GUIDE PRICE: £800,000--£850,000.

INTERNAL VIEWINGS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.

With restful, open views over Preston Valley at the front and an exotic, west facing oasis at the back which rises to catch the sun, this beautiful 5 bedroom Edwardian house blends period features with great contemporary design over an elegant 1894 sq. ft. (176.0m2) and offers options should you work from home. Just a 6 minute stroll to Preston Park Station’s direct trains to Gatwick and London, the Preston Park area has a top spot in The Sunday Times Best Places to Live Guide for its friendly communities where you are never far from fresh coffee or a croissant with local shops and cafés within a short stroll, and this exclusive property has good primary schools, both state and private, as well as a choice of parks and playgrounds within a 4 minute drive.

Sensitively modernised, including double glazing at the front, this spacious home is on the market for the first time in many years with grand proportions which remain unspoilt - and even the atmospheric hallway impresses decorated in heritage hues with access to a storeroom high enough to hang bikes. A double depth reception with a picture perfect vista allows guests to relax in a glamorous setting with rare privacy and opens to a patio in summer. At the back, an inviting kitchen diner is high end but family friendly with a separate shower room and utility area. Upstairs, the second shower room is chic, and four bedrooms are comfortable doubles ready for your move, the principal with stunning views. The 5th, single room, which also looks across the leafy valley, could be a peaceful nursery but is currently used as a home office.

The good school catchment area attracts growing families, and with Hove Park, Dyke Road Park and Preston Park’s cafés and playgrounds close by, group outings are easy. For people of any age, Withdean Sports Complex gym and running track are a 5 minute drive whilst close by but out of hearing Dyke Road, with bus routes, will take you to the vibrant 7 Dials, city centre and the sea, or to the National Park and A23/A27 in minutes.

Style Edwardian terraced house
Type 4 double bedrooms, 5th single bedroom/home office, 2 bathrooms, living dining room, kitchen breakfast room, utility, storeroom
Area Preston Park Area
Floor Area 1894 sq.ft.
Outside Space Front garden, west landscaped garden
Parking Permit Zone A
Council Tax Band E

Why you’ll like it:
Quiet and convenient with a café at one end of the street and a bistro pub for Sunday lunch opposite Preston Park Station around the corner, this is one of the most sought after areas of the city with local bus routes into or out of Brighton along Dyke Road, London Road or Shirley Drive for Hove, giving older children some independence. Pretty as a picture with roses around the door in the front garden, this Edwardian home is privately tucked up and away from a quiet street with plentiful permit parking – with no waiting list.

The Entrance Hall:
If it’s instant glamour that you’re after, an atmospheric hallway painted in the dramatic, heritage hues of Farrow & Ball introduces you to the design-led interiors with carefully sourced anaglyptic paper beneath the dado rail, period finials overhead and traditional tiling underfoot - which has a contemporary twist. Ahead, one door leads to a storeroom which runs along the side of the house to the garden with ample space for coats and a ceiling high enough for overhead bike racks, whilst another opens to a graceful, inner hall where a sweeping staircase has its original iron newel post and floorboards, stripped back to their former glory continue through into a double depth reception of classic beauty.

The Double Depth Reception:
Completely private – a rare asset this close to the city centre- two elegant receptions have been joined to create an inviting living dining room, where a broad bay to the east brings in plenty of sunshine as well as glorious, open views of the leafy Preston Valley and its park over the lower rooftops beneath, whilst in the dining area, which has a period fireplace with custom built shelving on each side, French doors open to a secluded patio offering versatile options. Swan neck coving still adorns a ceiling which soars to almost 3m (approx.) above your head where ceiling roses have been replaced and dimmer switches deliver ambient lighting, and a flame effect Gazco electric wood burner style fire in the living area could stay, subject to circumstance.

The Kitchen Breakfast Room and Utility/Cloakroom:
With ample room for a family table, the bright and spacious kitchen breakfast room is lined with big windows and has a family- friendly focus, a practical layout and a built in dresser which conceals the boiler. Tucked away from direct access to the garden it is child and pet secure every day, but also for parties. Streamlined units deliver sophisticated storage and the solid wood surfaces look great but are also very hardy. Well-planned, everything is to hand from a central gas hob, electric cooker and hood, there is plumbing for a dishwasher and designated space for a tall fridge freezer.

At the far end, a chic shower room is a classic black and white with natural light, high end finish and a utility area with space and power for both a washer and a dryer.

The Garden:
Sunny behind walls which are open to the south, this beautiful west facing garden is an exotic sanctuary, skilfully planted for all year interest as well as for privacy. Expertly landscaped with access from the ground floor and a bridge from the first floor landing, there is a quiet seating area by the guest bedroom and shallow, scented steps rise to a Mediterranean oasis where a mature fruiting vine screens diners from neighbours and the hot sun in high summer, whilst a large sun deck just above catches the evening sun– we’re told until about 6-7pm during summer.

The Guest Bedroom and Wet Room Shower:
On the first floor landing, the first of the double bedrooms is ideal for guests, an au pair or older children as it doesn’t share a wall with any other bedroom and has easy in/out access without disturbing the other bedrooms. Of dual aspect it is light and airy as French doors open to the garden with a brick lined seating area on the same level. Next door, the chic wet room was fitted about 2 years ago and has fashionable black fittings including the in the wet room style, dual head shower, there’s a sleek vanity below the hand basin which has a lit mirror and a shaving point above it, and there’s a warming rail for towels and underfloor heat for toes.

The Family Double Bedroom, Principal Bedroom and Home Office/Nursery:
With inspiring garden views and space for quiet study, the second double bedroom is simple but stylish, and ready for your move with twin double wardrobes already which have shelves in between. A calm refuge to return to, the principal bedroom spans 13’6 x 11’10 (4.08m x 3.6m) so there is plenty of space in which to unwind. With the restful proportions only a period home can deliver, a large bay window frames a vista which sweeps over the leafy valley by day to the distant glitter of the city by night, so it is also unusually private.

Past a spacious attic, the fifth bedroom at the top of the house stretches from east to west with 19’8 x 17’6 (6.01m x 5.33m) of floor space and under eave storage. Currently used as a gym, two large Velux in the front roofline bring in the morning sunshine and stunning views whilst at the back, a picture window looks over the lush garden.

Agent Says:
“Quiet but convenient for schools, parks and the city, this is a prestigious area where elegant Edwardian properties just a few minutes’ walk from Preston Park Station sell fast! This beautiful period home has everything - style, original features, big rooms offering options and a large, sunny garden.”

Owner’s secret:
“Although we are ready to embrace our next step, we shall miss our beautiful home which we loved making our own. When our children were little, they ran around the ground floor, but when it was time for me to cook or for homework, they could also be safe in the kitchen with me. As teenagers, they had their own space to entertain and bedrooms large enough for sleepovers, and in the summer, we spend most of the time in the garden which is very private, and big enough to not really notice if neighbours were also outside – although they are now longstanding friends! We have always enjoyed the beautiful period features of the house, particularly those in the hallways and fireplace in the dining area as well as the quietude inside where all the rooms are full of light, especially upstairs which is why we use the nursery as a home office. Although the street is quiet it is convenient for the city and the station, and you could walk children to the primary schools and there are buses to the secondary schools, which made all our busy schedules easier.”

Where it is:
Shops: Local convenience store and café 3 mins walk, Matlock Road 6 mins walk 1 by car, 7 Dials 5 mins by car, Queen’s Road 8 mins
Train Station: Preston Park is a 6 minute walk, Brighton 8-10 by cab
Seafront or Park: Dyke Road Park & Hove Park 3 mins drive, Preston Park 5-7, seafront 10-15
Closest Schools:
Primary: Stanford Infant, Stanford Junior, Cottesmore St Mary, Bilingual School
Secondary: Varndean, Dorothy Stringer, Cardinal Newmaqn
Sixth Form: Varndean, BHASVIC, Cardinal Newman, BIMM
Private: Windlesham School & Nursery, Lancing Prep, Brighton College, Brighton Girls

6 minutes’ walk to Preston Park Station with friendly local shops, cafés and bistro pubs this area has a lovely community feel and the nearby primary schools, state or private, are good. Tucked away from the crowds, this house is between Dyke Road’s Park with tennis courts, open air theatre, playground and café, Hove Park’s playground, fingerprint maze and playing fields and Preston Park’s velodrome, sports facilities, fun runs and football clubs. Local bus routes go along both Dyke Road and London Road (both out of hearing) to the South Downs National Park or the beach, and along Shirley Drive to Hove, and you can get to the whole of the city including the world class shopping, fashionable bars, lively arts venues and international restaurants of Queen’s Road, the picturesque cultural heart of the city as well as Hove’s Church Road easily. If you commute by car, both the A23 and A27 are easy to reach.