Wonka Approved: Check Out This Home Inside Harrods’ Old Chocolate Factory

The jury is still out on whether Wonkacore will replace Barbie fever, but it’s difficult to deny the childlike appeal of a chocolate factory. This was certainly true for the buyers of an £18 million apartment inside the old Harrods depository. Read on for the details…

Wonka Approved: Check Out This Home Inside Harrods’ Old Chocolate Factory

Image: Beauchamp Estates

Upon first glance, this duplex apartment doesn’t exactly scream Wonka. With six bedrooms, three reception rooms, a luxury Poggenpohl kitchen and a breakfast terrace, it’s the epitome of sumptuous modern living – and you might never know that it was once a chocolate factory.

The apartment occupies the former bakery and chocolate factory in the Harrods Depository, which stands directly adjacent to the Harrods department store in Trevor Square, Knightsbridge. The luxury chocolates, easter eggs, cakes and pastries sold in the Harrods store were once made in the depository, and there was even an underground tunnel system connecting the two sites which allowed confectionery to be discreetly transported into Harrods without disrupting shoppers on the Brompton Road.

Image: Beauchamp Estates

However, the building was converted into super-luxury apartments in 2002, and it now boasts a landscaped private garden, a covered parking complex and hotel-style entrance foyers on the ground floor with 24-hour concierge and security services. With its brick and terracotta façade, arched windows and ornate detailing, the former depository looks almost identical to Harrods itself – and this particular apartment was recently sold to a family who, while not in fact enthralled by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, were determined to live as close to Harrods as possible. 

Image: Beauchamp Estates

You really can’t get much closer to the famous department store, and you can’t get much more luxurious, either. Super-prime design specialists Candy & Candy have dressed every room with chic contemporary furniture, finished in a colour palette of cream and taupe with striking black accents. Spanning more than 6,000 square feet of space, this really is a sprawling home,  and the star of the show is the palatial principal suite, which encompasses twin ensuite bathrooms and two walk-in dressing rooms. It’s a magnificent home with a history that Wonka himself would be proud of.

Image: Beauchamp Estates

Sold by Beauchamp Estates. beauchamp.com