Tim Hartley, internationally acclaimed hairdresser and protégé of Vidal Sassoon CBE, has a love for modernist architecture and design. In the past, he’s presented hair collections inspired by Le Corbusier and Gio Ponti, and today has a furniture collection of original Bonzanini and Martinelli. So, 14 years ago, when he came across a 1960s home inspired by Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, he knew instantly he had to live there – except it wasn’t for sale. But, as if meant to be, a perfectly timed encounter with its then owner meant that six months later, the house was his. It was a fitting homage, then, that the first hair show Tim presented here he titled ‘Serendipity’.

The house was an early project by Foggo & Thomas. Located in Holyport, Berkshire, it’s a contemporary delight among the nearby period houses. The material palette of cedar wood, steel and glass and the single-level structure calls to mind the Californian Case Study Houses – a rarity here in the UK. Tim describes the house as a reflection of what he is known for in the hairdressing industry: simplicity, technique, and purity. As his home, which he shares with his life-long friend Susie Mutch, comes on the market, Tim reflects on life in an extraordinary example of architectural design.

Tim: “There are three of these H-shaped houses by Foggo & Thomas, but it was the prototype Space House in Grinstead, West Sussex, that I first fell in love with. I thought it was such a good name because it seemed to have just landed, in quite an outer-worldly way. People either get it or they don’t, which I love because I’m a non-conformist. I like modernity, I like purity, I like something visually strong. It was the perfect fit.

“I read about it in the paper and then went to see it, spent some time there, and the next day it was sold. My partner at the time said, ‘there are more of those houses’, and so, we researched and discovered this one. I knocked on its door on a Sunday afternoon and this chap with big eyebrows came out and just stared at me. I said, ‘Excuse me, sorry to disturb you, I’m a fan of the architecture,’ to which he replied, ‘this is a Mies van der Rohe-style house, young man.’ I told him I loved it and said if he was going to sell it, would he consider selling it to me. He replied, ‘Possibly. I’m thinking of moving.’ It was purely serendipitous.

“Foggo & Thomas were students when they designed it – can you believe it? And building it here! The Royal Riding School, where the Queen would come and learn to ride horses, used to be next door.

“The house feels like a gallery space to some extent. The unconventional materials feel Californian, and you see all these influences coming from Denmark and Scandinavia – there’s very much that concept of pure simplicity, and bringing the nature of outside in. Just the space of the windows exhilarated me when I first moved in.

“When Vidal and his wife Ronnie first came here, he said, ‘Wow Tim, this is more like it.’ He thought everywhere else I’d lived – which had been loft-style apartments on the King’s Road and in Pimlico, west London – had been too conventional! He and Ronnie came here more than any other place I ever had – often to relax and have a Sunday roast. They found it very tranquil.

“Some people round here think the house is hideous – you either want modernity or you don’t. It’s an architectural gem. I’m very proud of it. Within the hairdressing industry, I stand for technique, simplicity and purity, so I couldn’t live anywhere that’s doesn’t embody those values. I went to look at Georgian apartments and as beautiful as they were, I wouldn’t be able to relax in them, my stuff wouldn’t look right.

“I think I’ve got very grand taste. I have a 1958 Bonzanini table from Vidal and Ronnie, an original egg chair from 1968. The pair of Saarinen tables came from the Pan Am building in New York. There’s a Willy Rizzo table in the living area and an Eileen Gray chair. The mirror is Anthony Redmile, he was really big in the 1970s – it was one of the first things I bought back when I lived in Pimlico.

“I love the Dennis Hawkins artwork. I found it in San Francisco with my friend when we were thrifting, and I said, ‘Wow, I’ve got to have that.’ It cost me so much money to ship it back and later found out he was in fact a British artist!

“I have two lamps from Gallery 25 in Pimlico – it used to be just off Sloane Square. It’s one of those places you can’t walk past without looking in the window. I would look at these two lamps in the window all the time and one day, the owner called me in and said, ‘I’m sick of you looking at these, you have to buy them.’ And I did. They’re original Martinelli from the 1960s.

“As you can see, I’m a bit of a collector. In the reading room with the sound system, I have ceramics and glass. I have lots of Holmegaard art glass vases – the smaller ones were made in the 1950s, the larger ones between 1967 and 1970 – they’re rarefied. I bought them all over the place, in London, Denmark – primarily antique shops.

“I started buying books when I was 15 and the reading room here is one of my favourite spaces. It’s quite private. I sit in there and read my papers. I like to take myself off to that room, it makes me feel calm. I like peacefulness.

“I like this house because it’s hidden. I planted evergreen trees all around the house, which we light up at night – it’s so beautiful. And I’ll sit outside in the garden all day. There’s an area that stays cool when it gets hot, which is almost like a Japanese garden.

“I love when I wake up here in the morning, and I look out the window and I have a feeling of what time it is. It’s such a joy when the sun comes up, especially in the summer and you can see the light twinkling through the trees. On the other side of the road is woodland that belongs to the National Trust, so it’s like a conservation area for birds and wildlife. Even in the winter, when there are no leaves on the trees, it’s still atmospheric.

“Living here is very calming. I’m a very messy and disorganised person and the simplicity of the house helps me get more clarity. A friend once said to me, ‘it is a fact that you get more clarity of thought in a minimalist environment.’ Even guests are contented when they come to visit, they’ll sit and read a book somewhere.

“I grew to love the house even more during lockdown. It gave me a chance to get more in touch with everything: myself, the seasons, and the opportunity to reflect on my heritage, giving me clarity and the desire to return to my northern roots, York. I have lived here for 15 years and I know that I will miss everything about it and will reflect on so many amazing times with family and close friends.”