A watershed of the new modernist style. Designed and built in 1938 by the British architect Edwin Maxwell Fry, in conjunction with Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus, number 65 Ladbroke Grove is one of the finest surviving Grade II-listed Modernist buildings in London. 

The four storey, buff brick apartment block of seventeen flats was built on the highest point of Ladbroke Grove and looks over historic communal gardens. It also features a penthouse apartment designed by R Myerscough Walker. 

The exterior walkway to the apartment is clad in polychromatic blue and grey tiles, dictated by Le Corbusier’s colour theory. The apartment is characterised by rounded features that evoke the undulating shapes of the ocean liners that inspired Corbusier; beginning with a entrance hall formed by a curving, wired-glass screen and continued with original joinery in soft curves throughout the apartment, including an original floor-to-ceiling wardrobe in the hallway. 

The open plan kitchen and living space has retained much of its original mid-century cabinetry, the floors are boarded throughout in oak from The natural wood floor company and the walls are painted in a soft, dusky pink, complimenting the blonde woodwork. Original crittall windows span the rear elevation, overlooking the gardens. 

The master bedroom is positioned at the rear of the building: it has leafy views through large windows typical of modernist buildings of the era and has retained its original built-in cupboards. At the front is the second bedroom, currently used as a study, and an adjacent bathroom. 

The bathroom has a very European feel, with Grohe tapware and a porthole with toughened glass, again referencing the ocean liner inspiration of Corbusier’s architecture. 

There is a south-west facing balcony with planters, seating and views of the tree canopy and communal gardens below. The building has lift access, a live-in porter and, in the European fashion, communal heating and hot water included in the rental cost. 

Situated on the most elevated point of Ladbroke Grove, the block is perfectly positioned for walking to the prestigious shops and restaurants of Kensington and Chelsea and the famous markets of Portobello Road, Holland Park Avenue and Westbourne Road. 

The underground stations of Holland Park on the Central line, Notting Hill Gate on the Central, Circle and District line and Ladbroke Grove on the Hammersmith & City line are all within walking distance. There is also good access by car to the M4, A4 and A40.