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There’s something about Soho that just feels glamorous. In part, it’s the past: those tales of the painters, poets and rakes – from William Blake to Francis Bacon – that haunted its dimly lit dens. It’s also the buzz that started to thrum in the early 19

 century and hasn’t stopped since. A melting pot of culture and commerce, it’s the ideal spot for a London bolthole, such as this apartment on the second floor of an early Georgian Grade II*-listed townhouse on Meard Street.

Gentle renovation means the flat is more than fit for modern living, but it’s the 18

-century details that really delight: original panelling. wide floorboards, Georgian bookcases. Among the finest features are the limestone fireplaces, one of which – still open – is in the bathroom. A soak in the tub after a night on the tiles, before flopping in that perfect pink bedroom? It doesn’t get much better.

We’ve already extolled the virtues of this corner of town, but what about the street itself? While Soho suffered bomb damage in World War II, Meard Street – adjacent to the busier Dean Street – escaped happily unscathed, and today its townhouses (stock brick, part stuccoed) still stand as some of the best examples of Georgian domestic architecture in the West End.

This apartment is more spacious than most, thanks to double-height ceilings, a split-level layout and, perhaps best of all, a roof terrace with views across London. It’s taken some work to get it looking like this, as 

 recently, but it’s all paid off. Now, a smart contemporary kitchen and mezzanine library space join 18

-century sash windows and old floorboards in a way that, quite simply, feels right.

From central London to the wilds of Wales – and to Gorllan, an utterly enchanting 18

-century cottage in Pembrokeshire. This part of the world is ancient: the nearby Preseli hills – sparsely populated but rich in history – are the site of many sacred and prehistoric sites, including hill forts, stone circles and tumuli, and while Gorllan is positively newfangled in comparison, it still feels deeply embedded in its age-old landscape, thanks to the local slate and timber that makes up its fabric.

But for all its rural charm, the single-storey cottage – thought to have once been used as a toll house – is by no means disconnected. The village of Eglwyswrw, in the northern reaches of Pembrokeshire, is itself quiet, with just a school and a church, but Fishguard and Cardigan are both within half an hour’s drive.

Good design and exceptional architecture are what really thrill us – but stories and provenance follow close behind. Sometimes, though, something comes along that has it all – and this apartment in Hampstead is one such thing. It sits in what was a Queen Anne-style red-brick four-bedroom studio house designed for the Victorian illustrator Kate Greenaway by the architect Richard Norman Shaw. A feature about the house, published in 

 in 1892, described it “the most bewitching” of its kind in the area.

This flat occupies the studio part of the house, on the top floor. As a consequence, the light in here is exceptional, not least in what’s now the kitchen and living area, angled to get as much illumination as possible throughout the day. Opening on to a balcony, this space is surely the star – though the bedroom, overlooking gardens, ain’t half bad either…

The seller of this bijou flat in Earl’s Court has, as we learned when 

, taken great pains over its decoration – and such care has clearly paid off. Every single inch has been lavished with attention, even the entrance hall, a previously unremarkable liminal space that’s now painted – ceiling and all – in Farrow & Ball’s ‘French Gray’. As she said to us, “It would be mad to try and make that room feel bigger or grander than it is, so instead I made it warm and welcoming.”

The rooms in here are a joy to be in, quietly lush and lavish (think endless cushions and plenty of houseplants) while remaining, above all, homely and comfortable. It also has something not many one-beds can offer: not just an en-suite, but a separate loo off the hall for visitors. A small detail, perhaps, but not an insignificant one.

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In search of the perfect pied-à-terre for the occasional city jaunt, or simply don’t need acres of space? Explore our round-up of small but perfectly formed dwellings and you might just find yourself falling for ‘The One’

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In search of the perfect pied-à-terre for the occasional city jaunt, or simply don’t need acres of space? Explore our round-up of small but perfectly formed dwellings and you might just find yourself falling for ‘The One’