Twickenham Road, Leytonstone, London, E11

Light-filled and welcoming, with contemporary yet timeless decor, this spacious Edwardian house sits in a friendly community just a stone’s throw from the popular Francis Road and within walking distance of great transport links.

The home has been beautifully renovated by the current owners, using a calming, warm, neutral colour palette of Farrow & Ball and Lick shades. Natural materials – chosen to age well – have been used throughout, such as Carrara marble, original and reclaimed wooden floors, and unlacquered brass taps and doorknobs. Thought has been given to both the practicalities of family life and the flow of light and space, resulting in a home full of unique details and plenty of clever bespoke storage.

Set behind a new, low brick wall, the house greets you with a handsome, well-kept brick and white-painted frontage – with a traditional monochrome timber gable, and elegant white stone lintels, sills and columns to the bay windows.

Follow a path of terracotta tiles to a recessed porch. The original timber part-glazed front door has been refurbished and painted black, with polished brass furniture, including a doctor’s knocker. Above it, the transom still charmingly displays the original painted house number and name ‘Devonia’.

STEP INSIDE

The black of the door is repeated in the wide entrance hall, where you’ll find a triple-column floor-standing radiator and hooks for coats. As with much of the house, the walls have been painted a warm white shade, highlighting the high coved ceiling with its traditional rose and a glass teardrop pendant light. Restored original floorboards start here and continue past a stripped timber door into the living room.

Flooded with light from a wide box bay window with frosted lower panes for privacy, the living room has neutral-toned walls that rise to a wonderfully detailed coved ceiling with a central pendant. An exposed brick fireplace with fabulous Carrara marble surround and slate hearth takes centre stage. Bespoke handleless storage cupboards and brass cone wall lights to the alcoves give symmetry to the scheme. 

Back in the hallway, to your left you’ll pass a custom-built, full-height, coat and storage cupboard. To your right, beneath the stairs, there are two doors, the first leads down to the cellar and the second to a WC featuring a wall-mounted basin with traditional brass taps, and a concealed cistern loo with brass flush plate. Terrazzo floor tiles and a blue-painted, reeded feature wall with hidden storage cupboard add a playful touch.

Continue through to the spacious dining kitchen, extended in 2022, where reclaimed floorboards (sourced to seamlessly match the originals elsewhere) are warmed by underfloor heating (with its own heating system, for maximum flexibility).

The current owners love to cook and entertain, and it shows. Incredibly well laid out, with plenty of storage and prep space, the kitchen is both practical and beautiful. White slab-fronted units are topped with a stunning Carrara marble worktop and Zellige tile splashback, while the waterfall-edged peninsula features attractive wooden baton panelling behind the breakfast bar area. Besides open shelving and useful pan drawers, further storage can be found in a bespoke pantry cupboard.

There’s an undermounted ceramic sink – with traditional unlacquered brass taps and a handy separate spray attachment – and appliances including a Rangemaster six-ring gas cooker with overhead extractor set into the fireplace recess, an AEG integrated dishwasher, and a Lamona washer-drier. There’s plenty of space for an American-style fridge-freezer, and the combi boiler (new in 2022 and controlled by a Hive thermostat) is also discreetly housed here.

By day, the room is bathed in light from the wide slim-profile anthracite-framed sliding doors onto the garden, a large skylight over the seating area, and a fantastic bespoke up-and-over window at the rear. In the evenings, you can zone and create different moods using the recessed downlights, a stylish double rattan pendant, and opal glass globe wall lights – which are set into a shelving niche and operate on multiple tracks.

Further design details include long built-in bench seating with panelling to match the breakfast bar; sockets with USB ports; and a striking, black, exposed steel beam that denotes where old meets new.

Returning to the hall, take the stairs (which have oatmeal ribbed carpet and black-painted banisters) to the first floor.

All three bedrooms feature original sanded floorboards and stripped original timber doors – a lovely warm contrast to the neutral walls. The primary bedroom at the front of the house offers sunset views through the large bay window, fitted with tier-on-tier louvred shutters. A pair of full-height bespoke wardrobes with brass handles offer ample storage. You’ll also find a pendant fitting, modern radiator and TV point.

The second bedroom lies beyond, with views out to the garden through a new double-glazed sash window (fitted in 2022), with a bespoke linen Roman blind and a floor-standing column-style radiator beneath. There’s more bespoke storage here – a full-height wardrobe painted in the same periwinkle blue used downstairs.

Bedroom three sits beside the primary. It has louvred shutters, a modern radiator and a pendant fitting. Currently used as a peaceful home office, it would also work equally well as a nursery or a child’s bedroom.

The large family bathroom at the rear of the house also looks out to the garden, through a new timber sash with frosted glass. Creamy glazed elongated metro tiles in a vertical grid formation have been paired with unlacquered brass Crosswater tapware, Bauwerk limewashed-walls and wood-effect porcelain tiles warmed by underfloor heating. Together, they give the room a luxurious, hotel-like feel. 

There’s a showstopping freestanding double-ended bath, as well as a walk-in shower with a monochrome hexagon penny-tiled floor. A countertop basin and a loo complete the suite, while there’s also a white heated-towel-rail radiator, a pair of reeded wall lights above the wash area, and dimmable recessed downlights that will create the perfect atmosphere for a long, lazy soak.

OUTDOORS

The southeast-facing garden extends 38 feet. It enjoys the sun all day, setting at the rear. Enclosed by charcoal-painted timber fencing, it was landscaped two years ago and features a natural slab patio dining and BBQ area. It is lit by outdoor wall lights, and has an exterior electrical socket and water tap. There’s a lush lawn and a further slabbed seating area at the back, along with a useful storage shed. This rear patio has been future-proofed with a concrete base, allowing for a garden room or studio to easily be built there someday, should you wish.

A NOTE FROM THE OWNERS

‘We’ve created a gorgeous and welcoming family home and we’ve been incredibly happy here. The generous proportions of the house have been great with small kids, meaning it never feels cluttered, and we particularly love the kitchen, which is a cook’s dream – well-designed with so much surface space. The large dining area happily houses 12 people, and the up-and-over window still impresses every time we walk in the room.

The road is perfect too, with such a strong sense of community and so little noise – and it’s so close to everything we’ve ever needed.’

GETTING AROUND

The property is exceptionally well-connected with so much local transport, including plenty of bus routes stopping in nearby Grove Green Road. Equidistant between Leyton (16 mins) and Leytonstone Tube (12 mins) and close to Leytonstone High Road Overground (15 mins), the home is an easy walk to all stations – making short work of getting into Central London or Canary Wharf. It’s also convenient for trips to Camden, Hackney, Hampstead, and Stratford – where you’ll find retail therapy at Westfield and the wide-open spaces of Queen Elizabeth Park.

IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Twickenham Road – a friendly, community-minded street – is just four minutes’ walk from the wonderful village scene on Francis Road, with shops, bars and delis, including Marmelo Kitchen for coffee and fresh bread, Yardarm for lunch or dinner and a fantastic wine shop, Phlox bookstore and Edie Rose florist.

A range of events are regularly hosted on the road, from the recent ‘Francis Road Lates’, with food trucks, cocktails, and discos for the kids, to Halloween parties and Christmas carols.

Several great pubs and bars – the Red Lion, The Northcote, Heathcote and Star, The Filly Brook and the freshly renovated Leyton Engineer – as well as High Road Leytonstone’s restaurants and cafés, are all within a short wander. The current owners particularly recommend Perky Blenders (for coffee), Unity Café and Arch Deli, while other local owners recommend the delicious fare at Mum Likes Thai Food.

At nearby Stratford, the new East Bank cultural hub will soon include world-class experiences, including Sadler’s Wells East Theatre, UAL’s London College of Fashion, and the V&A East Museum.

There are several parks in the area and good running routes through to Hackney Marshes, Wanstead Flats (drop by Back to Ours for fresh coffee and pastries), and Epping Forest. For local walks, head to Hollow Ponds or Walthamstow Marshes and Wetlands. Also worth visiting are Brewster Road Park (adjacent to a community garden), Victoria Park, Hackney Bumps Skate Park, Wanstead Park and Sidmouth Park.

SCHOOLS

Several well-performing local schools and numerous nurseries are close by, including Newport Primary (two minutes’ walk, Ofsted-rated ‘Outstanding’). The area is particularly well-located for sought-after activities and groups for babies, children, and parents. Norlington School and 6th Form and Connaught School for Girls (both Ofsted ‘Good’) are also a six- and seven-minute walk away, respectively.