On Masterpiece Theatre billiards is played by dukes in dinner jackets. I’m not sure my clients in Essex Fells have hosted many dukes, but they wouldn’t feel out of place in this impressive billiards room. The interior design features walls covered in elaborate raised panels, painted using a strie technique, and coffered ceilings. The antique brass billiard table light above the table makes a suitably grand statement, and you can almost hear the strains of Cole Porter from a nearby piano. Of course the two-way gas fireplace and LCD TV bring us firmly into the comfort and convenience of the twenty-first century.Photo: MItchell Engelmeyer