It’s not often that we feature overtly modern houses in Country Life. When we do, it’s generally because they offer something really very striking and different.
That could certainly be said of this house close to Hampton Court Palace in south-west London, a contemporary home on Matham Road that’s for sale via Knight Frank at £2.495 million.
From the outside, number 9 is a pleasant building, but it's only when you go past the front door that you realise it's a very stylish home indeed.
The present owners clearly have a strong vision that they've been utterly confident in making real, and it's hard not to admire the great strokes both in design and decoration.
This extends even to the colour-co-ordinated bookshelves. We've always been slightly suspicious of those who arrange their books like this — if they're to be used rather than for show, shouldn't they be on the shelves via theme or author? — but you can't deny that it looks pretty marvellous when done on this scale.
Among the highlights of the house are the two enormous bi-folding doors which open out at an oblique angle from the living/dining/family room out onto a garden laid out by a Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist.
There's even a garden studio (with power and even broadband, for working-from-home purposes) in a pretty open space which runs all the way down to the River Mole.
Once you get to the water, there is still another feature. There is no small jetty with an apologetic rowing boat; instead you find a beautiful wooden gazebo with a huge dining table beneath. It's not hard to imagine the long summer evenings enjoying a glass of wine by the water.
Matham Road offers a majestic amount of space for its semi-urban setting, with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, five reception rooms and the aforementioned 34ft by 34ft open-plan kitchen/dining room.
The house is finished to an exceptionally high standard with all sorts of modern toys. There is a sound system throughout, a cinema room and underfloor heating.
Upstairs, meanwhile, the four bedrooms are equally bold — and the large master bedroom with separate dressing room area and en-suite enjoys views down the garden.
Matham Road is for sale via Knight Frank at £2.495m — see more details and pictures.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
50 best places to live near London
The indispensable guide for getting into the country without ending up out of touch with the town.
-
West London's spent the last two decades as the laughing stock of the style set — here's how it got its groove backThe style set is returning to the very West London neighbourhoods it once made a habit of spurning, finds Will Hosie.
-
The new property hotspots where you can have it all: Beautiful houses, great schools and idyllic lifestyleAcross the country people are selling up and heading to the towns where there's no compromise on dream homes, outstanding schooling and the good life, according to analysis from two of Britain's top estate agents. Anna White explains.
-
The new property hotspots where you can have it all: Beautiful houses, great schools and idyllic lifestyle
Across the country people are selling up and heading to the towns where there's no compromise on dream homes, outstanding schooling and the good life, according to analysis from two of Britain's top estate agents. Anna White explains.
-
Where Venice once ruled: The roving Venetians left handsome imprints across the Greek world, from its religion to its rambling villasMatthew Dennison explores the lingering traces of Venice's vanished empire — and the best places to buy where it once stood.
-
A delightful 16th century home with some of Kent's most beautiful gardens has come on to the marketThe Grange puts the 'garden' into the Garden of England.
-
A pristine Scottish island for sale at the price of a garage in FulhamA dot on the map of the west coast of Scotland has come on to the market, where you'll be surrounded by sea, living off grid and be neighbours with the local seal colony.
-
18 beautiful homes, from charming cottages to a Highland mansion with unbeatable views, as seen in Country LifeOur look at some of the best homes to come to the market via Country Life in the past week includes Georgian manor houses, charming commutable homes and the grandest home in Newcastle.
-
The gorgeous Somerset home of the designer behind one of Glastonbury's chicest spotsThe Manor in Hinton Blewitt is a glorious Georgian home that ticks every box.
-
A 600-year-old National Trust property that you can call homeThis blooming property in Kent showcases the original garden of England. Penny Churchill takes a look.
-
A wisteria-clad delight with lawns running down to the Thames is the prettiest riverside home for sale in London todayDeodar Road, near Putney High Street, offers unrivalled views of the Thames and is characterful in excess.
