Ventnor Villas, HOVE, East Sussex, BN3

Having been sensitively converted; this beautiful, one-bedroom apartment has retained many of its original features and enjoys the generous proportions of the Victorian period. It is formed form the entire raised ground floor of a substantial villa, benefitting from sole use of a tranquil east facing rear garden.

With a sunny east to west orientation and a wealth of glazing, it is naturally light and airy throughout. Its graciously tall sash bay windows look out to greenery on both sides, making it is hard to believe the city centre is so close by. Ideal for commuters, Hove Station is an easy walk, and both the beach and the vibrant mix of fashionable shops, bars and restaurants of Church Road are just minutes away. You really are in the heart of Hove here, so this beautiful property is sure to attract professionals and investors alike.

In brief:

Style: raised ground floor flat in a Victorian villa
Type: 1 double bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 living/dining room, 1 kitchen
Location: Cliftonville Conservation Area
Floor Area: Please see floorplan
Outside: east facing rear garden and raised patio
Parking: Residents Permit Zone N
Council Tax Band: B

Why you’ll like it:
Ventnor Villas is a wide tree lined road running north from Church Road, flanked by substantial Victorian mansion houses. Built during the mid-19th Century and named after a town in Queen Victoria’s most favoured Isle of Wight, these houses were always intended to have an air of grandeur. While many have been converted into luxury apartments such as this, they continue to impress almost 150 years later.
Stepping up and through a grand portico entrance in the shade of a tropical palm tree, you enter the apartment from a neat communal hallway shared with two upper floor apartments. Once inside, the scale of the apartment becomes apparent as the ceiling is wonderfully high and light from the east streams in through timber framed French doors in the kitchen. The hallway is wide and welcoming, allowing plenty of space to hang coats and organise shoes.

Spanning the front of the building with a wide box bay window, the living room is an elegant space with ample room for formal dining within the bay and relaxed seating around the open fire, bringing warmth and atmosphere to wintery evenings. Period features can be found throughout the room, from classic cornicing and deep skirtings to the grand marble mantel piece around the cast iron fireplace. Facing west, the light is warm, filtering in during the afternoon and early evening, diffused by palm fronds in the front garden.

Enjoying direct access to the garden, the kitchen is ideally placed for alfresco dining, cooking and entertaining. It is a galley kitchen which has been well-designed for the space to include plenty of storage alongside an integrated oven, hob and dishwasher, leaving space for a tall fridge freezer and a washing machine.

Stepping out onto the decking, you can sit elevated in the morning sunshine during summer for coffee and breakfast at the weekend. Steps then lead down to the lawn which feels reminiscent of a sunken Italian garden with high trellis walls festooned with climbing plants, fringed with elm trees and lush green planting to provide shape, colour and dappled shade. It is a generous garden for a city space, where you could add a home office without compromising the garden.

Returning to the house, the bedroom shares the same high ceilings and easterly aspect as the kitchen, looking out over the peaceful garden. While there is ample space in here for a king size bed and several pieces of bedroom furniture, a clothes rail and useful shelving have also been built into the alcove by the bed. Nearby, the bathroom is smart with glossy black floorboards against a gleaming white bath suite which has a traditional style rainfall shower over it.

This generous flat is perfectly situated in a popular area with lots of local shops and the beach nearby. The city centre shopping districts and parks are also within easy reach, and this house also offers easy access to Hove Station and the A23 which have direct and fast links to the airports and London.