Hythe House, Manor House N4

A two double bedroom, two bathroom apartment of gloss white, black granite and warm oak, with a private balcony looking out across the West Reservoir to the City.

Open the balcony doors and the view does most of the talking. Below lies the broad, still water of the West Reservoir, dotted with sailing buoys and bright pontoons, with the City skyline rising along the horizon beyond. The scene shifts through the day, from early kayakers drawing lines across the water to the towers lighting up at dusk. Inside, the apartment matches it with clean, crisp finishes and a layout that keeps living and sleeping comfortably apart.

The reception and kitchen run to 23ft, a long and bright room with oak strip flooring laid end to end. Floor-to-ceiling glazed doors in slate-grey frames fill the far wall and open onto the balcony. A second window on the side wall makes the room dual aspect, framing a further outlook towards the city’s towers. There’s space for a generous sofa and a dining table for four nearer the kitchen, so the room works as well for quiet evenings as it does for dinner with friends.

The kitchen sits at the inner end of the room in a neat U-shape, marked out by a change underfoot from warm oak to polished black tiles. The scheme is a confident monochrome: handleless cabinetry in high-gloss white set against black granite worktops with a fine mineral sparkle. A drainer has been grooved directly into the stone beside an under mount stainless steel sink, while a black glass splashback behind the hob catches and reflects the light. A Zanussi oven and microwave are built in at eye level within a bank of tall units, with a Hotpoint washing machine alongside. A window beside the sink gives the kitchen daylight of its own.

A central hallway with a storage cupboard links the rooms, finished with honey-toned timber doors throughout. The two bedrooms sit on the far side of the hall, each with a floor-to-ceiling window and soft oatmeal carpet. The principal bedroom stretches to over 20ft, long enough for a double bed at the window end with room for a dressing area beyond. At its inner end, a door opens into a private en-suite shower room with a walk-in shower, basin and WC, so the principal bedroom works as a self-contained suite. The second bedroom is a comfortable double that would suit guests, a nursery or a home office equally well.

The family bathroom is wrapped floor to ceiling in large-format porcelain tiles in a warm sand tone, each one finely lined with a subtle linear texture. A white bath with a bar shower and glass screen runs along one wall, joined by a pedestal basin, a mirrored cabinet and a chrome heated towel rail, all lit by recessed spotlights. Having two bathrooms makes a real difference day to day. Busy mornings run more smoothly, and guests or a flatmate have a bathroom of their own.

The building itself is finished in pale buff brick of subtly varied tones, with slate-grey window frames and a rhythm of recessed loggias and projecting balconies along the façade. It forms part of Woodberry Down, one of Europe’s largest estate regenerations, led by Hackney Council with Berkeley Homes and Notting Hill Genesis. The site carries a long history. The original estate was conceived by the London County Council in 1936 and built after the war, with an emphasis on giving residents light and open outlooks. The reservoirs were created for the New River Company by its surveyor William Chadwell Mylne and completed in 1833. The red-brick building on the shore below the balcony is the reservoir’s former filter house, built in the 1930s and now home to the West Reservoir Centre.

The Neighbourhood: Manor House

Water and wildlife set the pace of life here. The West Reservoir Centre runs RYA and British Canoeing accredited sailing and kayaking courses for adults and children, with a café on the shore. Next door, Woodberry Wetlands opens up 11 hectares of reed-fringed ponds that stayed closed to the public for nearly two centuries, until Sir David Attenborough opened the reserve in 2016. At its heart is the Coal House Café, a Grade II listed former coal store restored with a rooftop patio and a waterside terrace. Close by on Green Lanes, the Castle Climbing Centre occupies the Victorian pumping station built in 1854–56 in a castellated style inspired by Stirling Castle, a local landmark that has drawn climbers since 1995.

Manor House Station is a short walk away, with Piccadilly line services reaching King’s Cross in around seven minutes. Green Lanes runs north from the station with its celebrated Turkish grill houses, bakeries and food shops, while Clissold Park and Finsbury Park are both within easy reach for weekend runs and picnics. Harringay Green Lanes Station on the Suffragette line is also nearby, and Finsbury Park Station adds Victoria and Great Northern/Thameslink services.