Book Club: The Modern House

The Modern House, a real estate company who specialise in the selling of the finest modern homes, celebrated their ten year anniversary in 2015 and so to mark the occasion they released a book with some of the best properties they’ve had throughout their decade of business. The book is a fantastic read whether you love modern architecture or are simply intrigued to get a sneak peek into some of Britain’s most wonderful homes. I’ve picked out some of my favourite homes from the book to share with you.

Doctor Rogers’ House located in London, built by Richard and Su Rogers in 1968

The beauty of this property lies in how the colours of the interior and the colours of the adorning nature integrate so perfectly together. The influence of Californian modernism isn’t lost on the architecture or interior features and yet doesn’t look out of place in its typically English surroundings, there’s a humble attitude to this house that makes you want to run up those paving stones and be invited inside this welcoming exterior.

Doctor Rogers’ House located in London, built by Richard and Su Rogers in 1968

The Modern House features a property on Angel + Blume’s home turf, Cambridge, and one that we know personally. The Laslett House was designed by Trevor Dannatt in 1958 and is owned today by Tim Hayward, the man who resurrected the legendary Fitzbillies.

Laslett House located in Cambridge, built by Trevor Dannatt in 1958

The house is wonderfully minimal and full of natural elements. There’s a beautiful flow of white brick walls, wood flooring and glass panelling that evokes an authentic sense of calm and laid-back sophistication.

Laslett House located in Cambridge, built by Trevor Dannatt in 1958

The next property takes the form of an old converted Pianola factory in north London. Its interiors are reminiscent of ordered chaos with foliage, picture frames and furniture all positioned in the home seemingly unsystematically and yet at the same time with the feeling of thoughtfulness and care. The home is like a blank canvas, the perfect location for an artist to create their masterpieces with just enough personal memorabilia to fight off a spooky clinical atmosphere.

An Art Collector’s Warehouse located in London, built by 6a Architects in 2012

An Art Collector’s Warehouse located in London, built by 6a Architects in 2012

Stratton Park in Hampshire is a fine example of how modern homes can look their best when juxtaposed with older existing architectural features. The house was built over a mansion from 1803, all that remains is the Doric Portico, something that might have been rather a brash display of grandeur if left to its own devices, but with the modern home positioned to its side it becomes more of a whimsical and elaborate garden sculpture.

Stratton Park located in Hampshire, built by Stephen Gardiner and Christopher Knight in 1964

The idea of living in a fort would thrill most children (and some adults) and so proving that you can make a home out of anything, a nineteenth century fort was converted into a home in 2004. The Martello Tower Y in Suffolk is a highly intriguing concept and there’s no doubt that the views from up there phenomenal!

 

Martello Tower Y located in Suffolk, built by Piercy & Company in 2004

Despite its somewhat bulky external appearance the interior of the home is elegant and sophisticated, and its unique features like the original fort structure make a compelling argument for the building’s beauty.

The Walled Garden located in East Sussex, built by Michael Manser in 2002

This home wonderfully incorporates modern American architectural style into the Sussex countryside.  The beautiful glass and steelwork and the adjacent old red brick wall create the perfect contrast that gives this property it’s extra added character.

The Walled Garden located in East Sussex, built by Michael Manser in 2002

Finally, you might remember this lovely house from a blog a few weeks ago, Fog House in London was commissioned by Janet Street Porter in 2004 and is a beautiful accumulation of colour and style.

Fog House located in London, built by Adjaye Associates in 2004

Fog House located in London, built by Adjaye Associates in 2004

The Modern House is full to the brim of exciting properties, amazing inspiration and invites you to spend a few hours dreaming of modern havens.

The Modern House is available from Artifice.

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Arts and Crafts in the Heart of L.A.

A guilt pleasure of mine is to play a game of make believe on real estate websites in America, hit the ‘price: high to low’ setting and scroll through some amazing properties, pretending I can afford them. This is exactly how I found this masterpiece of a house in Los Angeles, currently for sale via themls.com.

The house was built in 1913 by Frederick E. Engstrum and designed by Frank A. Brown, following an Arts and Crafts style design, and has been dubbed the one of the finest and largest Craftsmen houses in America. The exterior is absolutely mesmerising as the house is almost lost in the surrounding overgrown woodland. With so many small and unusual features this house would have you exploring for days on end.

The house was named ‘Artemesia’ and is still full of its original features including tiles, stained glass, panelling and light fixtures. It’s truly a house of character, with a story to tell.

It easy to see that a lot of the permanent interior details have been kept in tact, which is quite a feat considering Los Angeles has modern, contemporary homes by the bucket load. The interiors of the Artemesia home are almost frozen in time and there’s something really magical and graceful about this.

The design of the house takes influence from the Tudor-revival architectural movement that surfaced in America in the late 1800s to the early 1900s, as well as the American take on the Arts and Crafts movement. Here you can see the beautiful detail of an original fireplace that is in keeping with the Arts and Crafts motif of the house.

There is a sense of grandeur and magnificence in the interiors that has been sewn into the house, at its very core. The large ballroom with its beautifully wide columns indicates a rich history the house may have had, tales of old Hollywood-esque parties thrown and the company kept, the house exudes a vibrant, well-lived, old Hollywood atmosphere, even in the bathrooms…

The shower is beautifully hidden away with steps leading down to it from the bathroom.

It even features a historic pipe organ, built by Murray Harris, a world renowned organ builder, and it’s on of his largest remaining creations. Having a residential pipe organ during the late 19^th and early 20^th century would have been considered a rather fashionable addition to a home and played by a hired professional, the organ would have been the source of entertainment and music during a social gathering at the house.

Console details of the Pipe Organ

Sound Screen feature of the Pipe Organ

A feature like this is in a home is almost unheard of nowadays, making the house seem even more out of this world and extraordinary.

There is a true romantic, fairy-tale like nature to this house; from the woodland areas surrounding the property, to the deliciously outlandish pipe organ, to the intricate, well-preserved detailing of the interiors. In a place like Los Angeles which is so full of splendour and outrageousness especially in terms of property, it seems upsettingly easy for charming homes such as this one to get somehow lost between mansions. But there is something so pure and special about this house and the way it’s been transported from another era without appearing dated or fairly useless in a modern world, that there is a magical sense about it and a hope that it will be an everlasting triumph in the world of design.

For more information: www.artemesia.us

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Modernist House in Brixham

Look at this little gem that I spotted when I was having a little me time on rightmove.com. It is a delightful modern movement house with what looks like lots of original features. What potential! If it was a bit nearer, I would be in the viewings queue. According to the write up, it was designed by the architect Melville Aubin and built in 1935 and it has been in the same hands ever since. It is currently on the market through www.themodernhouse.net 

         

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