When the team from Barratt Homes got in touch to tell us about their new apartments at Llandaff Grove, it soon became quite clear that they had something special that they wanted to share. Terms like ‘open plan living’, ‘ultimate bachelor pad’ and ‘city living’ have been so worn out over the years, however, that you could forgive us for not really ‘getting-it’ straight away.

So a plan was hatched. Over a few drinks we came up with a way of putting their treasured new apartments to the ultimate scrutiny. I was going to sleep, cook, chill-out, leave in a rush for work, sleep, wash, eat, be hungover and sleep some more in their fully decked-out luxury, two-bedroom show-apartment for a week. Cars are taken for test-drives, you can try on clothes before you buy, so for me and my girlfriend to give their most prestigious of apartments the once over seemed only natural…that is until I agreed to let S4C’s Wedi 3 team come and film us doing all this. Think less Big Brother, more MTV Cribs.

Three days into our new lives as young cosmopolitan, chic urbanites it dawned on me that the idea to invite the all-seeing eyes of the TV cameras could backfire on me. The unremorseful gaze of the cameras would put Barratt’s boasts about their apartments to the ultimate test. What I soon realised was that the apartment with its two sumptuous bedrooms; its modern and raring-to-go kitchen, its two gorgeous and luxurious (one was even en-suite) bathrooms would pass any test thrown at it with flying colours. My God, this place even has it’s own gym! It was no longer a question of whether this place is good enough for me; it was whether I was good enough for it?

How the hell am I ever going to pull off being a cosmopolitan, trendy, urbanite to the TV cameras? At bordering on twenty-seven I’m not even sure if I can still pass as young anymore. I could feel my inferiority complex kicking in good and proper. It was when the Wedi 3 crew rolled up inside the development’s impressive and fully automated wrought-iron gates that the answers seemed to come to me…

So what have you been up to?…Had a Sushi take-away, enjoyed a fine bottle of champagne, been to the theatre, and entertained dinner-guests. As the list went on it transpired that the apartment had grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, dusted down my rags and imparted some sophistication onto me. Swapping my current squalor for this utopia had made me realise that here, you’re not just purchasing four-walls, a clever location and superior interior design, you’re buying yourself a certain lifestyle.

Open plan kitchen/living rooms for me will always mean being able to make a sandwich and grab a beer without missing anything on the telly, but really it is the effortlessness of it all that should be emphasised. The location is the key factor: down the road is Le Gallois restaurant, one of the capital’s finest, along with the charming pubs of Pontcanna. Chapter Arts Centre is a short cultured walk away. In this frame of mind, the Wine Rack down the road becomes a wine cellar. It’s as if you grow into the apartment, into the lifestyle. Living here is fun; it feels decadent and leaves you feeling…sophisticated.

Prices start at £183,500 – £289,995. For more information call the Barratt’s sales team on 029 2054 4777; check out the websitewww.barratthomes.co.uk

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