On Glenarm Road in east London, one house stands apart. Its unusually smooth, purple façade is striking against the row of Victorian neighbours – the result of a thoughtful restoration by the current owners, who found the property in a state of neglect. Now, the home, defined by what its owners call ‘modest experiments in detailing’, is on the market.
Set on a residential street in Clapton, this generous, architecturally intriguing home hasn't always looked this way. 'When we first bought Glenarm Road, it was for the most part forgotten, derelict and hidden beneath layers of neglect,' the current owners, Linda Culverwell and Steve Fitzwilliams, tell House Beautiful UK.
'Working with the existing form, spirit and layout, we’ve tried to find ways to breathe life and light back into its heart.' And breathe life into it they did. The exterior alone, washed entirely in a bold purple, is a striking example of what colour and new windows can achieve.
'The original timber-arched windows had been squared off and replaced with UPVC ones, which were yellowing and broken. The 70s had seen the home structurally rendered, not in a kind purple but a rough-cast faded lilac,' the owners recall. 'We decided to be brave, and ran with the purple, adding an insulating, smooth coat in a warmer, deeper colour.'
The result is both confident and cohesive. New windows complete the striking exterior with a finish that 'gently echoes changes in sunlight and shadow, shifting with the sky,' while maximising daylight inside.
Inside, the deceptively slender façade gives way to five bedrooms and multiple reception rooms arranged across three storeys, where modern interventions sit comfortably alongside the home's Victorian bones.
One of the standout features, according to Estate Agent Stuart Aikman, is the angled kitchen extension, which 'introduces a dynamic sense of movement through the plan,' he says. A dramatic window cuts through both wall and ceiling, flooding the space with light, while a glazed door opens onto the garden.
'We set about relocation, relinking and extending the living and kitchen spaces with a "flying" addition,' the owners say about the extension.
Elevated above the garden, it's a 'zinc-clad volume with a double-height glass wall and roof light, aligned with both the front reception window and the vertical glazing of the double-height rear garden studio,' they explain. 'This alignment allows both street and sky to be visible across the garden and through the house.'
Natural materials run throughout: wooden floor boards, cork tiling, exposed ply window boxes and joinery and British sweet chestnut cladding ('allowed to grey with time in the sun'). The highlight, however, is a rooftop garden planted with locally foraged species.
'It is said we only "borrow" these amazing Georgian and Victorian homes temporarily – the theatre of our daily lives – until the time comes when we pass them on to the next generation,' say Linda and Steve.
It's a fitting metaphor. The house, the oldest on the street, occupies a site once connected to the former Clapton Theatre. 'We've tried to channel our home's theatrical past, and bring a little joy, love and drama back to the street, bricks and mortar of Glenarm Road.'
Now, as Stuart puts it, the home 'balances the charm of its Victorian origins with confident contemporary interventions, creating spaces that feel both distinctive and quietly refined in the heart of Clapton.'
This property is on the market with Story of Home for a guide price of £1.75 million.
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