Sunderland Road II, London SE23

This exceptional six-bedroom detached house lies on a quiet, tree-lined street close to the centre of Forest Hill, south-east London. A bold and witty design by 2LG Studio takes custom intervention to a new level across its 3,500 sq ft plan, reviving and reimagining hitherto fading Edwardian charm with their characteristic use of colour and exemplary attention to detail.

The Tour

The house is set back from the street behind high hedging and a large driveway with space for several vehicles. The front door enters at the centre of the double-fronted façade, although there is also convenient access at the side for direct entry through the boot room and utility room.

A wide entrance hall splits the plan with reception rooms to the left and right. Hand-printed custom wallpaper by Custhom begins here and continues through the hallways and stairs throughout the house, working in wonderful contrast to the ornate period features of restored cornicing and ceiling roses.

Wide Douglas fir floorboards extend across the house, grounding the playful patterns and palette spectrum with a neutral, refined materiality. The sitting room to the right is arranged as a sophisticated, grown-ups room with a stunning burgundy marble fire surround and a log-burning stove.

Opposite - both literally and figuratively - is a double reception generously given to an incredible playroom, with a custom-made playhouse and slide, play and study areas and some beautifully fabricated bespoke furniture. This room has direct access to the garden through Crittall-style doors. In both receptions, a clever datum is established in the use of colour for ceilings and walls above the dado line: calamine in the sitting room and an uplifting sky blue in the playroom.

Beyond the entrance hall, a Crittall-style door with reeded glass leads into the extended portion of the house. Here, an open-plan kitchen, dining room and living space merges with the external terrace and lawn garden through swathes of sliding glazing.

The kitchen takes on a sculptural quality, continuing another datum of arching cabinetry and setting the rich veins of Arabascata marble against a deep sky blue. The dining table, also designed by 2LG Studio, is topped with pink Foresso. The results are an environment more akin to a luxury concept store than a typical family home, made all the more convincing by the superb standards of joinery and finishing. A utility room and larder is positioned to the side and leads through a storage room to the side entrance. A cellar is also accessed from a stairwell at the centre of the plan.

Four double bedrooms are arranged across the first floor, one with an en suite bathroom, the other three with share of a large family bathroom. There are two further double rooms on the second floor, with a bathroom between them and masses of eaves storage.

The Area

Forest Hill is an extremely popular area of south-east London, in part due to the London Overground extension. As a result, there are plenty of very good independent cafés, restaurants and pubs in the area. The Horniman Museum and Gardens is a popular destination for young families, with a child-friendly café, anthropological museum and farmers’ market every Saturday morning.

Sunderland Road is within easy reach of several green spaces and woodland parks, including Dulwich, Sydenham Hill Wood and Crystal Palace. Mayow Park is eight minutes’ walk away and has tennis courts, a playground and the charming Brown & Green café. We've written more about our recommendations in Forest Hill in our Journal.

Kilmorie Primary School, Dulwich College, Alleyn’s School, James Allen’s Girls’ School, and Sydenham High School for Girls are all close, as is an Ofsted-rated “Outstanding” German-British kindergarten.

Transport links are excellent, Forest Hill Station is just under a six-minute walk from the house; this runs Overground and Southern Rail services to London Bridge, Canada Water, Shoreditch and Highbury & Islington. Sydenham Hill Station is also nearby and offers trains to City Thameslink and Victoria in under 20 minutes.

Council Tax Band: G