Melvin Road, London, SE20

A beautifully presented and extended Victorian semi-detached home on Melvin Road that offers a perfect blend of period character and contemporary living. With fantastically distributed space (1,374 sq ft) across both floors, this stunning home has been thoughtfully renovated to create a stylish space with bright, well-proportioned rooms and a delightful southwest-facing garden. Offered with no onward chain.

The ground floor has a layout families will love. There’s an open-plan kitchen dining space, which is fantastic for entertaining and works great for family life, especially as it flows into the bright, extended living space with its stunning floor-to-ceiling Crittall-style windows that face southwest. It also has underfloor heating throughout the open-plan living space, which is cosy and very efficient when it comes to heating bills. And for when you need to get away from the hustle and bustle of the kitchen space, there’s a calm retreat in the spacious front reception room.

Back to that beautiful kitchen! It features rich navy cabinetry, which contrasts beautifully with crisp white quartz countertops, and the central island provides casual seating and additional preparation space. Adjacent to the kitchen is a large utility space which can double up as a gym or study space, and quite usefully, it has a door leading to the front of the house, which really is ideal if you have bicycles, mucky dogs or kids and want to keep them away from the pristine entrance after a muddy walk! There is also a downstairs WC, which is non-negotiable in a family home of this calibre.

Upstairs are three double bedrooms; the principal bedroom spans the full width of the front of the house, making for a well-proportioned room. It has built-in wardrobes and double-glazed windows, which have an eastern aspect, so you get wonderful morning light. All the bedrooms are carpeted and double-glazed, which makes for very comfortable rooms.

The bathroom is a particular feature of the house, and it’s very unusual to find one laid out like this in a house of this era. It’s beautifully elegant, featuring a walk-in shower, a freestanding bath, double vessel sinks on a warm wooden vanity, and stylish tiling. A dual skylight allows natural light to filter in alongside the window, and the whole room has luxury Skandi boutique hotel vibes!

Outside, the garden offers a paved patio area directly off the house, which is perfect for alfresco dining. There’s a good size lawn and space at the end of the garden to install a home office studio if needed. As mentioned, there is a southwest aspect, so the garden gets the sun from late morning through to sunset, which is the ideal aspect for a garden.

Melvin Road is ideally situated for transport and the excellent social aspects of living in this area. Anerley Station is just 0.4 miles away (a ten-minute walk), offering access to the Overground's Windrush line. Penge East Station (0.5 miles) provides direct trains to Victoria and Blackfriars, while Penge West is 0.7 miles away with connections to London Victoria via Crystal Palace. Clock House Station has direct trains to Cannon Street and London Bridge and is just a 5-minute bus ride away. Alternatively, a 5-minute bus takes you to Norwood Junction for a 14-minute train to London Bridge.

Crystal Palace Park is merely 0.7 miles away, with the nearest entrance on Thicket Road leading to the boating lake and the famous dinosaurs. The park is home to the excellent Brown & Green Café and hosts a food market every Sunday. Fitness enthusiasts will appreciate the weekly 5k park run that takes place every Saturday at 9 a.m.

The area boasts a variety of green spaces beyond Crystal Palace Park, including South Norwood Country Park and the beautiful Kelsey Park in Beckenham.

Maple Road, just a 5-minute walk away, offers a wealth of independent restaurants including new café Mabel, French restaurant Chez Yves, and Café Anticoli for amazing pizza. The street is also home to independent gift shop Penge Tout and hosts a monthly market run by local volunteers, featuring independent food, crafts, and clothing. Melvin Road itself has a close-knit community, with several residents volunteering to support these local initiatives.

Alexandra Nurseries in Penge is an urban garden oasis offering excellent plants, coffee, and gifts. For cycling enthusiasts, SE20 Cycles provides a great workshop and coffee spot, and is home to Penge Cycle Club.

The area has a thriving craft beer scene with independent breweries and taprooms including Southey Brewing Co, Br3wery, Craft Metropolis, and Three Hounds. It's also worth noting the internationally renowned street art scene that adds character to the neighborhood.

Just slightly further up Anerley Road (0.9 miles away) are some well-loved businesses such as Café Chic (known for their falafel & halloumi wraps), Bob Wines, and the incredibly popular Chatsworth Bakehouse – their exceptional sandwiches and focaccia are well worth the queue!

Crystal Palace Triangle is easily accessible, offering some of South London's best gastro pubs, an Everyman cinema, charming coffee shops, and the wonderful farmers market held every Saturday on Haynes Lane. For everyday essentials, Penge High Street is conveniently close by.

Families are well served by schools, with Malcolm Primary School (Ofsted Good) and Harris Academy Crystal Palace (Ofsted Outstanding).