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A modernist flat in south London packed with clever ideas
‘We were covered in dust having spent all day plastering the flat when he did it,’ explains interior designer Sarah Walter. ‘He said, “I’ve got something for you.” It might be assumed, from Sarah's animation, that she's about to recount the story of her engagement or something similarly momentous. ‘And moments later we were on a Zoom call with somebody from Leeds about a table!’
It may sound like an anti-climax, but in the story of her flat's renovation, this was a pivotal moment. Sarah's boyfriend (now husband) had tracked down what she describes as the, ‘pièce de résistance’ of the scheme for her ex-local authority flat in Stockwell, south London – a stylish 1960s Hans Olsen dining set with elegant wooden chairs that is in many ways the embodiment of the flat itself, petite but perfectly formed.
The flat was potentially designed by Edward Hollamby OBE, an English architect, town planner, and conservationist who restored William Morris' Red House and worked on many London projects between the 1940s and the 1980s. ‘It’s hard to identify the exact architect. Perhaps because he didn’t want to associate too closely with such a (at the time) lawless area,’ explains Sarah. Her beloved father, an architect who studied under Hugh Casson, had always praised this style of 1970s local authority flat for their sensible layout and sturdy design. ‘I'm all for going with the bones of a building and not fighting against it,’ she says, and in this case, it was easy to do.
The flat is wonderfully sunny, with an appropriately sunshine-yellow front door opening onto the hallway, its colour drawn from a favourite painting by Gillian Lever which hangs next to it. The layout is simple, with a bright double bedroom at one end of the corridor and a conjoined living room, dining room and kitchen at the other. The C-shaped footprint of the purpose-built block puts every resident's common area at the heart of a horseshoe (so no chance of a noisy kitchen above your bedroom), with all the pipes and services up one shared spine. This allows each end of the property to have wall-to-wall windows, and with Sarah's addition of an internal window into the side of the kitchen, even on a grey London day, the whole flat is flooded with light.
Sarah credits her time at Sibyl Colefax and John Fowler, where she worked for ten years under Emma Burns, Wendy Nicholls and latterly Philip Hooper (Managing Director at Sibyl Colefax and John Fowler, whose house featured in the June 2024 issue of House & Garden) for her ‘respect for materials and a belief in doing things properly.’ ‘It's a common misconception that they're known for traditional English country house style,’ she says, ‘but the reality is that they're so diverse. Philip was a huge advocate for the possibilities of a modernist flat like this. He even kindly attended the second viewing with me.’ This year Sarah founded a practice of her own, Sarah Walter Boyd Ltd, but every day finds herself coming back to the methods learnt at her design alma mater.
The furniture and art in the flat is a happy amalgamation of inexpensive pieces found at auction (or, in the case of her desk, picked up on the street), elevated by investment in good quality finishes and installation. ‘Scheme? What scheme!’ she laughs. ‘We begged, borrowed and stole to make the flat come together!’ Instead, she followed her instinct towards patterns and materials that excite her. ‘It’s not a definable aesthetic. Like the headboard covered in a Larsen print – I don’t know how to define it but I just knew it would work because I loved its bold, not-quite-geometric pattern.’
Sarah is particularly proud of her ability to know where to spend and where to save. In the gut renovation of the kitchen for instance, she bought 'relatively affordable units from Howdens, but spent the extra money having it installed really well.’ She also added in a wall-mounted sliding door, partially to save space, but also as a nod to the small, old-fashioned kitchen she remembers from her grandmother's house. She praises the ‘chorus of brilliant tradespeople’ inherited from the ‘little black book’ she put together during her time working at Sibyl Colefax and John Fowler. This also allowed her to get help with trimming her IKEA ‘Pax’ wardrobes down to size to slot into the modest bedroom.
The bathroom admittedly required more extensive work. Watery terrazzo tiles that Sarah selected from Mandarin Stone and cool blue walls in ‘Mineral Mist’ from Dulux echo the mid-century feel of the flat, without overwhelming the tiny space.
Her careful curation continues in the living room, where two abstract works by the Birmingham-based artist Gillian Lever – whose striking abstract oils look like a hybrid of Scully and Rothko – have the perfect foil in a painting bought from the antiques dealer Dorian Caffot de Fawes. To prevent a crush of furniture and maximise floor space, Sarah's collection of ceramics and ephemera is arranged on cantilevered Paul Cadovius shelves, found on Facebook Marketplace. Some really beautiful textiles pull the entire scheme together. A period working under John Canessa at Sinclair & Till developed in Sarah a love of unique rugs and weaving techniques. Curtains in ‘Oxford Stripe’ from The Cloth Shop are beautifully lined in a contrasting fabric. ‘They fold all the way back to maximise the light flowing in. It's small details like this that really makes a space,’ Sarah notes. The sofa, custom-made to fit the room, is covered in a discontinued fabric from Colefax and Fowler and the carpet is Kasthall ‘Posts’ from Sinclair Till.
‘I would really need 100 houses to reflect all the styles I like,’ laughs Sarah. In lieu of this, she has imbued this bijou London flat with warmth and a character that feels rooted in the history of the building. ‘I suppose the project is proof that having a modest space and budget can be a useful tool. I'm really proud of what we've done considering that.'
Boz Gagovski2/4The antique Borge Mogensen sideboard is a particular favourite of Sarah's, sourced from the auction house Sworders. The lamp is from Graham & Green.
Boz Gagovski3/4The walls in the bathroom are painted in ‘Mineral Mist’ from Dulux.
Boz Gagovski4/4In the bathroom, the ‘Terrazzo Nouveau Cobalt Matt’ porcelain tiles are from Mandarin Stone.
