McGregor Road, London W11

Designs that can be adapted for the needs of modern life have long been a key marker of the work of architects Guard Tillman Pollock. On a quiet, designated ‘play street’ in Notting Hill, that adaptability has been put into practice within a substantial Victorian townhouse. With a footprint of over 3,000 sq ft and an independent lower-ground apartment, this is a home that can be expanded for family life or multi-generational living or enjoyed in its separated forms. It blends robust, innovative and timeless material choices with period details and grand proportions, all the while celebrating and savouring moments of intimacy.

The house’s north-west elevation lies behind a towering birch tree, providing the front-facing rooms with the gentle rustle of leaves and dappled evening light during summer months. Flagstone steps rise between Doric pillars to the porch and raised-ground floor entrance, opening to a long hallway.

There are doorways into the dining room and kitchen, which are separated by a bi-fold partition, and a utility room at the far end. The ceiling heights in the two principal rooms are exceptional and original ceiling roses are retained. The kitchen design takes a modular approach, arranged around an island with proportions that correspond directly to the recessed cooking section. Stainless steel tops the island, creating the impression that it has been removed like a block from the steel alcove to reveal the hobs atop the Viking rangecooker. In the dining room, the shuttered front bay window is filled with the foliage of the mature birch tree.

Light pours into the room from beyond an exaggerated bay-like architrave. The source is a glazed breakfast room at the rear; one such success in aforementioned intimacy, comfortingly confined in proportion but with a glow from the innovative glazed ceiling and sliding glazed doors.

These open to a terrace with a glazed floor and a mesh balustrade that continues down to garden level, acting as a screen for the lower apartment and as a climbing frame for rambling wisteria. The garden is reached from this level by descending a spiral staircase to one side of the terrace.

In wonderfully Notting-Hill fashion, leopard-print carpets adorn the stairs in the entrance hall and rise through the house. The first floor is given to two rooms, also separated by bi-folds. The room at the rear, overlooking the garden, is currently used as an office/library, and the room at the front is a formal living room and the largest single space in the house. Both have original cornicing. Flooring here is a thin-slatted oak and enormous two-over-two sash windows look out to the front. There is also a guest WC on the half-level landing below.

The second floor has three good-sized bedrooms, a bathroom at the half level and a most inviting laundry room painted in a smouldering, deep red. The third floor is entirely principal bedroom and a signature of Mark Guard’s invention. It’s reached by glazed steps under roof light strips and features a king-sized bed that moves on tracks toward an enclosed terrace to provide al fresco sleeping in warmer months. A partition behind the bed creates a bathroom area with a shower, lit from above by a circular rooflight and encased in frosted glass. Beyond are wardrobes and a WC.

The apartment at garden level has independent access from the front garden. It was recently refurbished and is arranged as one bedroom with an en suite shower room and open-plan kitchen and living room. It opens onto a screened section of garden and the beautifully, bountifully planted main section beyond.

Nearby

Situated just off All Saints Road, McGregor Road is minutes from the boutiques and restaurants of Westbourne Grove, Portobello Road and Golborne Road to the north. It’s an area famed worldwide for excellent restaurants, cocktail spots, delis, antique shops and galleries. On the proverbial doorstep are the two Michelin-starred Ledbury, Granger & Co, and Ottolenghi. There are many more peppered across Notting Hill, which also has The Electric Cinema and Notting Hill Arts Club. Golborne Road has become one of the most concentrated and diverse dining strips in London and includes the listening bar and open-fire cuisine of Caia, alongside the more seasoned residents of Maramia Cafe and Panella, to name just a few. Ria’s, Sino, and Empire Empire and The Pelican on All Saints Road are all worthy of mention, but the array of offerings between Portobello Road and Westbourne Grove could fill a travel guide of their own.

For leafy spaces, the vast expanses of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, as well as Holland Park, are all within easy reach. The location also enjoys easy reach for many of London's top schools.

Transport

Ladbroke Grove Underground station (Circle and Hammersmith & City Line) is around seven minutes’ walk. Westbourne Park Underground station is even closer for two-stop access to Paddington and its various rail routes, including the Elizabeth Line for fast services to Heathrow and Bond Street.