Wallpaper Maza: Blue wallpaper

Saturday, 11 August 2012

Blue wallpaper

Blue Wallpaper
Biogoraphy

Martin Plimmer’s riverside flat may be small – but it shares the same view as the multimillion-pound apartments next door. The kitchen and living room have been knocked into one to make the most of the light. Photographs: Luke Hayes

When Martin Plimmer, 59, was looking to buy a property, he stuck to what he knew: Victorian terraces. But he soon realised that, in London, his £250,000 budget stretched only to rabbit-warren conversions, with corridors split in half and paperboard walls. So he kept an open mind when his estate agent took him to Selworthy House, a local authority high-rise on the Battersea riverfront built by one of Britain's first modernist architects, and pioneer in reinforced concrete, Colin Lucas. It is 20 storeys of jagged, stacked concrete cubes – a real-life Jenga tower.

Properties in this part of London average £750,000, but Plimmer stuck to his budget. Now, after six months of transformation, costing £15,000, the space is a luxurious, if small, apartment, overlooking the Thames and a 10-minute stroll from Kings Road. It shares the same view as the multimillion-pound apartments next door.

Plimmer didn't want to fight against the simple design of the block. "I decided early on to stick to the vision of the architect, which is clean and uncluttered," he says. The flat is only 700 square metres – an open-plan living/kitchen area, bedroom and bathroom – but feels more spacious due to the modern lines and white walls. Originally the kitchen and the living room were separate rooms, but were knocked through by a previous owner. "It is such an obvious thing to do," Plimmer says. "They aren't huge flats, so the more space you've got, the better. And structurally they are better than Victorian housing."

Blue Wallpaper