Lockdown highlighted even more the importance of outdoor spaces, especially in the capital where a private garden can feel like the ultimate luxury.
This cache of London properties come with a wide spectrum of outdoor spaces, from manicured grounds, to walled gardens and courtyard cobbles – and a few small but special outside corners that could make an excellent spring project…
Endymion Road, London N4
2 bedrooms; 893 sq ft; £749,950 via Mr & Mrs Clarke
A rugged Corten steel door leads into this ground floor garden flat, designed by husband-and-wife duo Studio Hallett Ike in Harringay. The couple gently refurbished the Victorian property, retaining its original proportions and period details, such as cornicing, while also adding a minimalist Japandi feel to its rooms.
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Douglas fir joinery and steel worksurfaces have been installed and original floorboards sanded back to reveal their grain. A garden extension has been built at the rear and clad in charred English larch, and floor-to-ceiling glass peels back to open the dining space up to the enclosed garden and patio at the rear, planted with ferns and greenery, and fitted with raised seating.
Templar Street, London SE5
5 bedrooms; 4,700 sq ft; £3.275m via The Modern House
Gallery-like proportions are hidden behind the double-fronted redbrick Victorian facade of this five-bedroom Camberwell property in south London. It has undergone a top-to-toe makeover that’s also extended the rear via glass volumes to create 4,700 sq ft of living space, including a two-bedroom lower-ground-floor apartment.
Floor-to-ceiling glass walls dissolve the division between the fern-planted back garden and the kitchen and dining room at the rear. The living room, bedrooms and reception rooms meanwhile are a mix of Victorian and modern minimalist styles, with period fireplaces and details juxtaposing white walls, colourful Plume sofas by Ligne Roset and eclectic art installations.
St George’s Road, London TW1
4 bedrooms; 2,150 sq ft; £2m via The Modern House
TDO Architecture designed this four-bedroom home in 2019 to blend with the architectural fabric of St Margaret’s Estate Conservation Area, and the Trust’s 12 acres of gardens, lawns and tennis courts. The new-build is located behind a courtyard garden and occupies the site of a former coach house. Living spaces are set across three levels and use a material palette of poured concrete floors, Crittal-style glass, walnut, marble and bespoke joinery throughout.
While the 2,150 sq ft comes with its own private garden, it’s really the Estate’s shared spaces that are the big draw at this house – the 19th-century grounds are a lush oasis that feels a million miles from the bustle of the city.
St Marks Road, London W10
6 bedrooms; 3,966 sq ft; 4.95m via Domus Nova
This six-bedroom North Kensington property isn’t short on space – rooms are staggered across five floors, including a vaulted attic room on the top floor that could be used as a home studio.
The ground floor kitchen and reception room open onto the south-west facing walled garden, which is planted with mature trees and a long lawn, and has a relatively simple layout that’s easy to care for, though the more ambitious gardener could let their imagination run wild with further landscaping.
Upcerne Road, London SW10
3 bedrooms; 1,600 sq ft; £1.875m via The Modern House
Old meets new at this three-bedroom Chelsea property, close to the River Thames, which has been renovated by its current owner with new and reclaimed materials and features a striking green facade. Interiors blur rustic French and English influences, with century-old hexagonal floor tiles, timber-clad ceilings, fabric wallpapers and herringbone parquet running underfoot.
1950s train luggage racks, butchers blocks and marble slabs have been repurposed in the kitchen which overlooks the private paved garden. Admittedly, it’s very much on the small size but manages to imbue a sense of tranquillity thanks to its zen-like rocks and planting.
Chester Road, London N17
1 bedroom; 1,100 sq ft; £670,000 via The Modern House
Not all gardens are created equal, though this cute courtyard garden shows that it’s not all about the square footage. It belongs to an Edwardian building that underwent a dramatic conversion 1980s in the 1980s that converted its first floor into a sky-lit, light-filled studio.
French doors open onto the landscaped south-facing garden where a brick pathway leads under an arched pergola with and planted borders. Pots and planters are movable and are low maintenance, and it’s easy to imagine soaking up the sun with a cup of coffee and a newspaper in hand.
