Iconic 1950s Scots home built for Bernat Klein goes up for sale

A Category A listed  iconic home from the 1950s designed by architect Peter Wormsley and built for renowned textile designer Bernat Klein, has been put on the market for the first time.

The Klein House was commissioned by designer Bernat Klein.

The Klein House in Selkirk, commissioned by the Serbian-born artist in 1956, is being put up for sale by the designer's family for offers over £795,000.

The property at High Sunderland, which is said to be in "largely original condition" and is situated on a plot of more than three acres, has four bedrooms and views over the Ettrick Valley towards the triple peaks of the Eildon Hills.

It is built on an iconic 1970s design of a rectangle subdivided into eight foot modules, featuring large glass windows. Architectural historian Alan Powers described it as “a clear rectangle outlined in white painted timber… sitting lightly on a sea of green grass”.

Wormsley was said to have been inspired by the "Californian 'case study homes" which employed open planned spaces surrounded by shady gardens, according to Historic Environment Scotland's listing briefing.

It added: "High Sunderland was commissioned in 1956 by Bernat Klein, a well respected textiles designer and prominent member of the Borders art scene who incorporated his own textiles into the original design. Mr Klein had seen Womersley’s earlier work, the Grade II listed Farnley Hey (1954) in Huddersfield, Britain’s best known example of the American contemporary style."

London-based estate agent The Modern House, which is marketing the property said: "In 1957 the celebrated architect Peter Womersley designed one of the finest houses to have been built in Britain during the Mid Century period. It was commissioned by the renowned textile designer Bernat Klein and situated on a beautiful plot of approx. 3 1/4 acres acres, 35 miles south of Edinburgh, with far-reaching views of the Borders countryside. Today the four bedroom house with a studio wing, which now has a rare Category A listing from Historic Environment Scotland, is still in largely original condition and being put on the market by the Klein family for the first time."

Mr Klein, whose fabrics were, used by the likes of Christian Dior, Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent, died in 2014. A Jew, his parents were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp

He worked in the wholesale textile business in the then-Yugoslavia, followed by a stint with the British Ministry of Information in Cairo and Jerusalem, monitoring and translating broadcasts from Europe. He later moved to Leeds University to study textile design and came north to Edinburgh for the first time to design ladies’ coat and skirt fabrics for Munrospun.

He later set up his own firm, Colourcraft and went on to buy Nether­dale Mill in Galashiels and the Gibson & Lumgair mill in Selkirk. An archive of around 200 pieces is also held by the ­National Museums of Scotland.

An open viewing of the property has been scheduled for Saturday, 2 September.