Comfortable furniture and warm texture contrast the rugged warehouse aesthetic of this industrial home for sale on Peckham Rye. Known as The Hat Factory, the building originally dates from around 1850 and was first used as a bakery. Then it became a helmet-making workshop during the Second World War, giving rise to its name today.
Softening the heavy industrial interior was a priority for the owners when they picked up the keys. “We really wanted an industrial space, and the previous owner did a fabulous job showing off the original fabric. But we felt it needed a respectful softening around the edges for some extra home comfort,” comments Mike.
Finding things to fill the space
This artistic quarter of Peckham has gained massive popularity among creative people, especially over the last five years. Given that changing demographic, more shops have sprung up to cater to new residents’ alternative tastes. This made the local streets a perfect hunting ground for interesting salvage and antiquities to complement the existing factory feel.
“We started contemporising the space with some wonderful pieces from Rye Not Retro, a fantastic vintage shop that’s very handily a couple of doors down. We found nice garden furniture and the metal BAR letters in there, plus bits and pieces of crockery.”
“Worn Not Torn in Bellenden Village is also a great source of inspiration for budding salvage hunters.”
Back to the warehouse… Heave open the chunky, double entrance doors, and you enter an airy reception hall with a noticeably cool ambience, largely down to the tiles: oversized greys on the floor and original glossy whites on the walls. There’s also a healthy dose of trailing plants suspended from the industrial mesh balustrade of an impressive open-tread staircase.
The three bedrooms lead off the hall at various corners, and they’ve all been treated to plenty of salvage to enhance The Hat Factory’s industrial roots.<
Shall we go upstairs?
Miss T: “The entire upper floor is all the room we ever wanted.”
Immaculate exposed brickwork surrounds this uncompromising, broad space with delicious distressed floorboards. Look up, and you’ll see a vast, vaulted ceiling with warm timber beams.


Mike: “Maybe I’d have put a door from the main bedroom through to the ground floor terrace. Other than that, no, because life at The Hat Factory has been fantastic.”
