How much do you pay for the flatand bills?
We pay £1,800 a month. Council tax is £200 a month and electricity has been about £80 a month over the winter months. Luckily, I bought a one-bed flat in Nottingham many years ago, which I rent out. This additional income goes towards the rent for our flat.
What do you get for your money?
One large living area with an open kitchen and a small dining table in the corner, a good-sized bedroom with built-in wardrobes, and a contemporary bathroom with a lovely shower you don’t want to leave. It almost makes me late for work. And there’s the box room/storage room for my Hockneys.
How does the property feel to live in?
With Hockney images throughout, it feels a very happy and positive home. Plus, with swapping the posters around, there’s always a sense of ‘new’ in the flat. It will never feel stale or old.
What are your favourite elements?
As well as the posters, the two David Hockney ashtrays. Hockney is passionate about the right to smoke and hates bossiness, so has asked galleries he has worked with to make a limited-edition ashtray. The two I have are from the Royal Academy and Salts Mill in Yorkshire.
Why do you decide to rent?
Because we are unsure how much house prices are going to fall. We will hopefully buy in the next two years, but don’t believe house prices are going to shoot up any time soon, so have more time to save up a deposit. Renting doesn’t have many benefits but if something goes wrong, that’s one less expense.
What do you think of the area?
It’s very green and has lots of amazing cafés, our favourite being England’s Lane. We are working our way through the menu. It’s also very friendly. I am from Nottingham and used to chatting away to strangers. Luckily I can do this in the area without being frowned upon.
Any plans to move?
We plan to stay here until we buy. That will be a guessing game trying to judge when the market has hit the bottom.
@davidhockneyposters
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