Fulham Road

The Grand Tour

The house is back from Fulham Road behind a low wall, evergreen shrubs and a mature oak tree. A tall gate opens to what appears like a secret garden, with a York stone terrace and a pretty magnolia tree, along with flowers and shrubs. Steps ascend to the main entrance porch, with tall Ionic columns and a black panelled front door with a leaded roundhead fanlight. Further steps descend from the garden to the lower-ground floor’s informal entrance; a pathway leads around the side of the house to the artist’s studio.

The main raised-ground-floor hallway has sisal carpet underfoot. An original plasterwork cornice frames the elevations both here and in the adjacent sitting room, which also has full-height shuttered casement windows overlooking the front garden. Forbes and Lomax unlacquered brass electric plates and cast-iron radiators have been throughout. From the hallway, a door is positioned behind the staircase; this leads to the artist’s studio complex, while the staircase also continues down to the lower-ground floor.

The capacious kitchen is set in the central part of the lower-ground floor’s 32-ft deep open-plan living space, a beautifully designed room with a dramatic double-height ceiling to the rear. The poured concrete floor is warmed by underfloor heating, and double-height roundhead Crittall-style windows frame views of the courtyard garden and artist’s studio to the rear.

Space for dining is nearest these windows, while the central part of the space is comprised of the kitchen with cabinetry supplied by Plain English, including a large island unit with a reclaimed mahogany laboratory worktop. Calacatta Viola marble is utilised as a surface for an additional run of floor cupboards, with a matching upstand and open shelf above. Appliances include a Smeg stainless steel range cooker, integrated pull-out fridge/freezer drawers and an integrated dishwasher, while the sink is inset into the island unit with Perrin and Rowe crosshead mixer taps. Further larder storage is concealed behind jib doors to the rear of the room. An additional informal seating area is set to the front of the floor’s plan, and there is a guest WC and lower-ground entrance lobby, for front external access.

The principal suite is on the first floor, with its sleeping quarters to the front of the plan. A dressing room and walk-in wardrobe sits adjacent, and the spacious en suite bathroom is to the rear, through wedding doors that separate the two spaces. The bathroom has French windows that open to a Juliet balcony with views of the neighbouring gardens and rooftops. It also has a Cast Iron Bath Company freestanding roll-top bath, nickel-plated brassware by Arcade and a sink set into a charming antique chest with marble atop; there is also additional storage in the side alcoves. The open shower area, concealed behind a wall, is encased in durable pale pink micro cement and has further brassware by Arcade.

The uppermost storey is home to two further bedrooms and a shared bathroom. Laundry facilities are located behind fitted cupboards on the spacious landing, with room for white goods. The loft is set in a large, hipped roof space; precedent has been set by neighbouring houses for further development to incorporate additional bedrooms, if required, subject to the usual local planning consents. This row of 10 houses, somewhat uniquely, do not form part of an RBKC conservation area.

The artist’s studio to the rear of the home forms independent quarters of sorts, with entry either from the main house or via independent external side access, with entrance to the hallway and kitchenette. Steps descend to a lower-ground-floor shower room, where an opening could be created to connect through the main house’s lower-ground-floor larder if required. The hallway from the entrance leads past the kitchenette and to the main space, a vast barrel-vaulted room with an exquisite strapwork plaster ceiling, some 26-ft deep and over 14-ft high. A huge window set into the north elevation frames views to the courtyard garden and main house, while the interior south wall is home to custom-built walnut bookcases with cupboards below. A large stone chimneypiece provides a centre point for the room, and gas supply is fitted for a fire, if required. Behind the fitted bookcases is a concealed and generously sized storage cupboard.

The Great Outdoors

The charming south-facing walled courtyard garden is enclosed and entirely private, accessible both from the lower-ground floor of the main house and the artists’ studio. Laid with York stone in a pretty pattern, the boundary wall also has willow screening above and a mature purple flowering wisteria provides a wonderful scent in springtime.

Out and About

Fulham Road is brilliantly positioned for all that Chelsea has to offer. The King’s Road, with its excellent selection of shops, restaurants and bars, is five minutes’ walk away. Sloane Square, the Royal Court Theatre and the Serpentine Gallery are nearby, along with Kensington Gardens, Battersea Park and Chelsea Physic Garden. Lots Road, famous for its weekly auctions of antique and contemporary items, is also moments away, as are the brilliant antique and interiors shops dotted along the western ends of King’s and Fulham Road.

Westfield Park is the most local park, a great place for a stroll and complete with a children’s playground. The beautiful Grade I-listed Brompton Cemetery is also close by, with its grand allées and high Victorian stone colonnades and monuments set within 39 acres of parkland. Nearby, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is held annually on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea on the Chelsea Embankment.

Sloane Square and South Kensington Underground stations run District, Circle and Piccadilly line services, and there are regular direct bus services to the West End. The A4 provides quick access by car to Heathrow Airport (approximately 30 minutes) and the South West of England.

Council Tax Band: H