Church Rise, London SE23

When you’ve got beautiful bones, it doesn’t take much to dress to perfection. Just look at this apartment in south-east London’s Forest Hill. Sitting within a soaring Victorian parish church designed by Ewan Christian and built in 1854, it’s now 

Christian is best known for designing the National Portrait Gallery and though his work here is perhaps less significant, it’s no less striking. This handsome structure, notable for its lofty spire commanding the local skyline, has in more recent years been converted into flats, each remarkable for its history and architecture – but perhaps none so much as this one.

The one-bedroom apartment is entered through the church’s former southern portal, now fitted with arched glazed doors that act as a neat counterpoint to the ancient-looking stone jambs. Such clever juxtaposition sets the tone for the rest of the flat. Everywhere the muscularity of the building’s ecclesiastical architecture has been allowed to endure, and everywhere minimal modern interventions continue to celebrate it. Bare stone walls are warmed by wooden floors; darker, shadowy corners are lit by contemporary lighting designs. Sleek furniture in neutral colours finds comparison in the earthy tones of the rough walls. Carvings have been left intact, arches unfilled. Together, past and present commune in harmony.

What’s most striking about it all is how relatively low-key these contemporary changes feel – such is the grace of Ewan Christian’s creation and the elegance of the conversion. Holy moly it’s a good combination.

Inspiration of the Week: low-intervention loveliness lets the past shine through to the present in Forest Hill

In a former church in south-east London, a cleverly converted apartment makes the case for keeping it simple

Like what you see?