Hot properties: four of the best properties on the market this week

This week has an international theme, from a Mediterranean style mansion in Hampstead Garden Suburb to a cosy Kentish Town flat that embodies the Danish concept of ‘hygge’.

Big Buy

Oval Road, Camden, NW1, PoA

Sometimes you have to pay your way to get to the top, and this penthouse suite is one of those moments. Perched at the apex of The Henson, this high spec duplex has four bedrooms and four bathrooms on the fourth floor, with the fifth and final floor given over to a large entertaining space and a wraparound terrace.

The building itself has an interesting history. A former warehouse, it was once home to the Camden outpost Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the special effects company founded by the eponymous puppeteer and creator of the muppets.

There’s got to be a metaphor buried somewhere in there about puppet masters and the transformation of London’s warehouses from creative spaces to super prime property, but the project has been sensitively executed by architects Tate Hindle and the location - occupying a waterside space between Camden and Primrose Hill - is second to none. You’d be a muppet not to.

Aston Chase, 020 7724 4724

Rental

Heath Street, Hampstead, NW3, £1,250 pw (£5,417 pcm)

Here on the property desk we are firmly opposed to the use of the word ‘village’ in relation to pockets of London that can boast a high street of independant shops and community vibe, but there’s denying that this rental property slap bang on Heath Street in the heart of Hampstead will get you close to that minor settlement feeling you crave.

It’s a short term let, making it perfect for those wanting to dip their toe into small town life in the big city before taking the property ownership plunge. The two bedroom flat is arranged over two floors and has been recently refurbished in a pleasingly neutral style. Painted wooden floors and a rather snazzy open plan kitchen complete with marble clad breakfast bar make it suitably urban (no agas and muddy labradors here, thank you), so city slickers won’t feel too out of place.The Heath is only a short walk away though, so you could still bring your shiny hunter wellies.

Foxtons, 020 7433 6600

First Time

Lady Somerset Road, Kentish Town, NW5, £500,000

Scandinavian style is the one interiors trend that just won’t die. It’s easy to see its all round appeal to the London dweller, from the philosophy behind it (the minimal domestic oasis in a frenetic city desert) to the ease of execution (paint everything white and bung your clutter in an IKEA cupboard or five).

This season it’s reincarnated itself in the new buzzword ‘hygge’, or the Danish concept of cosiness. Finding happiness in the cosy is both a virtue and a necessity for the first time buyer in north London, but this one bedroom home in Kentish Town makes it easy. Wall to floor white makes for a serene space punctuated by charcoal accents such as the charcoal coated central hearth. Herringbone tiles on the kitchen splashback and the wet room bathroom lend another of-the-moment aesthetic touch. With London plunged into chilly autumn weather the urge to own a cosy home of your own is almost palpable, so if you’ve got the nest egg for a mortgage then this is one hygge nest.

Brickworks, 020 8245 1634

Fixer Upper

Neville Drive, Hampstead Garden Suburb, N2, PoA

When both the Big Buy and the Fixer Upper of the week are price on application, you know that the latter title might be something of an understatement. Hampstead Garden Suburb is known for its sprawling homes and this six bedroom detached home is a prime example.

Set behind a carriage driveway the property has been executed in the Mediterranean style, with arched colonnades at the front facade and an entirely tiled grand reception room at the back.

The new owner could get Continental and work with the existing architectural style, or alternatively demolish the whole lot and start again. The current house offers 4,992 sq ft of living space, ample enough by anyone’s standards, but permission has been obtained to build a new mansion measuring up to 11,300 sq ft (there’s a large and un landscaped garden at the back that could be encroached upon). Consent from the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust has now lapsed, but could easily be reapplied for should you wish to remake this property in your own image.

Glentree, 020 848 7311