Peculiar, is perhaps the first word that springs to mind when one discovers this Georgian house in genteel Dulwich Village, bestowed with a striking Brutalist extension by renowned post-war architect Cecil Elsom. Yet its peculiarity is precisely what makes the house captivating. At first glance from the street, it’s all buttoned up charm and a touch of clipped restraint to match the picket fence, but step closer and appearances are not as they seem…Tradition merges with mid-century cool and a modernist wing floats suspended above the palms.

Our work is now underway at this delicious anachronism, and we can’t wait to share more. For now, a snippet of the house’s three century long history. In the mid-twentieth century Cecil Elsom, socialite, bon vivant and architectural provocateur, purchased the property as his London home.

His soirées soon became the stuff of legend, drawing a shimmering cast of society’s who’s who. Among them Alfred Hitchcock, whose cinematic classic North by Northwest inspired certain corners of our scheme, bringing a touch of Vandamm Lair glamour, and a trace of Eve Kendall mystery to the scene.

Concept painting for the Vandamm House by MGM artist- Source: Financial Times