Modern Homes in London

The upstairs living room is an open plan social space, perfect for entertaining. Turntables live behind the vintage mirror (on wheels for easy moving) and make frequent appearances, and the leather sectional holds each piece separately on wheels, fitting together like a movable puzzle.

The couple both cycle to work, thus avoiding the crush of London’s public transport. The Brompton fold-up is not only a design classic but one of the most popular cycles in London—though it is also a favorite of bicycle thieves.

Industrial designer Nina Tolstrup and her husband, Jack Mama, designed this playful guesthouse just opposite their home in London’s Bethnal Green.

Light My Fire “I didn’t want to compromise the Victorian nature of the house,” she says. Although the original fireplace was in good shape, the flooring needed to be replaced. Kiely didn’t want to use new wood, so she sourced the weathered ebony-colored boards from an architectural salvage yard. “I wanted the floors to really feel like they were part of the house,” she says. Kiely found the rug at Heal’s and the chandelier and art are vintage.

Architect Gregory Phillips connected the original house to a new modern extension that doesn’t interfere with the surrounding houses. “I try to be true to the location,”he explains, “so it doesn’t seem like some spaceship has landed.”

Marcus Lee and Rachel Hart’s wonderful wooden home sits at the end of a quiet London lane and politely turns its back on the workshops next door.