What it's really like to live in a mews house, according to an interior designer
For many, the idea of living in a mews house is a romantic one. There's a real charm to their cobbled courtyards and asymmetric frontages–and throwing open those stable doors on a summer day is probably the closest to ‘outside in’ living that you can achieve in a city. But what's it really like to live in one of these coveted houses?
Mews houses started off life as stables and servants' quarters for larger residences. Given their humble beginnings, they often have pokey, higgledy-piggledy layouts that aren't well suited to modern life. They can be unevenly lit too, with those wide windows on one side and narrow slits on another, which makes them more of a challenge to decorate than a traditional terraced house. There's also the question of affordability. Mews houses aren't the city's most accessible housing option, with estate agent Lurot Brand currently offering a one bed, 575 square foot mews flat in Holland Park for £599k.
Despite this, living in one is still a lovely experience. In fact, your writer has lived in one since 2021 and has no plans of moving any time soon. I rent a one bedroom apartment on the top floor of a mews and find it a perfectly comfortable size. It's a shoe box, sure, but what you sacrifice in size, it makes up for in community. My neighbours have all created mini front gardens with potted trees, plants and climbing vines that mean the street is green year-round. Dogs and cats roam up and down the cobbles, and every Christmas there's a mini carol concert for the residents. I moved here from a small village in the countryside and the community is just as strong, if not stronger, on the mews.
For interior designer Caroline Riddell, moving to a mews house from a townhouse in west London changed her family’s way of living. The previous house was tall and narrow and her life with a “husband, two children, au pairs, office assistants, cats and dogs, was altogether too vertical.” Now, they live laterally, with their bedroom, large bathroom, sitting room and kitchen all on the same floor, and two other bedrooms and a bathroom up top.
“I’ve found living here liberating. It’s easy living, secure and friendly,” says Caroline. “There’s a communal feel amongst the mews. Noise has never been an issue here. We will sometimes get together for a drink outside in the cobbled courtyard where we have our lemon trees and pots to help create our own garden area. My dog potters about all day and occasionally, when invited, will pop in to visit the neighbours.
“We are respectful of each others’ privacy, but have placed chik blinds from Joss Graham anywhere we felt overlooked. They create a lovely screen effect between us and our neighbours whilst allowing light to filter through.”
When Caroline and her family first moved in, the mews house was a two-storey office space and needed a lot of attention to make it suitable for family life. Together with her husband, James – who runs the successful building company, Labatt Construction – they opened up the space, creating a “wonderful double height sitting room with large roof lights.” Further to this, they used “internal glazed doors for dividing areas” which has allowed light and air to flood the house. “There is a preconceived idea that mews houses are dark and pokey,” says Caroline. “I find living in ours completely the opposite.”
When it came to the decoration of Caroline’s mews, she was keen not to “waste any space,” but did integrate a large hall at the top of the stairs, separating the two areas and creating an open space for a desk and work area. Ultimately, her aim was to maintain the mews’ “lowkey integrity.” They clad the first floor walls in oak floorboards, painting them neutral off whites. On the ground floor, which is “less interesting architecturally,” they had some fun with wallpapers and colours. Caroline has “filled the mews with colour and pattern, resulting in a rather eccentric mix of old and new furniture.”
“We are fortunate that the mews itself is pedestrian only, allowing for a very communal feel during the day, yet it’s peaceful and quiet at night. We are in the country most weekends but I am just as thrilled to come back to my cosy London mews as I am to go to our Suffolk house in the middle of the countryside. I’m very lucky!”
“I absolutely love living here. It’s private, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of London life, yet still very much part of it.”
Design ideas for mews houses
Helen Cathcart1/18In 2023, interior designer Isabella Worsley took on the redesign of a tiny mews house in Hove. Built in the 19th-century, this seaside mews began life as a stable for a larger house.
One issue Isabella encountered was that the “front façade was predominantly glazed.” “It's a great way to bring in light,” she says, “but it did pose privacy issues.” To combat this, she added a double pole with a sheer fabric behind the main curtaining. “Adding a lining fabric is also a good way to give a little interest to the reverse side of a curtain–especially when it's the first thing you see upon arriving at the house.”
Helen Cathcart2/18The sitting room opens into a vinery, an unusual feature for a mews house. The bottom half of the windows are frosted to offer privacy, with the top half left clear for maximum light.
Helen Cathcart3/18Isabella's brief was to give the house a "fresh and colourful" look–and her first port of call was to tackle the layout. “I needed to reconfigure the space. It was all feeling rather boxy and lacking flow.” Working with the architect Martin Taylor, the duo set about “streamlining the floor levels, without opening up the entire floor plan unnecessarily.” In part, this was to ensure they didn't lose precious wall space and to keep the sense of the house “constantly unravelling to you.”
“It is important to utilise every inch of space in more compact designs such as a mews house. We added counter top height joinery under the stairs and mirrored the wall above, to give the illusion of a more generous space, as well as helping bounce light around the space.”
Paul Massey4/18Florist Paul Hawkins Chelsea mews house, would have "been occupied by canal workers or gravediggers when it was first built. By the time he bought the house, its previous owner - the actress Susan Hampshire - had knocked it through with three other houses in the same terrace.
Paul has made a feature of the front windows, with dramatic dressing and pretty planting just outside.
Paul Massey5/18Paul has chosen a glass coffee table as a foil to some of the dark wood antiques in the living room. This keeps things feeling fresh and airy.
Paul Massey6/18Upon moving in to the mews house, Paul's first priority was to open up the kitchen, building out into the garden and installing Crittall windows to flood the room with light. Once this was done, he used “cosy, comfortable" furniture to keep the decoration in keeping with the house.
7/18In a London mews house overhauled by Buchanan Studios, what was once a “soulless white box” is now an airy loft-style space. They duo have achieved this by using reclaimed materials which are more in keeping with the period of the building.
Rafters were salvaged from a school in Yorkshire, the entire ground floor was clad in reclaimed tongue-and-groove panelling, now painted in ‘Bone, Shell & Quill’ by Atelier Ellis, and vintage armchairs have been restored and re-covered in pink velvet.
8/18“Most of the furniture was either designed by us for the space, or is reclaimed or antique, and every rug is vintage and sourced by us,’ says Angus. ‘We took care to reinstate the charm of a traditional mews house in a way that is authentic rather than looking like a pastiche. We also wanted the space to feel fresh and modern.”
Paul Massey9/18This Studio Caballero mews house has been painted in a striking hue. For this, they chose ‘Hague Blue’ by Farrow & Ball.
Paul Massey10/18To tackle what can often be quite a dark space, Studio Caballero have used patinated mirror to bounce light around the space. By using white furniture, they have created a calming palette.
Paul Massey11/18
Richard Powers12/18In this mews house by Turner Pocock, the designers have created a striking double height space instead of building in an extra floor. The chimneypiece has a polished plaster finish, which looks softer and less industrial than concrete.
Richard Powers13/18The Crittall windows also work to ‘zone’ the space in this house. Here, a distinct sitting room has been created without losing any light.
Richard Powers14/18For privacy, the window overlooking the sitting room was lined with linen. The fine fabric allows light to stream through.
15/18In Neisha Crosland house - a former mews that had been damaged by bombings in World War II - wisteria climbs across the rear façade. Crosland had the green paint custom-mixed by Park Walk Paints to match a sample taken from the building’s original garage door.
James McDonald16/18The house’s main entrance was once used by horse-drawn carriages to access the stables out back. “I wanted it to feel welcoming and warm,” says Crosland, who had decorative artist Rosie Mennem paint flowers on the walls.
17/18In Neisha's primary bedroom, she has used antique mirror on the double doors that lead into the bathroom. Much like in Studio Caballero's mews, this bounces the light around the space and creates an illusion of a large room.
These foxed glass doors were inspired by a glazed wall between two rooms in a house in Andalusia Spain. ‘I have put distressed mirrored glass by Gemma Cheney instead of clear glass. They were designed by Jim Howett, a Spitalfield designer working with Marianna Kenendy and made by Nick Hilliard of Redhouse Forge.’
Davide Lovatti18/18After 17 years in her London mews house, designer Christine Van Der Hurd decided it was time to expand. She added a floor and switched up the layout. The first floor, which was previously Christine’s bedroom and studio, is now a library with bespoke floor-to-ceiling shelving filled with books.
To partition the rooms, she has used heavy curtains, which allow the space to be closed or open depending on requirements.
Comments
Back to Top
