My Midcentury Interiors Inspiration

I often get asked by customers where to go for inspiration for mid-century interiors, and I’m never quite sure there’s one perfect answer. There isn’t a single website or Instagram account that has it all, although www.themodernhouse.com is certainly pretty close!

Over the years I’ve built up a huge album in the photo section of my phone, hundreds of images I’ve collected, saved and returned to again and again. They’re the spaces I always reference when I’m thinking about proportion, materials and light, or simply how a room should feel. I’m sure there’s something more I should do with the collection, but for now I wanted to pull together a small selection of my favourite houses and share them in one place.

These are homes I find endlessly inspiring, they’re not overly styled or untouchable and they represent what mid-century design does best, calm light filled spaces, using natural materials. These are houses that genuinely work for everyday life. I hope they spark ideas for your own home 

- Caroline

Klein House (High Sunderland), Scottish Borders - Peter Womersley, 1957–58 

Klein House is the example I always send to people when they’re stuck on the idea of mixing different woods and materials in the same space. Commissioned by textile designer Bernat Klein and designed by Scottish architect Peter Womersley in the late 1950s, it’s one of Britain’s most extraordinary mid-century homes, and one of the few that genuinely feels effortlessly composed. From the first time I saw the photographs what struck me wasn’t just the architecture, but how beautifully the different woods and surfaces all harmonise without feeling fussy or overly designed. Oak, rosewood, travertine, stone, tile and painted surfaces sit side by side, and yet the whole house feels calm and coherent and rich in texture rather than cluttered.

For anyone redesigning a mid-century home who worries about mixing tones and materials, Klein House is the perfect lesson.  Different woods can absolutely work together in the same space when the proportions are right and the palette is anchored by light and careful detailing. 

Pine Heath, London - Studio Hagen Hall, 1950s Townhouse 

Pine Heath is a recently reimagined mid-century London townhouse that shows how restoration can feel modern without losing the spirit of the original building. What I love most about this house is the use of colour against the teak panelling. it’s a simple palette, but because only a few tones are used, they can afford to be bold. It feels calm and completely timeless. I’m also slightly obsessed with the kitchen, because I honestly think kitchens are one of the hardest rooms to get right in a mid-century house - go too ‘sixties’ and it can feel kitsch, go too modern and it feels disconnected from the rest of the architecture. Pine Heath is such a good example of how to do it properly. The warm wooden cabinetry, clean lines, simple finishes and natural materials. It feels considered and understated and totally in keeping with the rest of the house, proving that the best mid-century interiors don’t rely on trends and are more about proportions and beautiful materials.

Turn End, Hillingdon - Peter Aldington & John Prizeman, late 1960s

Designed by Peter Aldington and John Prizeman in the late 1960s, Turn End was conceived as a series of connected spaces where low ceilings, shifting volumes and carefully framed views make every room feel purposeful. Marcus and I were lucky enough to spend an evening in conversation with Peter Aldington a few years ago, and hearing him speak about Turn End made the house feel even more impressive, not because it was built to show off, but because it was designed with such quiet intelligence around a modest plot. What sets it apart is its beautiful use of light and proportion. The sunlight is choreographed through skylights, courtyards and glass walls so the interiors always feel alive and changing. For anyone redesigning a mid-century home, Turn End is a reminder that architecture doesn’t need to be monumental to be moving.  Thoughtful connecting spaces, clever daylighting and plenty of restraint can turn even compact spaces into something really memorable.

The Ahm House, Harpenden - Jørn Utzon & Povl Ahm, 1961/62

Ahm House is one of the most celebrated mid-century homes in Britain and the only completed house in the UK designed by Danish modern master Jørn Utzon (best known for the Sydney Opera House). It was built for structural engineer Povl Ahm between 1961 and 1962. What makes it even more remarkable is that it’s right on our doorstep in Harpenden. Marcus and I went to view it when it came onto the market a number of years ago, before the more recent architectural work was carried out, and it completely blew us away. From the road it’s very unimposing, you’d never guess what’s behind the frontage, but once you’re inside the sense of space and light is extraordinary. It isn’t flashy at all, just beautifully thought through.

It uses brick, glass and concrete to create a pavillion with a carefully composed sequence of spaces inside,  the floor to ceiling glazing frames the garden and brings the outside in. It’s now Grade II listed and celebrated for its structural clarity and refined detailing. The more recent interiors, styled with an amazing collection of Danish mid-century classics, work so well because they match the architecture perfectly, it’s a brilliant example of what I love about the best Scandinavian design - it never feels overdone, it’s rooted in quality and simplicity.

Farnley Hey, Farnley Tyas - Peter Womersley, 1954

Farnley Hey is one of Britain’s most celebrated post-war Modern houses, designed in 1954 by architect Peter Womersley as a wedding present to his brother, and set dramatically above a wooded valley with sweeping views over the Pennines. This house has come onto the market twice in the last ten years, and both times I genuinely contemplated moving to Yorkshire for it. I love everything about it; the floors, the use of wood, the open staircase, the shifts in level, and of course those enormous windows framing the landscape like a living artwork. With its flat roof, floor to ceiling windows and a bold sequence of split levels that define different living zones without walls, the house helped define modern domestic architecture in Britain and remains remarkably close to its original condition. The interior flows through changes in height and volume, with a double height living room (famously known as the dancefloor), mezzanine gallery and long views that reinforce the power of light and openness. Farnley Hey shows so well how to make open plan living feel intimate. And it also proves that the best mid-century houses don’t need embellishment, they rely on proportion, honest materials and connection to the outdoors.

 Ansty Plum House, Wiltshire — David Levitt / Sandra Coppin, 1960s Modernist 

Ansty Plum was originally designed in the 1960s by David Levitt for Roger Rigby of Arup Associates, the house sits modestly in a Wiltshire valley and seems far larger than its footprint.  For me, this house is inspiring because it avoids anything superfluous in its design. I love the exposed timber and brick, and its simple connection between inside and outside feels modern even today. Sandra Coppin, the current owner, talks about how the house was built with almost nothing wasted, proportions dictated by the size of a brick and Douglas fir ply, again it's a lesson in the beauty of restraint in architecture and design.

David Shelley’s Home, Nottinghamshire 1970 

Here is the outlier (in the best possible way). While so many mid-century houses are beautifully restrained, this one leans into the more glamorous, extravagant side of the era… it’s the ultimate party house.  Designed in 1970 by architect David Shelley, the architecture is bold and theatrical. A steel framed structure set into the landscape, huge expanses of glass, and strong horizontal lines that make the whole house feel low, wide and cinematic. It has that brilliant mid-century ability to feel incredibly futuristic even now. The internal layout is equally dramatic with flowing spaces, lots of level changes, and features like the sunken seating area and indoor pool that make it feel designed for entertaining. For me, it’s the perfect reference if you want to explore tasteful mid-century glamour with rich materials and strong architectural features. It shows you can go bold and more indulgent whilst still still staying within the language of good modernist design.

I refer back to Frost House frequently when I’m thinking about the use of colour in interior design. Built in 1964 as a prefab model home by Emil Tessin for Alside Homes, it’s enclosed in a glass, aluminium and steel frame.

It is totally open plan with a huge amount of floor to ceiling glazing. The interior design was a collaboration with Paul McCobb and Knoll, with McCobb responsible for the elegant built-ins, including the kitchen cabinets, wardrobes, shelving and glass partitions which manage to knit the space together so cohesively. Knoll supplied the iconic furniture. 

Frost House was designed to be intentionally simple despite the quality of detail. What I love most is the confidence in the colour.  It proves that you can use bold, saturated tones without the space feeling gimmicky or overly themed. Because the architecture is so clean and the details so considered, the colour doesn't feel too decorative and the result is sharp and surprisingly timeless and forward thinking.

If you are redesigning a mid-century house today, Frost house is a brilliant reference point, its proof that strong colour and well considered built-ins can feel as modern today as they did in 1964.