This bright flat on the third floor of Frobisher Court in Sydenham South East London has spectacular views over central London.

It is set into planned gardens in a location renowned for its mature outside spaces with mid-century-tiled communal areas with original hardwood and glass doors and lift.

Forming part of Dulwich Estate, it was designed to provide high-quality housing for working professionals by a talented group of young architects, Austin Vernon and Partners, who were very contemporary in their outlook and went on to design many estates around Dulwich.

We very much wanted to give it the feeling of excitement young modern-minded couples would have got when they first walked into these flats built by Wates in 1959 as part of an array of buildings that won a Civic Trust award in 1964.

The Jacobsen table sits just below the architects-favourite Crittal windows giving the family an uninterrupted view of the City from the South-facing window. Soft textures of the sofa and Pierre Paulin orange slice chair in a mix of blues soften the space while the Gordon Russell sideboard takes you back to the time when everything was made to last.

A yellow coffee table book breaks up the expanse of dark blue on the sofa and psychologically suggests relaxing with a good tome.

Across the hallway is the kitchen with a corner window we wanted to draw attention to and an inbuilt larder.

We brought a Jens Quistgaard electric blue enamel and teak saucepan, Kilner jars of carefully selected pulses and pasta and dotted a few talking pieces around. We loved the sliding doors leading from the kitchen to the hallway often seen in Austin Vernon and Partners’ designs.

There are two equal-sized bedrooms with in-built cabinetry at the far end of the apartment. These have an interconnecting door, part of the original concept, and both look to the surrounding treetops from the elevated position. Even though we had only been commissioned to dress one bedroom we made sure to have focal points for the photographer with a carefully placed chair at the end of the corridor.

 

Stylists

Lucy Ryder Richardson

Petra Curtis

Frances Marden

Contact petra@modernshows .com and lucy@modernshows.com

Speed up the process of selling with a mix of midcentury & modern styled by our founders former stylist and journalist Lucy Ryder Richardson and graphic designer Petra Curtis. A big leap away from the showhome look, the dynamic duo mix iconic midcentury pieces that have built up a warm patina over time with cool contemporary from the latest designers to make your home stand out but still look loved and lived-in. The service is not super-expensive. While most clients go for the mid-range packages £10,000 up to £25,000, smaller one bedroom flats and houses start from as little as £5000 plus VAT with books, sheets, towels, soaps, smalls, quirky objects and paintings all included. Because we can get good deals and already have a selection of high-end early production designer furniture and smalls in-house Modern Shows’ staging service is cheaper than hiring the furniture directly from dealers and companies that will hire you all modern. In America where staging is more established you pay much more for this service. Americans understand that the quicker the property sells the better for their budget and you can often achieve a hike in sale from the spend as a queue of interested buyers build up. By adding emotion to the setting you will see your property tug at the heartstrings. Lucy and Petra work with architects new builds regularly for The Modern House estate agency. Other jobs include an office and dining room for Saatchi and Saatchi, office meeting room, reception and snug for Danish company Adform and dining and deli decor for Brindisa restaurants.

All images are c Petra Curtis, Lucy Ryder Richardson and also The Modern House so please obtain permission before using