Perhaps few of us are keen enough to add a gallery to the back of the house, but we could all do with channelling some of the hushed reverence that hangs over an art museum.
Often the former residences of collectors, artists and less defined creative types, these homes speak the design language of a gallery in tall columns, soaring volumes and bright, even light.
And if your art collection comprises a few uninspiring prints, what better motivation to buy something grown up than endless white walls?
In that spirit, we’ve selected ten gallery-like homes for sale across the capital.
Putney, SW15
£2.5 million
This three-bedroom flat, renovated by Murphy Davé Architects, has the largest footprint in Putney’s grand Hotham Hall. Sliding doors and stepped levels sequester bedrooms from the central volume, while a wraparound gravel garden features Mediterranean planting.
The Modern House, 020 3834 8558
Bethnal Green, E1
£850,000
This characterful apartment on the border with Whitechapel has a 38-foot-long reception room with a glass-brick wall and original Preway fireplace, plus enough wall space for any art collection. It comes with a share of the freehold and is on the market without a chain.
Circa London, 020 3909 0349
Mayfair, W1J
£6.75 million
Once home to art world royalty Doris Lockhart Saatchi, this remarkable John Pawson-designed house is 2,800 square feet of restrained minimalism. Sweeteners include a roof terrace and an integrated garage.
Wetherell, 020 7529 5566
Turnham Green, W4
£1.595 million
A detached former artist’s studio near Chiswick High Road and a stone’s throw from the Tube. The two bedrooms are arranged gallery-style on either side of a soaring central volume, which draws light deep into the plan thanks to angled glazing.
Andrew Nunn & Associates, 020 3909 3853
Battersea, SW11
£950,000
A white-washed two-bedroom apartment on the first floor of Southside Quarter, a handsome Victorian school conversion a few minutes from Battersea Park. A muted palette and railed mezzanine level give the home a gallery feel.
The Modern House, 020 3795 5920
Clapham, SW2
£700,000
Something of a paean to monochrome, this one-bedroom apartment has expansive proportions that make it an ideal blank canvas. There’s a separate study area on the mezzanine, plus allocated parking and access to communal gardens.
Urban Spaces, 020 3910 0873
Lewisham, SE13
£1,999,950
Close to the independents of Blackheath Village, this Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse has been internally reconfigured to offer serene, gallery-like interiors. There are four bedrooms, plus a smart home studio at the end of the lush garden.
John Payne, 020 8138 0490
Covent Garden, W2CN
£925,000
A two-bedroom converted art gallery with split levels connected by a spiral staircase. It’s in a remarkable location on historic Bedfordbury, within a few minutes’ walk of Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross station.
Life Residential, 020 7582 7989
City of London, EC1Y
£750,000
This airy two-bedroom flat on the Golden Lane Estate features a distinctive double-height pull-up window which leads onto a south-facing balcony. Further perks include the original concrete cantilevered staircase and parquet flooring.
Nicole Lee, 020 3840 3426
Bermondsey, SE1
£3.25 million
Grade II-listed New Concordia Wharf was once a 19th-century grain warehouse, yet this 2,000-square-foot apartment reconfigured by Guard Tillman Pollock is more contemporary art gallery with its white columns, gentle transitions and triple-aspect rooms.