Unusually large room in a very comfortable house with lovely garden

Staying with Marion at her beautiful home has been a wonderful experience. It felt like a home away from home. Big bedroom with a small couch and a desk, gorgeous kitchen, close to Clissold Park, a nice walk to a great farmers market on Saturday, pretty Church Street, lots of cafes close by, and the reservoir is gorgeous. I enjoyed my commute to UCL- easy to get to there via tube or various bus options. Of course, my favourite part was the fabulous conversations with Marion and sharing meals together. There is also a great balance of individual space for working with clear boundaries. I was there while the fig tree was bearing fruit so we enjoyed delicious figs. I can’t wait to return.

I stayed at Marion's house for 20 months between January 2019 and September 2020, so we spent together around six months during covid-19, which adds some particularities to my experience. I rate my experience as "superb". I am extremely happy to have found that house. I did not only found an amazing place to live but an amazing person to live with. First, let me describe the place itself. The house is located in Stoke Newington, a very nice neighbourhood with easy commute to Central London either by bus –with some walk- (141, 341, 73, 106, 29) or by tube (Finsbury Park, Manor House). By bus it takes 45 minutes to reach the centre and by tube, using Piccadilly or victoria line it could take 20 min. The house is also close to the nice Clissold Park, which was perfect to walk around during lock down, or perfect to do exercise. The room is huge! It includes a double bed, a desktop, night tables and even a sofa, which is perfect to seat, read and relax. When I saw the pictures I though that the room was actually the living room but not, my surprise was that it was actually the bedroom. I looked for different shared houses around London and the size of this bedroom and the price do not compete with what you can find in a nice area as this one, also the cleanliness is something that I didn’t see in any of the shared houses I visited. The room has two windows that look to the street which is a residential and a very quiet one. The house is Victorian, which is a dream for those coming from abroad. There are two toilets and one bathroom so the bathroom is shared with Marion, which is not a problem because it is always extremely clean and it is possible to arrange times in case of clashes. We shared the kitchen, which is huge, an always clean. The garden is a dream: trees, flowers, an outside table and sun beds to relax during spring and summer. Now let me tell you about Marion. She is an amazing person, she is extremely kind, generous and a very active person. She is very clear about the cleaning and the rules of the house from the beginning of the contract so there are no surprises on the way and if something is not working she is willing to say it. My best surprise was her company. She was very respectful with my space and before lockdown we managed to be at the same time in the kitchen so we ate breakfast together. During lockdown, the things changed (as everything during this time) and we started to share all day in the house, which made as to think we could cook and eat together to share some time. This was really our choice and I loved it, I learnt a lot of tips from her and we had lovely meals many days of the day. Once lockdown eased, we did different plans, which was not a problem. The kitchen is very clean and lovely. In spring and summer, she decorated the table with nice flowers from the garden. Marion’s activities are aligned to help to improve the life of others and this gives the house an amazing energy. She is very coherent and this was very motivating, especially during lockdown. She has done amazing photograph exhibitions and I could see her discipline everyday working for that. Now she is an exciting project, which I look forward to see when she finishes. I'm very glad I was in this house during this time, because being with her at the same household allowed us to do activities together (which was my option really and is not something that has to be like that -again, she is very open about that and she respects people owns space): we cycled around different London parks and before lockdown we went to yoga together and to the farmers market (organic market). I was extremely happy in this house: I found a great location, a local neighbourhood, a nice commute by bike or by bus, a huge room with a lot of light, a very clean lovely and Victorian house, a huge garden to seat, eat, relax and the most important thing is that I found a wonderful human being: a kind person with an smile, a person that care about you without being intrusive. I really recommend Marion's room, what you get is priceless! There are just no words to describe how fortunate I was. I did not only find a house, I found a home and a friend.