South London skinny house: 8ft workshop converted into two-bedroom home narrower than a double decker bus

One of London's narrowest homes — less than the width of a double-decker bus — is on the market in south London for £700,000.

The two-storey home, just 8ft 1in wide, has undergone an ingenious renovation to create 570sq ft of living space.

The end-of-terrace building in East Dulwich was previously a derelict workshop in a former coach house attached to the neighbouring house.

In 2004 an apartment was built above the workshop. Then in 2018, the ground floor was converted, too, and the super-slim house was born.

There are now two upstairs bedrooms, a bathroom, an open-plan kitchen/living room and a small patio garden in the tiny space.

The stylish overhaul includes marble surfaces in the kitchen, a metro-tiled shower room and Crittall doors leading out to the back garden.

“This great little house offers a south-facing garden, carefully considered layout and modern design features,” says Christopher Burton, head of Knight Frank’s Dulwich office.

“It’s ideal for those who have decided to move out of London following lockdown but still want a stylish, low-maintenance pied-à-terre for their [less frequent] trips to the office or central London amenities.”

If the converted skinny house is just too small, however, the five-bedroom house next door is also being sold, for £1.5 million.

It boasts similarly contemporary interiors and has a kitchen rear extension with bi-fold doors to the back garden. There’s also a main bedroom suite taking up the entire top floor.

Skinny houses are a popular way to make use of infill sites or converted buildings in London, where available land commands a serious premium.

The cool, one-bedroom Slot House in Peckham was built on a plot the size of a Tube carriage, next door to the architects’ family home. They now rent it out.

And in Brixton, two interior designers gave their 10ft-wide house a bold, maximalist makeover, rather than sticking with a safe minimal design for the small space.

Meanwhile, The Wee House in Clerkenwell and Noel Lodge in Ealing were both carved out of 8ft-wide infill buildings, and a Tardis-like three-bedroom house in Hammersmith is just 7ft wide.