Veda Road, London, SE13

@tanyabaker.co.uk can be visited on Instagram to see the video tour of this home.

A Fine Furniture Maker's Family Home - And The Sunburst Wardrobes Really Are That Good. This remarkable home on a quiet Ladywell street has been in the same family since the 1950s. It’s been lovingly updated and extended, is bespoke in every sense, and is only a 10 minute train from London Bridge.

When a home has been cared for by the same family for over seventy years - and the most recent owner happens to be a fine furniture maker - it just shows. You’ll find yourself stopping to look twice at a wardrobe door and  notice that even the smallest things have been done properly.

A neat tiled path leads you to a lovely original stained glass front door - and into a home where every detail rewards a closer look.

The ground floor has been transformed around a stunning architect-designed extension built in Utile hardwood - a beautiful, warm timber that frames floor-to-ceiling glazing.

This is where your family will spend most of their time, and you'll see why the moment you sit in it. The kitchen, opened up into this space, has a central island with bar stools, solid wood worktops and a classic subway-tiled splashback. 

There's a skylight with UV film to keep things cool in summer, electric blinds for dealing with the low sun, and a built-in bench with a radiator underneath for chilly winter mornings. The whole space opens straight out onto the south-facing terrace and the back garden beyond.

At the front of the house, the sitting room creates a different mood entirely - it’s north-facing, cosy in the evenings, with a pretty cast iron fireplace and bookshelves on one side. 

Through the hall, a thoughtfully designed utility room with a clothes drying cupboard above the washer-dryer means you'll never have wet clothes draped over radiators or airers again.

Upstairs, the main bedroom faces the front with a pair of gorgeous bespoke wardrobes either side of the chimney breast - handmade by the owner in rich, figured hardwood with a sunburst pattern and straw marquetry handles, his speciality. 

The second double bedroom looks out over the garden with a far-reaching green view - and on New Year's Eve, fireworks right across south east London. The third bedroom works well as a child's room or a home office. 

The family bathroom has a powerful shower over the bath, classic subway tiles and a patterned floor. 

There's also a loft with a pull-down hatch and integrated ladder - great for storage, and with real potential for a full loft conversion (subject to planning) if you ever need more space, as many houses on the street have already done. 

The garden is the kind that takes years to get right - a product of the love and care that’s been devoted to it since the 1950’s. South-facing and elevated - so you never feel hemmed in - it has a stone terrace for outdoor dining, a raised herb planter, and borders full of camelia, japonica quince and roses that were planted by the owner's grandmother. A crabapple tree, fig and raspberry canes provide fruit through the summer. The shed at the bottom doubles as a workshop. 

The house sits on a quiet, traffic-free street where Veda Road and Algiers Road form a horseshoe - so there's no through traffic, just neighbours who actually know and chat to each other in real life, not just in the WhatsApp group. 

Ladywell station is only a five minute walk away, with trains to London Bridge in ten minutes and direct services to Waterloo and Charing Cross. 

Lewisham's DLR station is less than 20 minutes away. Hilly Fields - with its park run, café, tennis courts and children's playground - is just round the corner, two minutes away. 

Prendergast Ladywell School, rated “Outstanding” by Ofsted, is just on the other side of the park. For younger children, there's a choice of great primary schools, all within a 15 minute walk. 

The village high street has an independent café, a French patisserie, a pizzeria, a pub and a whole foods shop - all within easy walking distance so you won’t need to take the car.

A home with this much craft, this much character and this much history - in a friendly village that’s location this well connected - doesn't come up very often. 

This one is certainly worth seeing in person.

KEY FEATURES

• A furniture maker's family home, owned by the same family since the 1950s and bespoke in every sense

• Architect-designed Utile hardwood extension with floor-to-ceiling glazing and direct garden access

• South-facing garden with stone terrace, raised planters, fruit trees and a powered workshop shed

• Handmade sunburst wardrobes with straw marquetry handles in the main bedroom

• Bright, open-plan kitchen-diner with solid wood island, subway tiles and UV-filtered skylight

• Utility room with built-in drying cupboard - no more clothes on radiators

• Ladywell station is a five minute walk, with London Bridge just ten minutes by train

• Hilly Fields park, café and tennis courts are a two minute walk from the front door

• Prendergast Ladywell School - rated Outstanding by Ofsted - is just across the park

• Ladywell village high street has a French patisserie, pizzeria, pub and independent café on your doorstep