A bright, material-driven renovation to this three-storey maisonette in Clapton has resulted in airy, light-filled spaces with generous proportions. The modern cook will delight at the prospect of the bespoke kitchen, with its handmade cabinetry, wooden countertops – perfect for kneading out that sourdough – terrazzo splashback and separate pantry. 

Outside, the west-facing garden has raised beds ready to take your culinary ambitions to the next level but, if you’re not a grow-your-own sort, nearby Chatsworth Road has a host of good pubs, restaurants and specialist grocers. 

Blenheim Court was the brainchild of Harley Sherlock, an architect who took objection to the concrete monoliths that were defining London’s post-war housing boom, instead advocating for low-rise buildings with ‘friendly’ features such as external hallways. This two-bedroom maisonette has an upside-down arrangement, with the living spaces making use of the bright, elevated position on the top floor, and spilling out onto a south-facing roof garden.

The nearby neighbourhoods of Crouch End and Stroud Green, with their concentration of shops, dependable pubs, restaurants and cultural offerings – from Alongside Arthouse to Picturehouse cinema – have village-like atmospheres.

The solid bare bones of this brick-faced block in between Clapton and Stoke Newington have been wonderfully amplified by the architect owner, who has installed a light, clean and contemporary-feeling update. You’ll find a modern bespoke kitchen and poured flooring throughout the ground floor, while upstairs wooden floorboards and a white-tiled, minimal bathroom set a restful tone. We especially love the light-filled living room, which leads out on to a private balcony via floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors – the site of many sunny suppers, we’re sure.

This maisonette is set over two floors of a 1920s building just down from the Chatsworth Road in Clapton (sensing a theme?). A clever renovation by a local firm of architects has found storage space just about everywhere – from niches in the central staircase to the old vaults below ground – and links up a series of rooms in an open-plan arrangement. The result is a feeling of generous spaciousness, and only the more so when the light pours from the large sash windows.

In a former artisan’s dwelling, first constructed in 1864 and now Grade II-listed, this apartment is a slice of the old East End – a simple cottage arranged around a communal garden being a typology once seen all over this part of London.

If the architecture speaks of a bygone east London, though, the modern renovation speaks of the area’s contemporary transformation into the city’s creative epicentre. The open-plan arrangement features pocket doors, a user-friendly kitchen and interior flourishes like moments of bold paint, set against a neutral scheme.