Spotlight on South-East London: listings for £500,000 and under to set your sights on
From the waterside delights of Deptford to the local-first feel of Dulwich, Crystal Palace’s community spirit to Camberwell’s gorgeous Georgian architecture – by way of Brockley, Blackheath and Borough, in all their vibrant variation – there isn’t much south-east London doesn’t deliver on. With its buzzy high streets and huge open green spaces, it’s long been a top spot for those seeking a more dialled-down version of urban living, but thanks to its abundance of inter- and post-war architecture, as well as plenty of ambitious new-builds, it remains perennially popular with you, dear readers. It helps that there’s something here for smaller London budgets too – as this crop of lovely listings proves.
Ruskin Park House X, Champion Hill, London SE5
This is the 10th flat in the 1930s Camberwell block designed by Alexander Stuart Gray and William Watkins we’ve brought on – testament to the lasting appeal of this place. While, in the words of Gray, the building was very much conceived in “the style of the day”, it stands as convincing evidence that good design won’t age.
In this ground-floor flat, the architects’ original “modernistic” lines and bow windows have been married with contemporary touches to lend the place a polished air. When our appraisals specialist Zoe Anderson first saw it, she was especially taken by the bathroom. “I adore how the current owner has incorporated the original buttercup-yellow tiles, complete with in-built soap holder, into a bolder design using a matt-black Marmoleum floor,” she says, proving that simple, sensitive updates can make even a 90-year-old appear to be in the first flush of youth.
Revelon Road, London SE4
Walk past this one-bedroom house on Brockley’s Revelon Road and you might just miss it – and that’s the joy. Blanketed in creeping green, the façade of the house is almost invisible, making the interiors, designed by Maack Architects, all the more special when you do eventually see them. To reach them, you have to walk across a small courtyard – one of two on the triangular plot – which only serves to make everything here feel super secluded. In fact, this “peace and tranquility” is exactly what Hannah Downton, the sales advisor handling this listing, thinks people will really love about this place. Once inside, all is calm: pale oak, Corian, plywood and plenty of glass come together to create bright spaces of an airiness that belies the plot’s neat footprint. It’s unsurprising, really: such clever use of overlooked sites is Maack’s bread and butter.
Taymount Grange VI, Taymount Rise, London SE23
Conceived in the 1930s at a time of great social change, when paid domestic help was no longer a realistic prospect for most, George Bertram Carter’s Taymount Grange in Forest Hill was seen as the answer to modern man’s (and woman’s) domestic needs, with a communal lounge and restaurant on the ground floor, swimming pool, tennis courts and putting green.
While these amenities have now sadly gone, the building’s Art Deco fabric remains intact – evidenced in this ground-floor one-bedroom apartment. Making the most of the huge Crittall windows, rooms have been painted bright white, and the original floorboards – kept in admirable condition – lend warmth and texture. The 1930s radiators (of the type many renovators pay good money for) have been similarly looked after. But in spite of its historic nods, you need no expect interwar privations here, as one look at that beautifully tiled bathroom or brand-new kitchen will reveal…
Taymount Grange VII, Taymount Rise, London SE23
Happily, this apartment – also with one bedroom, also on the ground floor – gives us even more space to wax lyrical about the wonders of Taymount Grange. Have you noticed, for instance, the way the windows have been painted mint green outside? Or the gleaming brass banister in the communal stair hall?
Inside the flat, the visual treats continue. Decorated with a marginally more maximalist touch than the apartment above, there’s a richness to the spaces here. We’re particularly taken by the crimson of the bathroom’s marble surfaces and tongue-and-groove (not to mention to the cork floor), while the hall’s wallpaper – an extraordinary Pierre Frey print – gets full marks from us. In fact, it all does.
