Holding your head high in Hampstead

Hampstead is renowned for its upmarket boutiques, gastropubs and restaurants, as well as its Georgian buildings and alleyways. It’s also where Stockbridge Design & Build is creating new possibilities and living spaces in prime properties.

Hampstead is one of London’s most famous and desirable districts. With a rich and vibrant history, Hampstead is known for its links with contemporary culture, as well as its architectural range – from its Victorian and Georgian buildings and alleyways, to its often-daring modernist offerings.

Hampstead is associated with notable architects and developers, among them Robert Adam, responsible for the impressive Kenwood House, and Royal artist and architect William Kent. But this is an area where its 20th-century offerings blend in with the town's more historic buildings.

Given its distinctive atmosphere, it’s no surprise that Hampstead is well-known for its residents past and present, among them artists and academics. Novelist Virginia Woolf and her husband writer Leonard Woolf lived in Hampstead, as have actors Sir Ian McKellen, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson. Today, Liam Gallagher, Helena Bonham Carter, Jonathan Ross, Hugh Laurie and Ricky Gervais have bases there.

A loft conversion, almost complete, which formed part of a two-storey refurbishment

But it’s not merely its architectural heritage that makes Hampstead such valuable real estate. It’s loaded with history, has its own heath, offers impressive views over central London with which it enjoys good transport links.

The exterior of a major refurbishment and loft conversion project near Hampstead Heath station, before work commenced

Stockbridge Design & Build has a number of ongoing projects in Hampstead, including multi-million pound property refurbishments and conversions. Loft conversions are especially popular at the moment.

Another Stockbridge loft conversion at a property near Hampstead tube station

Said Stockbridge Design & Build’s Adeel Bhatti: “Loft conversions create more living space and can let more light into your home. They also create more privacy.

“But that’s not all. Converting your attic or spare room into a more useable living area really makes a home, potentially adding considerable value to your quality of life, as well as the value of your property.”

Loft conversion work in progress

Work in progress on a loft conversion, as part of another two-storey refurbishment, near Hampstead Heath