Mid-century architecture is an acquired taste and it doesn’t appeal to everyone, but for the design-driven residents of many of London’s Modernist estates and apartment blocks, it’s a passion and they find great joy in the small details; from thick walls to incredible natural light to the pleasing curve of an original door handle. In fact, for some, it’s a whole way of life and they wouldn’t dream of trading their 1970s flat for a more traditional and broadly-appealing period house.
If you’ve ever seen an exhibition at the Barbican Centre and wondered who lives in the surrounding flats (and why the concrete monolith is so beloved by the thousands who call it home), or you’ve caught a glimpse of the conservatory-like flats in the Brunswick centre as you’ve passed through the backstreets of Bloomsbury and felt curious about the windows, read on to hear from the residents of six Modernist apartment blocks. Find out why they chose their flat, what it's like to live there and how they approach buying furniture and retaining original features.
Tom Morris, interior designer and founder of Morrisstudio, has lived in the Barbican Estate in central London for ten years.
“Initially, it was the Barbican Estate’s drama that drew me to it. The architecture has such a bravery and grandiosity about it that feels quite at odds with the material it’s made of. Then the more I got to know it, the more I saw all of the friendly, charming elements that the architecture and concrete can obscure to the outside world. The gardens, the lakes, the wildlife, the quietness, the ancient history located around the old Roman parts of London.
“It was built during a unique period (the early 1970s) when brand new building materials were exploited with a fair bit of money thrown at them. The proportions of the Barbican Estate flats just wouldn’t happen if they were built today. Then there’s the attention to detail – architects Chamberlin Powell & Bon saw the design through from the initial concept right through to fine detailing decades later. That’s why everything from the internal postboxes to the loo handles to the kitchens were seen as one complete vision. Special mentions should go to the concealed bin stores each flat has, the barrel-vaulted roofs on some of the flats and of course, the pick-hammered finish on the concrete – a process done by hand and perfected over almost five years.
“Flats of this age demand a certain economy of style – big flourishes of decoration don’t quite gel here. Having said that, the proportions and characterful architecture mean you can pull off quite a lot in one space. My flat is tiny but the high ceilings and good floorplan mean it can cope with lots of possessions.
“Living here is incredibly charming and there’s a sense of community you’d perhaps not expect, as it was designed to seem deliberately imposing to the outside world – mirroring the ancient London Wall that it was built on.
“I appreciate the small things that make the Barbican Estate unique, such as the fact that our rubbish is collected daily from a cupboard beside the front door, also the endless music videos filmed here, the silence and the fact the concrete has a very particular smell. I wouldn’t change a jot.”
Pollyanna Durbin, founder of sustainable marketing agency growfish.co has lived in the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury, central London, for 12 years.
“The Brunswick is an interesting utilitarian space in the heart of Bloomsbury; however, it was the treetop view from my flat that first caught my eye when I was flat-hunting. I especially enjoy how the light moves within the building depending on the time of day or the season. The winter garden and the balconies give a sense of elevation and space that can be rare in London flats.
“I suppose most of us at least have a few nods to classic mid-century styling but when approaching the design of our interiors, my preference is in the juxtaposition of different genres. My partner and I are fans of sustainable minimalism, with a bit of bohemian texture thrown in for good measure. The light and temperate nature of the apartments means they are perfect for house plants, so at times the apartment can feel almost Amazonian.
“The quiet and privacy that the flats afford would probably come as a pleasant surprise to anyone used to high-density London living – we have never heard any of our neighbours the whole time we have lived here and no one can see into the flats because of the clever architectural design.
“The Brunswick isn’t without its flaws – like many of our neighbours, we have a dog and it can be tricky to get him out of the maze-like building for walks without encountering another dog or two along the way. This is probably the only real ‘low’ of life here. There are many highs to speak of: the light, the central location and all of the wonderful things on offer within the Brunswick commercial space below our flats, such as the Curzon cinema and a Waitrose right downstairs.
“The only thing I would change about the original design of the flats is possibly the windows as they’re surprisingly flimsy and will need to be replaced at some point. The windows’ unique design also means that they’re very difficult to clean from the outside, although I wouldn’t change that, as the light they allow into our living rooms is unparalleled.”
Magnus Englund writes books on 20th-century design and architecture, runs the UK retail arm of Moomin and was a founder of the Skandium design store two decades ago. Magnus has lived in Whitehall Lodge in Muswell Hill, north London, for a year.
“We had lived in the better-known Isokon building for six years and dreamt of living in Berthold Lubetkin’s Highpoint in Highgate but couldn’t afford it, so it had to be a 1930s building of architectural merit. Whitehall Lodge has plenty of original features, and also a generous landscaped garden. Muswell Hill is a very nice part of north London, a real village with lots of small shops and cafés.
“The Streamline Moderne style of the building is quite unusual, representing the turning point in time from Art Deco to Modern Movement. It’s also made of reinforced concrete, which for a block of flats in the interwar period is quite rare. Starting with Isokon in 1934 – and Whitehall Lodge is only three years later – in total, fewer than ten reinforced concrete blocks of flats were built before the outbreak of war, and we think Whitehall Lodge was the fifth.
“One of the deciding factors when choosing this particular flat was we have the only intact original bathroom in the building – both tiles and appliances are from 1937 – and we live in one of the turrets, with a semi-circular living room. Like all flats in the building, we still have the original Crittall windows. The previous owner had added internal secondary glazing with plastic frames but we removed those.
“We have replaced the non-original flooring throughout, so we now have floor tiles in the kitchen based on what Alvar Aalto used in Finland in the 1930s. We also replaced all internal door handles with replica Bakelite 1930s handles and put in 1930s glass globe ceiling pendant lights throughout. All furniture is either Heal’s originals from the 1930s, Isokon by Marcel Breuer or Artek by Alvar Aalto, plus floor and desk lights by Poul Henningsen. The only post-war furniture we own is Vitsoe shelving, designed by Dieter Rams in 1960; we have an insane amount of books and records.
“It’s surprisingly quiet here and there are wonderful views from the fourth floor that we’re on. We’re very close to woods owned by a nearby church, and that brings some wildlife with it. The woods have a couple of foxes that sometimes keep the whole building awake at night, but I don’t mind that.
“There are some downsides – the flats are cold, not just because of the single glazing in most flats but because there are historically only two hot water radiators across two bedrooms, a kitchen and living room. The walls are also relatively thin, as reinforced concrete was such a new technique at the time. We have a lot of wool blankets and Scandinavian sweaters!
“There are always going to be problems with a building that’s 85 years old. I’d compare it to buying a 1937 car that might look beautiful but will come with certain limitations. The gardens could be improved and one day the plumbing and wiring in the building will need to be replaced. I also hope that Historic England one day will make it Grade II listed as it’s currently only locally listed, which doesn’t give enough protection, although we recently fought off a proposed rooftop extension, defeating the freeholder in three planning battles.”
James Webb and his partner Kirsten Gabriels are both architects and they have lived in the Dulwich Wood Park Estate in south-east London for four years.
“We lived in the Barbican Estate for seven years after moving there from Amsterdam. My partner and I wanted to buy and by 2018, we were priced out of the Barbican. We knew we wanted to buy a modernist flat that was not ex-council and that’s when Stefi Orazi’s blog introduced me to the mid-century delights of Dulwich.
“We looked at ten different places before buying a fourth-floor, west-facing flat. We loved the big living area, huge window and clever circulation with access from one bedroom to the other.
“The construction (from 1959) is less robust than what we were used to in the Barbican Estate and sound thermal insulation is less than ideal. It would be hard to improve either of those as the pivoting Crittal windows mean that secondary glazing is problematic. We designed and installed a glass screen between the kitchen and living room as someone before us widened the original opening and we wanted to enclose the kitchen but also make sure it looked visually open.
“Since living in Amsterdam, we started to collect Dutch mid-century furniture. The style works well with the space and although we try to avoid the ‘museum’ look, we do have a lot of 1960s pieces.
“Living on the Dulwich Estate has been pretty much as we expected. There’s an excellent mix of creative people, actors, photographers, and architects. We have made many friends and although the move from central Barbican to SE19 seemed huge at the beginning, we’re now settled and happy.”
Lily Brown, an events producer, has lived in Ernö Goldfinger’s Trellick Tower in Kensal Rise, north-west London, for four years.
“Before buying our current flat on the 18th floor, my now-husband and I rented a flat on the third floor. That’s how much we loved the building – we knew we wanted to buy here.
“I grew up in Notting Hill, and Golborne Road (which Trellick Tower is at the end of) is my favourite street in the area. The sense of community and the mix of different people always appealed to us, as did the layout and attention to detail in the flats themselves. It’s hard to find well-balanced spaces in smaller flats – you typically have some rooms that are really tiny – but Trellick Tower flats are all so generously proportioned that even in our old one-bedroom place, we still had a proper little hallway.
“We were lucky that when we bought our current flat, it still had the original parquet wood flooring throughout and all the original light switches and door handles, which were beautifully designed. Everything was so well made, from the windows and doors to the way the flats were designed in a staggered way to minimise sound travelling between shared walls. When we had our flat renovated by my friend Studio Krokalia, we highlighted some of the original features, such as the original stainless steel door frames and radiators (which were previously painted white) by stripping them right back to the metal.
“We did keep the Brutalist architecture of the building and the period when it was built in mind when choosing our furniture and that meant there were some compromises. I’ve always loved cosy and Provençal design but some pieces in that style just didn’t work in this building. Having said that, my grandma – whom I idolised – had the most wonderful taste in interiors and she had a lot of wood and brass in her house, of which several things were left to me when she died, so the flat is filled with her amazing old brass and some old pictures that were hers too. They work so well here in Trellick, despite the fact that they came from an old house in Hampstead Heath.
“I’ve tried to keep it simple with our interiors but I brought in some elements of the type of Provencal design that I like with the use of stripes and rugs. We also kept the dining table that the previous owners had used in the flat for the past 20 years, so that was nice.
“If I could change anything about the original design, it would be to have a window in the bathroom for natural light and ventilation. The flats were designed to share air vents in the bathroom with their neighbours and that can mean anything from unpleasant bathroom smells to cigarette smoke drifting between flats, but it’s a small price to pay for so many positives.
“Some people think Trellick Tower is scruffy but there’s an amazing team who looks after the building, keeping it clean and well cared for. The reality of living there is like entering into a magical world as it’s completely different to any other buildings around us in the area. The views are incredible and we’re at the end, so we have two amazing views in different directions. You never feel lonely living here and our neighbours are great – especially since having a baby 10 months ago, I’ve met so many lovely people in the surrounding flats who all know my daughter’s name and it’s been really special.”
Stefi Orazi is a graphic designer, writer and founder of Modernist Estates, which encompasses a website, coffee table books and illustrated walking guides. Stefi has lived in a block on Mansfield Road in Gospel Oak, north London, for seven years.
“I knew a little bit about the building before I moved here. The scheme was part of Camden’s ‘golden era’ of housing along with estates such as the Highgate New Town in Archway by Peter Tabori, and Alexandra Road in Swiss Cottage by Neave Brown. These young and progressive architects rejected the trend for high-rise developments that had been popular after the war in favour of good quality, well-planned, low-rise buildings.
“When I first came to view my flat, I immediately fell in love with it. I’d seen loads of properties before this one, but I felt an instant connection. It’s a modest one-bedroom apartment, but as it’s split-level, it feels much much larger than it is. Full-height windows run along one wall of the living room and they lead out to a generous balcony that overlooks a beautiful cherry tree. That might have been the clincher! Aside from the flat, the location is amazing as it’s a two-minute walk to Hampstead Heath.
“There are 64 flats here, and there’s a really good community. It’s a special building and it feels like we are part of something. There’s an immediate connection with your neighbours. I like the mix of residents and the fact a high majority of the flats have council tenants. It brings variety – there are single people, retirees, families with kids, et cetera.
“The downside of this is having to deal with the council and their maintenance of the building. For years, Camden did the bare minimum to look after it, and since I moved here there’s been a series of major works that have been really expensive and of mixed quality. As a leaseholder, the bills can be quite crippling. The other problem with my specific estate is anti-social behaviour. The flats themselves are great, I wouldn’t change a thing, but there's a long, raised covered walkway that spans the length of the building and people tend to congregate there, from bored teenagers to more serious drug-taking. I don’t know if that could be considered a design flaw since it’s a bigger societal issue.
“Prior to moving here, I’d lived in Golden Lane Estate and the Barbican Estate, so I had accumulated quite a few pieces of furniture. I’ve always tended to buy mid-century classics such as a Robin Day sofa, Alvar Aalto table and a George Nelson bed. Not because I want to live in a museum, but because their proportions tend to fit smaller spaces better than modern, bulky furniture. I’ve bought a few pieces specifically for this flat, including an Alfred Roth daybed. My favourite piece of furniture, however, is by the contemporary furniture designer Michael Marriott. I have his Croquet shelving – simple oak uprights with colourful folded sheet steel shelves. I just love them and they’ve moved with me across five different flats over the last 15 years.
“When I bought the flat, the previous owners had removed a lot of the original features. Everything was gloss-white. The floor, the walls, the kitchen, the cupboards, the window frames. It was a shrine to Ikea. All the original charm had been removed, so I spent the first few months trying to put it back to as near an original state as possible by removing ugly skirting boards, Victoriana door handles, coving, that sort of thing. I painted all the door and window frames black — a key feature of the designs — I put ply flooring in, and a new kitchen that was sympathetic to the original. Essentially, putting the texture back in.”
- 50 stylish living room ideas to copy now
- Farrow and Ball paint colours in real homes
- Small room ideas from the House & Garden archive
- How to hang pictures on walls at home
- Bright bathroom ideas to make a splash
- Hallway ideas to make a great first impression
- Patio, garden decking and terrace ideas
- The best garden furniture stores to help you spruce up
- A guide to the best interiors shops in London
- How to decorate a Georgian house
- The best mattresses to buy for quality sleep
