Positioned on a quiet street near Beulah Hill and Biggin Hill Wood in Crystal Palace is this wonderful three-bedroom house, designed and built by Wates, largely known for its collaboration with Austin Vernon & Partners on the acclaimed Dulwich Estate. The current owner has masterfully renovated the interior spaces with considered materials and a playful use of colour to celebrate the home’s mid-century origins. The expansive open-plan living spaces have an exceptional quality of light open onto a large, southwest-facing garden with flourishing planting and a sloped lawn. Included in the Sunday Times’s Best Place to Live in London 2022, the Crystal Palace Triangle is within walking distance.

The Tour

The house’s façade, typical of a Wates design, has contrasting red and white-painted brickwork punctuated with large windows and a pitched roof. It is set back from the road by an off-street parking area.

The front door opens to a light-filled living space. Occupying the front of the plan, the kitchen is fitted with pale grey cabinetry that complements the mushroom pink tiling underfoot, separating it from the rest of the open-plan living space. The units cleverly conceal a double door opening larder and floor-to-ceiling pull-out drawer.

A dining area and living space flows from here, with clear sightlines through the double doors at the rear, which retains a visual connection to the garden. Patinated oak flooring flows throughout the dual-aspect living room, while a neutral palette enhances the sense of volume and light. There is also a useful WC with deep green walls on this floor.

The original mahogany staircase, which has been stripped back and osmo treated, sits in front of a striking olive-green painted wall and leads to the first floor. On the upper level, there are two well-proportioned double bedrooms and an additional single bedroom, which can easily be configured as an office space. A contemporary family bathroom sits between, finished with white tiling and replete with matt black fixtures and fittings.

There is also a store room with electrical points, which can be used as a bike shed or utility room.

Outdoor Space

The living spaces open up onto a large, tiered garden, enclosed with original brick, black wooden fencing and mature Cypress trees, which create a natural backdrop at the rear and lovely aspect from the main bedroom. A gravelled section wraps around the southern aspect of the house with planters and large porcelain slabs that form a pathway from the sitting room to a side gate entrance to the garden.

A paved area ideal for alfresco dining looks onto a sweeping slope of lawn lined with flourishing garden beds and a timber shed for storage.

The Area

Wedgwood Way is a 20-minute walk to the centre of Crystal Palace, included in Lonely Planet’s “Greatest little-known neighbourhoods in the world” and Sunday Times’s Best Place to Live in London 2022. It is a vibrant area with award-winning restaurants and bars, thriving independent boutiques and an Everyman cinema occupying a carefully restored Art Deco building.

Crystal Palace has an abundance of cafes and restaurants, including Brown & Green, Four Boroughs, Palazzo, and the Affinity Brew Shop. The lake, maze, and open expanses of Crystal Palace Park are a local favourite; there are also many green spaces to choose from, including Westow Park, Norwood Park and Norwood Recreation Grounds. The weekly food market on Haynes Lane is a short walk away from fresh independent produce.

Excellent schools within the area include Rockmount Primary School, awarded Outstanding by Ofsted.

Crystal Palace station is a 30-minute walk away, running Overground trains to Canada Water in 20 minutes and Shoreditch High Street in 30 minutes. Gipsy Hill station is a 20-minute walk away with connections to London Bridge and London Victoria.

Council Tax Band: E

Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.