Four of the best homes to buy and rent in north London, including a house by the Heath that hasn’t been on the market for 57 years.

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Big Buy

Maida Avenue, Little Venice, W2, £5,950,000

London has never been short of well appointed Victorian conversions, but this five bedroom home in Maida Vale is in a league of its own. Recently subject to some major refurbishment, the five storey property overlooking Regent’s Canal has some really special features.

A curving staircase rises from the lower ground floor clad in a spiral of bookshelves that transforms the stairwell into a library lit by pendant lamps from a double height.

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The home caters for the cinephile as well as the bookish, with a stylish home cinema snug.

High ceilings and hardwood floors abound, and the original fireplaces have been converted into decorative alcoves or adapted to house more manageable wood burning stoves.

The master suite is reminiscent of a boutique hotel, with a beautifully planned bathroom with a dividing glass shower and a freestanding bath in front of the hearth for a truly decadent fireside bathing experience.

Knight Frank St John’s Wood, 020 7586 2777

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Fixer Upper

Willow Road, Hampstead Village, NW3, £2,475,000

This Hampstead home hasn’t been on the market for 57 years, so it’s a once in a half century’s chance to get your hands on a house that hasn’t been touched in yonks.

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The location is pretty pukka, right opposite the Heath with sweeping views out over the trees. The rooms are well proportioned, all opening out on to a central hall and staircase.

You’ll probably want to invest in some (sensitive, of course) double glazed sash windows. There’s some retro built in storage that could do with removing, and a reception room with wall to floor wood panelling, complete with matching bench, that needs ripping out – unless you’re a fan of dining surrounded by decking.

There’s off street parking for up to two cars available, and a room on the ground floor that’s currently being used as a pottery workshop. It’s the perfect studio situation for a budding ceramicist, painter or woodworker who would find inspiration from being so close to the Heath.

Benham & Reeves, 020 7435 9822

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First Time Buy

Highgate West Hill, Highgate Village, N6, £599,950

For a first home this Highgate apartment takes some beating. The one bed is set on the raised ground floor of a Victorian conversion overlooking the reservoir and has all the elegant hallmarks of the period.

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If you’re tired of open plan being sold as a luxury rather than a necessity, you’ll be a fan of the traditional layout. The entrance hallway opens on to the separately appointed kitchen, reception room, bedroom and bathroom so you can keep your domestic life elegantly compartmentalised.

The spacious living / dining room has an original tiled fireplace, a bay window with west facing views and high ceilings that allow for the proper hanging of art, that true benchmark of adulthood.

The kitchen is compact but has everything one would need including a built in wine rack, whilst the bedroom is bright and has plenty of clever built in storage space. It’s the perfect home for a well-heeled professional, but would also suit an older couple moving to London who are looking to downsize without compromising on style.

Goldschmidt & Howland, 020 8347 2600

%image(15204239, type="article-full", alt="In his memoir Nick Mason described 39 Stanhope Gardens as "one of those comfortable Edwardian houses with spacious rooms and high ceilings."")

Rental

Stanhope Gardens, Highgate, N6, £1,995 pw (£8,645 pcm)

This Edwardian house in Highgate was once the home to rock band Pink Floyd. It was here during the 1960s that Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wright lived together, subsisting on four shillings a day (front man Barrett was apparently in charge of the catering) and making a name for themselves on London’s underground music scene.

%image(15204239, type="article-full", alt="In his memoir Nick Mason described 39 Stanhope Gardens as "one of those comfortable Edwardian houses with spacious rooms and high ceilings."")

The property was owned by Mike Leonard a former tutor of the band, which originally called themselves Leonard’s Lodgers in acknowledgement of their benevolent landlord. Luckily for British rock n roll history they eventually landed on the somewhat catchier Pink Floyd.

The property was sold at auction for £1 million in 2012 in a pretty dire state, before being sold again in 2015 after extensive refurbishment.

You’d need a rock star salary to afford to rent the six bedroom home now, but the fully modernised property is available furnished so you won’t have to do anything mundane as an IKEA shop.

Benham & Reeves Lettings, 020 8341 2335