Chelsea

Chelsea keeps its scale. Along the Embankment and in the lanes behind it, houses are three or four storeys, many with walled gardens that you would never guess from the street. Artists’ studios with north lights still punctuate the terraces.

The river sets the mood. Light bounces off the Thames into upper rooms, and the plane trees along the Embankment filter it. It is residential, ordered and unhurried, with the King’s Road a short walk away for everything else.