Being a nosy neighbour has turned out to be a rather successful hobby for photographer Anton Rodriguez, who lives in London’s love-it-or-hate-it Barbican Estate. “I’d walk down corridors in the Estate, and if a door opened I’d have a little peek in. I always wondered what the other flats looked like on the inside.” Now living in his third Barbican apartment, he’s tweaked, honed and refined his interiors style, going from Mid Century to modern minimalist - while also snapping the interiors of other residents’ homes for his blog and spin-off book, Barbican Residents. He shows us around…
FINDING YOUR INTERIORS STYLE
Less is More
"Buy what you need. We had a lot of furniture that we never needed - a coat stand, a few shelves and a few storage cupboards and you literally just put them in places, rather than maximising the space. It's better to buy compact stuff."
Steal Ideas
"The majority of flats in the Estate are white. There's so much natural light, painting them white makes the most of it, and keeping it bright and airy on the inside is a contrast from the brutalist architecture outside."
Interiors Inspiration
"I get inspo from online. I don't look at interiors magazines. I get more from just seeing other people's apartments or going into Hype Beast. I love when people do video interviews at home. Freunde von Freunden is another great source of inspiration."
Modify your furniture
"If I want something I buy it. And if I don't like it once it's in the flat, I'll put it on ebay or gumtree. And don't be afraid to modify pieces. I've sawn legs off stools to make them shorter, drilled holes or used a shelf the wrong way round. These cupboards are full of computers to back up my photography - I drilled holes in the back to hide the wires."
MAKING A RENTED HOME YOUR OWN
"Although we rent the flat, I've put my personality into the place through the pieces I've put up. I've got photography on the walls, books up on the shelves. I love flowers and cactuses, so there are cactuses everywhere. I've kind of mae little design statements on the shelves but also I've tried to be quite clean and minimalist. You'll see coffee stuff everywhere as I'm well into coffee. I"m quite OCD and minimalist. I don't want to see lots of stuff everywhere, it's all got to count!"
LIVING IN THE BARBICAN
"Although we rent the flat, I've put my personality into the place through the pieces I've put up. I've got photography on the walls, books up on the shelves. I love flowers and cactuses, so there are cactuses everywhere. I've kind of mae little design statements on the shelves but also I've tried to be quite clean and minimalist. You'll see coffee stuff everywhere as I'm well into coffee. I"m quite OCD and minimalist. I don't want to see lots of stuff everywhere, it's all got to count!"
Article written by: Nell Card
Imagery by: Anton Rodriguez