Hyndewood, Forest Hill SE23
Norman Starrett-designed 1960s terraced house
Architect: Norman Starrett
Year built: 1964

I really liked this house that we saw a couple of months ago. Slightly different in design to the other Norman Starrett house in Forest Hill that we previously went to see (which I also liked), this one was part of a smaller terrace of eight two-storey houses built in the mid-1960s for the Hyndewood development company.

While the house was very charming and characterful, it was also (with all due respect to the very nice and stylish sellers) a little rough around the edges. The facade and front garden had a slightly ramshackle feel which continued throughout the house and into the slightly overgrown back garden. However, no amount of crumbling woodwork and peeling paint could detract from wealth of original 1960s features, open layout and overall potential.

The ground floor of the house consisted of an expansive open-plan living space, which stretched into a glass extension and the garden to the rear. There was a refitted galley kitchen at the front of the house, separated from the living area by a breakfast bar, as per the house’s original design.

The open-tread stairs (one of my favourite midcentury features) led to a landing on the first floor and three bedrooms. There was also a large bathroom, previously a separate bathroom and toilet that had been knocked into one room. Although it had no external walls, a skylight which almost ran the length of the ceiling flooded the room with light.

As this article from Midcentury Magazine demonstrates, these houses have the potential to look amazing and this particular house had the advantage of being in an almost original, untouched state. The price wasn’t too bad either – if I recall correctly, it was listed at around the £635k mark. However, the potential number of issues and amount of work that would have been necessary to fix it up dissuaded is from making an offer. It went under offer the next week though so someone obviously saw its potential.