I first spotted this unique home on the Instagram feed from The Modern House – and even if you’re not looking for a property, this gallery is so inspiring in terms of the architecture and design featured. The first image I saw was the photo below, and I thought, ‘What is this place?’ as I was drawn to the eclectic styling and the patina of the chimney breast with its open fireplace. And that photo led me to this listing from The Modern House.
Years ago, I visited an incredible property called Sea Loft in the Fife coastal town of Kinghorn. Sea Loft was the home and studio of artists Robert Callender and Elizabeth Ogilvie, who created the space by converting a previously derelict cinema. The volume and the natural light thundering into the all-white studio was incredible, and no less so in the couple’s living area with its sea views. It was a wonderful example of a living space and studio that worked together, cohesive in design and approach, to create an unforgettable home.
And this London house, House for a Painter, although very different in location, shares that same unique quality and the wonderful sense of light and volume. Whereas Sea Loft was about views outside to the landscape, this house offers long views between the studio and living zones, an “internal landscape,” as architect Dingle Price refers to it, where one area flows into the next.
As someone who lives in the city centre, I’m always fascinated by houses that have been designed to fit awkward or tight urban sites. Some of my favourite houses over the years have fallen into this category as the architects involved have had to come up with ingenious ways of working with the available space while also navigating challenges such as overlooking issues. So you can understand why this house on Countess Road in London’s Kentish Town caught my eye. Built in 1975 on the end of a Victorian terrace, this house is so tucked away from the street that you might never know it was here.
I wanted to start this year – in terms of properties that are on the market – with something truly knockout, and I figured that an apartment that (in my mind anyway) looks like Bond’s London pad pretty much fits the bill. This staggering apartment – staggering in scale and style – is currently on the market with The Modern House and is located on Aldersgate Street within the Barbican Estate in London. Described by the selling agent as “one of the most extraordinary living spaces on the Barbican Estate”, this property occupies the former Estate Office, which was once used to sell other apartments on the Estate and which then stood empty for ten years before being purchased by its current owners.
Sometimes a property comes onto the market that is so unique, you know there’s simply nothing else out there quite like it. This kind of property often involves a visionary architect behind its design, or a visionary homeowner. Sometimes, as with Powis Mews, it involves both, as this house in London’s Notting Hill is the home and studio of the internationally renowned designer Ross Lovegrove and his wife, architect Miska Miller-Lovegrove.
Having worked from home for 16 years, I understand the challenges of finding or creating the ideal live/work space, and was reminded of this recently when friends returned to Edinburgh and began searching for a home that would also offer a showroom for their incredible collection of mid-century furniture and design objects. They couldn’t find a rental property that was suitable, and ended renting up a flat and (at last count) three storage units for their furniture. It wasn’t ideal. Continue Reading…
Hello and welcome to Copperline. My name is Fiona Reid and this is my blog about coastal living in Scotland.