A home on London’s Dulwich Estate has been transformed into a light-"lled family space

One couple’s sensitive restoration of their mid-century home on London’s Dulwich Estate has brought it back in line with the architect’s original vision for a light- lled functional family home

The Dulwich Estate in south-east London is a 1960s housing estate unlike any other. Originally created as a charity in the early 17th century by theatre impresario Edward Alleyn, the Estate has since established schools, almshouses and, in 1811, Dulwich Picture Gallery, the country’s ! rst purpose-built public art gallery.

A"er the Second World War, the Estate embarked on an ambitious programme of house building in order to encourage new families into the area. They appointed architects Austin Vernon & Partners to design the whole development across 1,500 acres of parkland !lled with tall spreading trees. ‘The idea was to create e#cient family homes for modern living,’ says Harriet Williams, who lives in a three-storey property on the leafy estate with her husband, Will, and their two children, Esme and Sybil. ‘They were so ahead of their time!’

Will is the co-founder of creative studio Communion, and Harriet, who works as a graphic designer and copywriter, is also co-owner of Projekt 26, a vintage poster store specialising in Polish posters. Not surprisingly, design

has always been a passion for the couple. And when they outgrew their ! rst home, it was only natural that they found themselves drawn to the Dulwich Estate’s mid-century homes. Having zeroed in on a cul-de-sac, where the stylish Sixties houses were clustered around a green do"ed with trees, they were frustrated to !nd that nothing was available. Determined not to give up, they decided to try a le"er drop, which yielded a reply from a homeowner who had tried and failed to sell their home.

Initially delighted to have found a house, it soon became apparent to the couple why the property had been taken o# the market. ‘The house was a complete state and needed everything doing, from the mouldy lean-to utility with its corrugated plastic roof, to the pile of rubble from a botched wall removal. Nothing had been done to it for years. But its bare bones were intact, and we weren’t paying for !nishes that we’d rather choose for ourselves.’

To restore their home to its mid-century best, the couple turned to Archmongers, an architectural practice that had impressed them with their knack for reviving and improving 20th-century houses. ‘They can totally transform even the most unpromising places,’ explains Harriet. The houses on the development $ ip the historic convention, and living rooms are sited at the rear with views of the garden, while the kitchen-diners sit at the front overlooking a courtyard and outdoor storage by the street. Most of the houses have since extended along one side of the courtyard to incorporate the

external storage and create another room. Harriet and Will opted to extend a li!le further into the courtyard to create a new kitchen, while transforming the old one into a dedicated dining area that opens on to the living room.

Fortunately, much of the couple’s existing furniture perfectly complements the new space. Their mid-century sideboards and Ercol chairs look good alongside new additions, such as the beautifully simple kitchen table. But it’s Harriet’s wonderful collection of vintage Polish posters that steals the show, working brilliantly against the mid-century backdrop. ‘ With their vibrant o"set colours, they have quite a transformative e"ect, bringing something unique to each room,’ says Harriet. ‘They genuinely make me feel happy every time I see them.’

It is exactly the reaction she had when she #rst became aware of the posters two years ago, when she visited her friend Sylwia Newman’s house. The women’s daughters had been at nursery together and it was over a cup of tea that Sylwia’s poster collection caught Harriet’s eye. ‘ We bonded over a love of these stunning pieces of graphic art and quickly became excited about introducing them to a wider audience,’ she explains.

Created during the Fi $ies, Sixties and Seventies in communist Poland, the vividly coloured posters shone out against bleak grey streets. The oppressive regime had le$ visual artists with few permi!ed forms of expression beyond the state’s propaganda posters, and many of the designs Projekt 26 now sells not only broke graphic design boundaries, but also these state-sanctioned works o$en contained secretly subversive messages. ‘The artists of The Polish School of Posters were #ghting for freedom, and their work remains a beautiful beacon of hope,’ says Harriet. projekt26.com; @projekt_ 26

In the living room, a neutral scheme is enlivened with colourful art and objects including a vintage Polish poster from Projekt 26 and colour-grouped books. RIGHT On a vintage Danish sideboard sourced at Mustard Vintage sits a collection of German vases and a framed page from a Seventies Polish design magazine from Projekt 26.

ABOVE The kitchen combines Ikea cabinets with custom fronts by Reform and a marble splashback and worktop from Alpha Marble & Granite. The set of green 1950s Branksome China jugs belonged to Harriet’s greataunt. LEFT Vintage Polish posters by Andrzej Krajewski from Projekt 26.

The couple decided to leave the building’s steels exposed and painted them a soft green, which complements the pink shade of the Verner Panton ‘FlowerPot’ pendant light, sourced at Nordic Nest.

The couple reconfigured the top floor to add a separate WC and shower room to the master bedroom. They opened up the ceiling, added a skylight and exposed the beams to create a more airy look. The Original BTC Hector Dome wall lights were from Heal’s. The poster over the bed is a 1979 Polish design ‘A Simple Past’ by Maria Ihnatowicz from Projekt 26.

ABOVE Glass panels maximise the sense of light in the top-floor master bedroom. The vintage bamboo chair is by Dutch designer Rohé Noordwolde and was sourced on eBay, draped with a pink blanket by Klippan. BELOW LEFT The family bathroom is pink: ‘It’s feminine but it has still got punch and a bit of retro feel!’ BELOW RIGHT The architects Archmongers designed a new staircase in order to accommodate a wetroom on the top floor. The runner rug is from Made.

The study opens on to the landing but can be partitioned off with a full-height concealed door. Will added the wall of cork tiles from Siesta Cork: ‘ They’re practical, natural and sustainable,’ says Harriet. The poster by the window is a 1972 Polish example, ‘Max and the Gang’, by Andrzej Krajewski. The mid-century teak desk by Gunther Hoffstead for Uniflex was an eBay find. The vintage fibreglass DSS stacking chair is by Herman Miller.