The UK is renowned for its traditional country houses, and with good reason. We've got grand Jacobean manors, palatial Baroque estates and sprawling Elizabethan prodigy houses; Blenheim, Chatsworth and Highclere are just a few of the big hitters to visit. Many of them have starring roles as aliases for fictional houses in some of our most-loved films and TV programmes (Downton Abbey, we're looking at you). This only serves to heighten their place in the public imagination. Though sometimes, it can be refreshing to consider heading somewhere a little more contemporary, when planning a cultural day out to nose around someone's old digs. A house that might be a little smaller, a little more understated or off the beaten track, but that is just as worth your time.
The houses below were all designed, built and decorated in the 20th century, yet they are still incredibly rich with stories, history and inspiring design. Perhaps you're in the mood for a small and clever Bauhaus apartment, a midcentury modern designer's home, or a streamlined Art Deco villa. Most of these properties, previously lived in and now open to the public, are located in the UK, but some of our recommendations are located a little further afield around Europe. If one of these takes your fancy, why not use that as a reason to plan a city break around it, and discover more of what somewhere such as Paris or Copenhagen has to offer?
UK
Technically a postmodern house, Charles Jencks’ extraordinary Cosmic House nevertheless deserves a mention on our list. Notoriously hard to secure a ticket to get inside (it's open from April to December and tickets are released on the third Friday of each month, they sell out very quickly), The Cosmic House is Grade-I listed and was built between 1978 and 1983. Its distinctive façade stands out amongst the other houses on the street, and sets the tone for the riotous interiors within. As the house's website explains, the style sways ‘between pop and classical culture, between high art and accessible kitsch’, making for a colourful melting pot of contrasting ideas. Some of the treasures that await inside include the Winter Room, with theatrical drapes and a fireplace designed by Michael Graves (a member of the Memphis Group), and the architectural library, with its village of house-shaped bookcases.
The Cosmic House, 19 Lansdowne Walk, London, W11 3AH
The Isokon Flats, or Lawn Road Flats as they are also known, were designed by the architect Wells Coates for Jack and Molly Pritchard, who had the original idea for the project. The block was the first modern apartment complex in Britain, and was completed in 1934. In 1999 the building was listed as ‘Grade 1’ by the The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, meaning it is considered a property of ‘exceptional national, architectural, or historical importance’, and was extensively renovated in 2004 after falling into disrepair during the latter decades of the 20th century. Famous residents of the block include a trio of Bauhaus icons - founder of the school Walter Gropius, designer Marcel Breuer and artist László Moholy-Nagy - as well as Agatha Christie and a number of Soviet spies, such as Arnold Deutsch.
The utopian vision for Isokon was a convenient, communal and modern way of living, with streamlined design and compact, clever built-in storage. The complex included a bar and restaurant (named the Isobar), a catering kitchen for the flats, and on-site laundry and cleaning services. Isobar was a hub for creatives to gather, from the famous residents to other artists like Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson. The Isokon Furniture Company produced pioneering examples of bent plywood furniture, some of which, like Breuer's Long Chair, are still made today.
Although the flats, unlike others on our list, are still privately owned, the gallery is open to visit throughout the year, which holds events, talks and temporary exhibitions. There is also an opportunity to visit the interior of multiple private flats as part of Open House London 2025 on 13th and 14th September - there will be queues, so put it in your diary now and make sure to get down there early. The penthouse apartment with roof terrace is a highlight, and the largest in the complex; this is where the Pritchards, who commissioned Isokon, resided.
Isokon Building, Lawn Road, London, NW3 2XD
Combine your visit to Isokon with a trip to 2 Willow Road, located just a 15 minute walk away on another quiet, leafy Hampstead street. The building was completed in 1939, the Modernist design of Hungarian-born architect Ernö Goldfinger, who is perhaps best known for designing the Brutalist landmarks Trellick Tower and Balfron Tower, as well as being the inspiration for the famous Bond villain of the same name; Ian Fleming was neighbours with the architect for a time, and rumour has it they did not get on particularly well. Goldfinger lived in 2 Willow Road with his family until he died in 1987, and it has been preserved as it was lived in, with their extensive art collection hanging on walls, sleek and functional furniture designed by Goldfinger himself, and trinkets from travels displayed on shelves and windowsills. Continuous floor to ceiling windows create a light and airy feel, and an ingenious spiral staircase designed by Ove Arup serves all floors of the property.
2 Willow Road, London, NW3 1TH
Showcasing another side of 1930s design, this opulent Art Deco mansion is tucked away in Eltham, near Greenwich. The original part of Eltham Palace is medieval, and its Great Hall, which dates from the 1470s, can also be visited. However, in 1936, eccentric millionaires Stephen and Virginia Courtauld decided to build a modern home attached to the historic palace: saving the building from deterioration and at the same time creating a luxurious home for themselves. Highlights to discover when visiting include the vast, circular entrance hall (seen above), Virginia's onyx bathroom with a shimmering golden mosaic and a statue of Psyche, her circular bedroom, the map room and areas which were designed especially for their pet lemur. Film and TV productions filmed at Eltham Palace include Brideshead Revisited, Bright Young Things, and The Crown.
Eltham Palace, Court Yard, Eltham, Greenwich, London, SE9 5NP
In the sleepy village of Haddenham in Buckinghamshire, are three Grade II-listed houses which comprise the Turn End estate. Designed by architect Peter Aldington in the 1960s, the wood, concrete and glass houses combine modernity with their historic setting. The family still live at Turn End (the other two houses are also privately occupied), so it is only able to be visited on open days and special events. The garden at Turn End, also Grade II-listed, is a highlight of any visit. Inextricably linked with the soul of the architecture, it perfectly complements the houses which it surrounds with varied planting schemes.
Turn End, Townside, Haddenham, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP17 8BG
This blocky Modernist house is located near Esher in Surrey, and is open for guided tours operated by the National Trust. The exterior and interiors are influenced by Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, and it was completed in 1938. It is an elevated structure of reinforced concrete, supported by slim pillars, and would have been the height of modernity when it was built, as well as being totally unlike other houses in the area. Designed by Patrick Gwynne, it was the architect's first house project, and the one that he chose to live in for the rest of his life. Inside, furniture by Gwynne can be found, such as a desk and magazine table, as well as other iconic pieces by Charles and Ray Eames. Features of the sleek interiors include dramatic floor to ceiling windows, glass bricks, a central spiral staircase, curved walls and a folding screen door. The six acres of gardens are also open to visit.
The Homewood, Portsmouth Road, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9JL
Situated in the heart of Cambridge, Kettle's Yard comprises a house and art gallery, which hosts exhibitions by contemporary artists. Jim and Helen Ede renovated four derelict cottages to create the house and lived there between 1957 and 1973. The creative couple dedicated their lives to art, having a somewhat ‘open door’ policy at their house where the community could discover and enjoy their curated collection, sourced over the years from friends and peers (Jim had been a curator at the Tate in the 1920s and 30s). These include works by Brancusi, Miró, Nicholson, Moore and Hepworth. Pictured above is the modern extension to the house, completed in the 1970s, which is a larger, open space flooded with natural light and where many of these paintings and sculptures are displayed. In the original cottage part of the house, seashells, stones and driftwood are delicately arranged on windowsills, and low down beneath the windows, paintings hang atypically. It's this quaint and rustic, yet forward sense of curation that characterises Kettle's Yard.
Kettle's Yard, University of Cambridge, Castle Street, Cambridge, CB3 0AQ
Denmark is a mecca for midcentury design, so the house of the movement's leading lights, Finn Juhl, is certainly deserving of making a pilgrimage to if you're a fan of this era of design. Just north of and easily accessible from Copenhagen, the house was designed and decorated by Juhl and was completed in 1942, for himself and his wife to live in. It is populated with his streamlined chair and table designs, as well as paintings from his personal collections, with rooms decorated in a classic muted, calming midcentury palette. It's packed with ideas to steal for your own home, from unconventional places to hang pictures, to smart shelving configurations. Negative space on the walls is used to great effect, and creates a wonderful visual harmony throughout the house.
Finn Juhl's House, Ordrupgaard, Vilvordevej 110, 2920 Charlottenlund
Very much in the same vein as Finn Juhl's House, the Aalto House in the neighbourhood of Munkkiniemi, Helsinki, was designed together by Aalvar Aalto and his wife and design partner Aino. The house is restrained and functional, cube-like and at odds with the surrounding foliage of the garden. Yet inside, the warmth of wood finishes and the balanced compositions of objects and furniture (including their own designs such as the famous X chair), avoid it feeling severe or sparse. Aalvar Alto's studio is located close to the house and is also open for tours, so we'd recommend visiting both on the same day.
The Aalto House, Riihitie 20, FI-00330 Helsinki
France
In the 16th arrondissement of Paris, far from the typical tourist spots, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret's Maison La Roche sits on a quiet cul-de-sac. The villa was built as a home for Raoul La Roche, a wealthy collector of modern art. In polar opposition to the classic Haussmannian architecture that defines Paris, the purist house, designed and built between 1923 and 1925, is dominated by clean lines and is minimalist in form and decoration. Blocks of colour are carefully chosen, whether a deep maroon on a sweeping ramp balustrade or a custom sunshade for the high windows that run the length of one of the large rooms. The property is split into the public section - the gallery, created to showcase his collection of paintings, and his private living spaces, where a handful of Le Corbusier's Thonet chairs can be found. There is also a tranquil roof garden to step out onto. A little off the beaten track, Maison La Roche is a wonderful addition to any Paris itinerary.
10 square du Docteur Blanche, 75016 Paris
As with Paris, Lille is also easily reached on the Eurostar, and takes just an hour and twenty minutes from London, so the magnificent Villa Cavrois in nearby Croix could be conquered on a day trip. Local industrialist Paul Cavrois commissioned Robert Mallet-Stevens to build him a family home, and this imposing Art Deco villa was the result. The villa was used as barracks for the German army during the Second World War, and afterwards was redesigned by Pierre Barbe for the Cavrois family. In later years the villa was abandoned, vandalised and fell into disrepair. During the 2000s and 2010s, extensive renovation work (at a cost of around 23 million euros) was undertaken on the exterior and interiors, in order to restore the house to how it looked in 1932. Like Maison La Roche, the striking modernity of the facade contrasts with the other houses in the area, even today. Roof terraces, a pool, angular bedrooms in Mondrian colours, and open plan living areas with balconies and high ceilings are just some of the features of this wonderful house that can be discovered.
60 avenue John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 59170 Croix
Netherlands
Another destination with direct Eurostar services to and from London, Rotterdam is often overlooked as a city break destination, in favour of the eternally popular Amsterdam. However, there is so much to see and do in Rotterdam in terms of art and design, one of which is the small but perfectly formed Sonneveld House. Located in the Museumpark in the city, the house was designed in the early 1930s by architecture firm Brinkman en Van der Vlugt, in the functionalist Nieuwe Bouwen style, the slogan of which was ‘light, air and space’. As with Paul Cavrois, Albertus Sonneveld, the patriarch of the family who commissioned the house, was a director of a local factory. The modernism of the house's interiors is present in its tubular steel furniture, simple shapes and lacquered tabletops, with pops of colour such as a lemon yellow door or orange armchairs; the colour schemes of the rooms were tailored to the family member who would be using it. Most of the furniture in the house is by Rotterdam company Gispen. Sheer curtains allow natural light into the space, while separating the house from the city, allowing the space to feel private and self-contained.
Huis Sonneveld, Jongkindstraat 12, Rotterdam
Rotterdam is well known for its somewhat avant-garde contemporary architecture, and one of the best examples that can be visited is the complex of Cube Houses, with their unmistakeable yellow facade. The Cube Houses were designed by Piet Blom and were built in 1984. They are situated in central Rotterdam, near the vast Markthal food market and the equally eye-catching Blaaktoren or ‘pencil building', also by Blom. One of the unconventional apartments can be visited for small entrance fee. Walls and windows face at strange angles, and the experimental house is rather disorientating to walk around. However, custom built-in furniture such as bookcases, a bed, desk and sofas results in a clever and compact space to live in.
Kijk-Kubus Museum-house, Overblaak 70, 3011 MH, Rotterdam
Italy
Built in the Rationalist style by architect Piero Portaluppi in the early-mid 1930s, Villa Necchi Campiglio is a jewel box of a house in the centre of Milan. The villa was designed as the epitome of refinement for the wealthy namesake family that commissioned it to be built, with a classical layout to the house alongside cutting-edge modern features, like the swimming pool that was incorporated into the garden. After WWII, the interiors were altered by architect Tomaso Buzzi, who brought in features drawn from the 18th-century, in particular Louis XIV design elements. Most of the 2009 Luca Guadagnino film I Am Love was filmed there, as well as scenes in Ridley Scott's House of Gucci.
