This first-floor Bayswater apartment on the broad tree-lined avenue of Westbourne Terrace would surely be a leading contender.

Spread across 1,555 sq ft, including three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a utility room, it has an enormous footprint. The sense of volume is only exacerbated by the 3.8m-high ceilings and the large rectangular spaces – no awkward angles or L shapes here. The layout really could not be better: the bedrooms face east and the living areas west, meaning that sunlight is directed to the right places at the right moments throughout the day, and none of those bedrooms are next to each other. What’s more, that huge reception room is complemented by a matching stunning kitchen dining room, creating a chic contemporary feel and pleasing sense of flow.

All that alone would make any apartment compelling, but this one goes a step further: the majority of rooms have outside space. No matter how long you spend refurbishing a place, such qualities are either there or they’re not, and this property has them in spades.

It is of course, as you would expect, impeccably decorated too. The best period features have been preserved, such as the attractive cornicing in the reception, kitchen-diner and bedrooms but the interiors have been updated to feel stylish, warm and unostentatiously beautiful. All the work has been done to the highest quality and care: take the bespoke wall cabinets in the kitchen-diner that employ wood marquetry to create a chic, eye-catching feature. Or look at the carefully sourced light fittings which provide those large rooms with cohesion and a modern edge.

The property’s final virtue is another that you can’t contrive: its location. With its majestic facade and private access road, the grand structure that houses this flat is one of those characteristically magnificent Westbourne Terrace buildings. Living in Bayswater is enviably central, putting you in walking distance of the West End, Hyde Park and Notting Hill. There are also a host of first-rate schools nearby and Crossrail is due to arrive at nearby Paddington station over the next few years.

Seriously, show us a better London apartment. We’ll wait.

Ellesmere

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