Concept For Living magazine » A house less ordinary

A house less ordinary

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

A unique 1960s house hidden away in the suburban streets of York has been extended in a very contemporary way, creating a dramatic mix of retro and modern.

The 1960s was a decade of change and innovation for Britain, and brought with it more than just short skirts and flower power. A cultural revolution was underfoot, and rapid progressions in design and architecture were influencing the way people lived and the furniture they bought. It was during this decade that the Macdonald family in York commissioned local architect Ron Simms to design them a house, on a site overlooking Hob Moor, in which they could entertain guests and clients of their furniture store Macdonalds, which to this day remains one of the finest of its kind in the region. The building that resulted was a modern, open-plan home that was radically different from its neighbours, and a homage to progressive architecture.

Four decades later, the Palmour family were searching for their ideal home when they chanced upon the property, which is tucked away at the end of a cul-de-sac. Simon Palmour, his wife Danielle and daughter Rowan, 11, fell in love with the house straight away, appreciating its unconventional style, sprawling layout and flat roofs. Simon’s mother was unconvinced, however. “I brought my mum to look at it from the outside,” he says. “She always thinks everything I do is marvellous, but when she saw it, she said, ‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’ which is her equivalent of saying, ‘This is the worst house I’ve ever seen!’”

Nevertheless, the Palmours saw potential in the house and before long, it was theirs. “We did quite a lot of work to it, mainly installing a new central heating system, new flooring and a new roof,” says Simon. “The kitchen wasn’t open-plan, as the rest of the house was. There was a hatch and I suppose the idea in the 60s was that the wife would cook in the kitchen and then wheel the food round on a hostess trolley. So we knocked through to make it part of the living space.”

This feature can be found in CFL issue 132.