The Scandinavian-inspired interiors of Konstantinos Lazarou and Johannes Reponen’s 1960s Span house in New Ash Green, Kent
It’s been three and a half years since Konstantinos Lazarou, director of marketing and communications at the Textile Exchange, and Johannes Reponen, a scholar, critic and consultant, bought their 1960s Eric Lyons-designed Span house in New Ash Green from The Modern House. Following a thoughtful renovation, their home is at once a reflection of Konstantinos’ eye for colour and contemporary design, and a love letter to Johannes’ Scandinavian heritage – all while honouring Lyons’ ethos that a happy home is all about light and space.
While selling design-led homes is our first love, there’s perhaps nothing better than checking back in on our buyers to see how they’ve made the space their own. Originally commissioned for Issue No.3 of The Modern House Magazine, this story saw us return to New Ash Green last summer to see just how Konstantinos and Johannes are enjoying themselves. Oh, and if you haven’t already purchased your copy of our third magazine, now might just be the time (we don’t mean to tease, but we’re currently very busy working on the pages of No.4).
Konstantinos: “We were looking on The Modern House for inspiration but the move was spontaneous. We were renting a cottage in Queen’s Park in west London at the time and we wanted something similar in the countryside. Then we saw the house in New Ash Green and ended up buying it. That was back in 2018.”
Johannes: “It’s a 1960s Span house by architect Eric Lyons, who formerly worked with Walter Gropius. Half of the village was designed by Lyons and there’s a lovely principle that underpins it: the houses were built for the community. When you think of someone like Gropius and other seminal 20th-century architects, you associate them with grand buildings that can feel elitist but here the homes are for everyone.
“Postwar British architecture and utopian ideas defined the creation of the village but there’s also something very un-English and very modern about this house, which I think appealed to both of us.
“I’m from Finland and for me, the house reminds me of the homes in Scandinavia that are built with modernist principles, on having an emphasis on light and space. The back wall of the house, for example, is just one big window. And the way in which the house was built allowed us the opportunity to knock down any wall we wanted inside, which means the space is incredibly flexible.”
Konstantinos: “The house needed so much work. We completely gutted it and renovated from there, from a new boiler to new bathrooms, new windows to new floors. We got to know the house quite intimately, down to where every single pipe and wire is. We weren’t prepared for buying or renovating a house but we just went along with it all. It was a fun project; we were able to create a house that was right for us.
“We went in with a really clear idea of what we wanted. We were quite precise in planning and mood boarding – literally, we had a plan for everything, even the plug sockets and where they should go. The result looks exactly as we designed it.
“We took out a wall downstairs and opened the kitchen to create one open space. We wanted to have a nice flow so you can enter the kitchen from any side of the house, as it’s a focal point. We bought Italian terrazzo and put in oak wood floors because we wanted it to feel modern. Although the house is Span and built in the 1960s, we didn’t want it to feel like we’re living in a timewarp.
“The garden is something that we wanted to elevate. We worked with Scandinavian designers to furnish the space and then Johannes did all the gardening, choosing the plants and greenery.
“There’s a nice relationship with our home and the pieces we’ve bought. We wanted to maintain a Scandinavian aesthetic throughout so we bought an oak table, the classic HAY sofa and all the cushions are Kvadrat/Raf Simons. I went to Stockholm and bought seven of them! There’s no better place to shop than Scandinavia.
“In the living room we have a Carl Hansen chairs, we bought our marble coffee table in Los Angeles and the beautiful art is by Jan Sebastian Koch, which we got from a gallery in London. I also buy a lot of knick-knacks, so every three months I change around the vases, candles and candlesticks. It’s important for me to be surrounded by colour – it’s a Greek thing.”
Johannes: “The books in the dining room are mine. I spend a lot of time reading on the big chair there. It’s a space inspired by a trip Sweden. We went to Ett Hem, designed by Ilse Crawford; there’s a beautiful room there where they have a huge dining table with a big bookcase behind it and it reminded me of my friends and family I would visit as a child, as they would have the same. There’s something lovely about that. In our home, we have spent a lot of time working here. It just transforms from a workspace into a dining area.
“The space is very flexible and I think that’s so fun. We entertain here a lot – most of our friends would rather come here than go out and, to me, that’s a win.”
Konstantinos: “Funnily enough, we see more people here than when we were in London. It’s a great house to entertain for dinners and lunches but friends also want to come and stay for the weekend. Usually, I’m in charge of drinks and Johannes does the cooking.”
Johannes: “It only takes 45 minutes to travel here from London – it took us that on a bus from Queen’s Park to get into the centre of town. So, it’s the same commute but we’re in the middle of the countryside. There are loads of places to walk and I have an allotment nearby. We have amazing farm shops, where you can buy really lovely food and fresh vegetables from the surrounding areas. That’s something we enjoy a lot.”
Konstantinos: “At the weekend it feels like a really lovely, special place because of the fields where you can walk and properly unwind. And because the back wall downstairs is glass, you do have a relationship with the weather and the garden. I feel like I personally know all the local birds.”
Johannes: “This year, we’ve become incredibly aware of how important home is. I think everyone’s had to re-evaluate their relationship with the space in which they live. It’s made me really appreciate the house that we have. We enjoy living here and we feel like we can both function and work. We’ve discovered that we can do everything within our space and still be happy.”
