Property

Sitting room with Alvar Aalto suite

In keeping with the modernist ethos, all the fixtures in the house are pared down and understated – original light fittings and electric fires are recessed and trimmed in brushed metal. It’s the overall design of the house that gives it star quality.

‘When we were there I loved the way you could stand in the kitchen doorway and see all the way through to the living room. The sight lines are wonderful,’ says Trapp.

Neil Scaplehorn, 30, a public relations executive, house-sitting at Six Pillars while it awaits sale for a cool £1,350,000, agrees. ‘The best aspect of living here is that the house itself is so sculptural,’ he says. ‘The reflections of the window against the balcony are beautiful. I love the flow of the house; downstairs rooms all have two entrances so you can move from room to room without feeling like you’re getting in each other’s way.’ Feature continues

The graceful spiral staircase

Looking at the curved walls of the living room and the helix-like twirl of the staircase, it’s easy to agree that the house has grace. However, for all that, it’s less expansive than the outside views would have you believe. And some features are less successful than others. The thin strip of window running the width of the first floor at the front lets in light but prohibits a view, while the upstairs rooms are small and some of the ceilings are strangely low.

Trapp sees all this as an asset: ‘It is dramatic, yet because the rooms are small it works as a family home.’ The final modernist pièce de résistance is the rear elevation. From the back garden the balance and symmetry of the house is most evident. In contrast to the front, an abundance of floor-to-ceiling windows and three Le Corbusier-inspired sun terraces create dynamism and visual interest.

Both Trapp and Scaplehorn enthuse about life lived the modernist way. For Scaplehorn the chance to luxuriate in a period piece is not to be sniffed at. ‘I’d only ever been on timed tours around great houses before,’ he says, ‘so to live in one is really special.’

Further details available from The Modern House (01420 520805/ www.themodernhouse.co.uk).