A listed Art Deco house in Bromley is looking for a new owner to restore it to its former glory.
The house, called Stillness, was described as “perhaps the most complete and impressive example of its style in Britain” by Kenneth Powell and Nick Dawe in their book, The Modern House Today.
Stillness, a white, 2,743 sq ft Art Deco building with black Crittall windows, set in “serene” mature gardens, was commissioned by a wealthy Bromley resident and designed by the architect Gilbert Booth in 1934.
The building, made from brick and covered with textured concrete, is one of clean lines and geometric patterns, including the octagonal swimming pool outside. It was arranged to maximise sunlight from the southwest, with two, full-height curved sections at the back of the house.
Set back from Lodge Road and surrounded by greenery, it is intended to offer privacy, seclusion and, of course, stillness.
Powell and Dawe described the house as “modernistic, rather than mainstream modern, though powerfully composed and well-detailed by the otherwise obscure Gilbert Booth”.
Stillness gained its Grade II listing in 2003, with Historic England highlighting the retention of the original layout, Crittall windows and metal balustrade around the sunroof. Original features labelled in the report, like the curved staircase, oak architraves, skirting boards and floorboards, as well as the fireplaces and fittings (including the servants’ bells) still remain in place today.
The house was last sold in 2006 by its owner, David Calcott, who had lived there for 24 years. "I never viewed the house when I bought it. I did it on the phone. But then I am a design consultant so I am steeped in these things,” Calcott told The Telegraph in 2006. “I contacted the owner and asked if I could have first refusal if he ever wanted to sell it. Then he rang me."
Calcott undertook a careful restoration of the house, using the architect’s drawings to re-install the original doors, which he found in the garage. The carpets —now re-laid— were ripped up to expose the oak floors and the exterior walls were coated in an authentic textured concrete.
Calcott called in specialists Astoria Art Deco of Leigh-on-Sea to source period furniture to match the architecture and geometry of the house. Some of this was sold onto the current owners, and is again available by separate negotiation, say listing agents jdm Estate Agents.
“I'd like the house to go intact, and not dismantle what we've done over 20 years,” Calcott said in a Guardian interview from 2004, when he first listed it for sale. Yet sadly, over the next 18 years, some of Calcott’s fears have been realised.
The current owners bought the house in 2006, because they “fell in love with the great location, amazing house, pool and gardens,” say the agents. They relocated to the US for work, and, in 2013, the property was listed for rent.
Since then, Stillness has not been as well maintained, and now requires some renovation. “Its bones are strong, and the possibilities are endless,” says jdm. “The original features provide a glimpse into the grandeur that can be restored to this residence.”
The owners, who are not returning to the UK, have now chosen to sell. Stillness is listed for £1.5 million with jdm.
Today, the five-bedroom house covers two storeys, with a large L-shaped living room —showcasing its feature curved windows— kitchen, sitting room and garage downstairs, and the bedrooms above. There is a large, 50ft roof terrace, and an octagonal swimming pool —in need of some work— outside.
“This exceptional house will appeal to those buyers looking for a home with character and potential but also with an interesting history,” says Jeremy de Maid, partner at jdm. “This unique residence offers a rare opportunity to revive the splendour of a bygone era.”
