This stunning, beautifully renovated three-bedroom Victorian conversion blends period details with Scandinavian styling and a clever layout, while natural materials and warm tones throughout the spacious interior create a sense of comfort and calm. The flat also includes an amazing kitchen extension, a basement cinema or exercise space, and a mature south-facing garden.

With light flow, space, and nature firmly in mind, the current architect owners undertook a complete remodel in 2020, extending the kitchen and including a strategically placed internal courtyard.

Energy efficiency was key to this process, so they added an insulated slab in the open-plan living space and an insulated roof in the new rear extension, fitted new double/triple-glazed windows, a new boiler, underfloor heating, and radiators with smart Tado thermostats. The flat was also rewired with new LED lights, switches, and sockets, while a mains booster pump was installed to ensure consistent water pressure.

On a tree-lined residential street looking out over leafy Plashet Park, the flat lies behind a low wall with a foliage hedge and a pair of handsome trees. An original Victorian tiled path leads to an elegant recessed part-glazed dove-grey timber front door with chrome furniture framed by a traditional brickwork exterior featuring original stone lintels, sills and columns to the double box bay window.

Step through into a communal entranceway lit by a wide transom window before entering your private front door. Pale-toned wide-plank engineered wood flooring begins in your hallway and flows through a restored original panelled door into the primary double bedroom on your right.

Bathed in light from the tall box bay with triple-glazed sash windows (fitted with bespoke ‘bottom-up’ blinds), the two-tone warm neutral paintwork on the walls and high ceiling gives the space a cosy, inviting feel. A restored original fireplace creates a lovely focal point, with a daisy-patterned tiled hearth, while bespoke alcove shelves and a bank of bespoke oak veneered wardrobes provide plenty of storage. There’s also a radiator and a pendant light fitting.

The peaceful second double bedroom is beyond, with grey-painted grey walls lit by full-height French doors that open to the courtyard. There is another original restored fireplace here, flanked by bespoke shelving and a side-facing double-glazed sash window with bespoke blind, alongside further custom-made oak-veneer double wardrobes and a column-style radiator.

Returning to the hallway, take a short flight of steps and open the full-height sliding pocket door (with acoustic seal) to the open-plan kitchen, living and dining room. The flooring changes here to beautiful Spanish hexagonal terracotta-style tiles warmed by piped underfloor heating and complemented by soft neutral paintwork.

As with all the fabulous joinery in the flat, the kitchen was bespoke – fitted in 2021 with custom plywood fronts and a slim-profile Duropal black worktop and upstand. The clever storage includes plenty of useful pan drawers and open shelving and houses integrated appliances, including a Liebherr fridge and separate freezer, a Miele dishwasher, a John Lewis oven, and an AEG induction hob with Miele extractor. An exposed brick splashback runs behind a one-and-a-half bowl sink fitted with a chrome mixer tap and food macerator, while a Dowsing & Reynolds Bubble chandelier light hangs over the dining area.

The whole space has an incredible indoors-outdoors feel, with the huge rear picture window framing wonderful views of the garden and Reynaers Hi-Finity aluminium sliding doors with an electronic locking system opening to the side courtyard.

This connection with nature is reflected in the tactile natural materials used in the living space – solid timber ceiling beams lead your eye to the light, while bespoke ply storage cubes form a window seat, and an exposed-brick chimney breast surrounds a newly reinstated fireplace with a slate hearth and fully functioning cast iron grate for winter evenings.

Other thoughtful details include new stainless-steel switches and sockets, two data points on either side of the room, and a cable connection under the fireplace for sound system installation.

As you move towards the rear, a door to your right leads to the family bathroom, a spa-like space lit by a large frosted window, with an Italian porcelain terrazzo-style tiled floor and matt neutral-toned glossy Spanish wall tiles.

There’s a large shower (with frameless glass screen) that can be filled and used as a bath, alongside a back-to-wall GSI toilet with a Geberit cistern and wall-hung sink, all with Grohe and Crosswater brassware. Electric underfloor heating runs underfoot, while bespoke ply cabinets with mirrored fronts keep things pleasingly streamlined.

A second acoustic-sealed sliding door from the living area leads to the third single bedroom, which doubles as a study thanks to custom-made floating shelves and a solid timber desk. The walls are drenched in cocooning De Nimes by Farrow & Ball, lit by the large double-glazed door to the garden.

A door off the main hallway opens to a staircase with a baton-style bannister down to the 430 sq. ft basement. Currently used as a cinema room with a pull-down projector screen, it would work equally well as a fantastic exercise space, yoga studio, den or playroom.

There is a WC (with sink and loo), a large bank of handy inbuilt storage, and a utility area, where grey cabinets pair with a charcoal worktop and steel sink with mixer tap. There is also a Miele washing machine and tumble drier, which could be included in the purchase.

Exposed beams run above the painted concrete floors. The walls have been lined with plywood with a ventilation gap to allow evaporation and avoid moisture build-up, while a positive input ventilation unit provides a constant fresh air supply. Other details include tongue-and-groove panelling, a large white column-style radiator, and stylish modern white track spotlights.

Outside, the landscaping was completed in 2022. The courtyard at the side has timber decking and planters with non-invasive bamboo and trellising for climbing plants, as well as a large timber storage unit for garden furniture and tools. A slate-chipping path connects it to the  south-facing garden, which extends to 102ft and enjoys the sun from early morning until late evening. The garden is officially shared but the owners say it’s currently used exclusively by them, as the upper flat does not have direct access.

Follow the grassy lawn to a planted section with wood chippings and gravel, dotted with an impressive array of mature plants, including Californian lilac, climbing and English roses, lavender, potentilla, Russian sage, Euphorbia wulfenii, peonies, Japanese quince, Thalictrum, Eryngium, Echinops, anemone, alliums, gladioli and verbena. Trees include holly, willow, fig, and strawberry trees, while an irrigation system with an adjustable timer ensures the garden is easily cared for in the summer months.

The slate chipping path continues to the rear, where you’ll find a fabulous play area with a timber climbing frame, swings, a slide, a bridge, and a separate storage shed.  

As part of the landscaping works, a drain was installed to divert water from the rear extension to a Naylor soakaway in the garden, ensuring there is no water build-up near the house, even with prolonged rainfall. A soil vent pipe with an access chamber was also installed, containing conduits connecting the rear of the garden to the main house, allowing easy underground connection for a potential garden studio in the future.

A NOTE FROM THE OWNERS

‘We designed this home to escape from busy everyday urban life, where we could find comfort and calm. The sense of inside-outside space makes you forget you are in London. We love sitting in the living room looking out at the garden and its wildlife visitors. In the summer, we let the garden go wild and hardly ever cut the grass, so the plants come right up to large windows. When we have visitors, we often open the sliding doors and let the children run wild while we enjoy a drink and a chat. Then, in the winter, we light the fire and enjoy the warmth of the flames.’

IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

The house overlooks Plashet Park, which features beautiful mature tree-lined walks, spring blossoms, crocuses, and daffodils. The park also has ample sports facilities, including tennis and basketball courts, cricket nets, outdoor exercise machines, summer water fountains, a large playground, and East London’s oldest bowls club.

In the corner of the park, you’ll find a local gem: Applecart Arts – a theatre, arts centre and licensed café hosting everything from comedy nights and yoga to music, pottery classes and children’s activities. The current owners are regular visitors and thoroughly recommend it for lunch or an evening drink.

Central Park Café is a short walk away and sells excellent homemade bread and pastries. The Denmark Arms, Red Lion and Boleyn Tavern pubs (recently named one of ‘Britain's prettiest’ after a £1.5m refurb) are around a 20-minute walk. East Ham is also famed for its excellent Indian and Sri Lankan food, with Taste of India (a favourite of the current owners) and Udaya and Vasantha Vilas vegetarian restaurants some of the most popular.

With a brand-new children's playground and splash park, West Ham Park is a 30-minute walk, or you can take a short bus ride to Wanstead Park with its bluebell woods and lakes, not to mention its riding school and stables. Nearby Wanstead Flats is also great for a running loop.

Transport-wise, East Ham Tube (District and Hammersmith & City lines) is just 5 minutes’ walk away. Reach Upton Park Tube (District line, Hammersmith & City) in 13 minutes or Manor Park (Elizabeth line) is a 24-minute walk for quick links to Heathrow, Paddington, and Tottenham Court Road. In addition, Woodgrange Park station (Overground) is a 20-minute walk away.

The area is home to several schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted, including Kensington Primary, just 12 minutes’ walk away, which won the Pearson Gold Award for Primary School of the Year in 2020; Shaftesbury Primary School (10 mins); and Essex Primary (20 mins). St Stephens Primary School (which also has a great day-care and nursery) is a 10-minute walk and was The Times state primary school of the year 2018.

Well-regarded secondaries nearby include the Ofsted Outstanding Plashet School for Girls, just 4 minutes on foot, and the Good-rated Little Ilford school, 20 minutes away. St Bonaventure's – an Outstanding Catholic school – and its equally well-rated sister, St Angela's Ursuline School –are both just over 20 minutes’ walk away.