THE LONDON HOUSES - Residence @ Colbeck Mews - House 1
Colbeck Mews Residence - House 1
Originally the stable/coach accommodation for the houses on Harrington Gardens & Courtfield Road, Colbeck mews is now primarily a residential Mews. There are still a few live/work spaces and the paired Mews houses are usually divided into separate dwellings making property here some of the most sought after, yet affordable freeholds in London. I purchased one half of a paired Mews house as part of a joint venture, but the developer partner withdrew & I was then left with a freehold Mews house that required almost a complete re-build. The roof and rear wall of the house were on the verge of collapse so a major rebuild was required. A full basement was excavated with a separate access to the Mews to give my mother a degree of independence in a temporary separate “flat” whilst I maintained an overwatch as her Alzheimers took hold. The garage was maintained but was converted into a ballet studio for her with fully mirrored wall and ballet bar. By lowering the garage ceiling a mezzanine gallery could be inserted to provide bedroom space so that my 2 children could live with me post divorce. The biggest challenge for any Mews house is the single aspect nature of the dwelling as there is little or no light or ventilation to the rear. I demolished the rear wall and replaced it with glass brick (classed as masonry construction) to bring light and ventilation into the rear of the premises. As a young Architectural student I was fascinated by “Maison de Verre” by Pierre Chareau which I had visited on my first motorcycle trip to Paris and the “wall of light” concept was in part a “homage” to the Chareau house. I installed a glass staircase with rooflight above to bring light into all of the hallways and open up the plan with balconies and plants at the upper floor level. This included a secret Japanese hot tub at roof level amongst the foliage for midnight dips. The Party Wall was finished in Qink Ink blue (we literally used Quink ink) polished plaster over 3 floors to emulate the blue sky with smudges of thin cloud. My two Morroccan friends and I balanced precariously over the void to trowell the wall in one go before the glass treads could be installed. The internal columns and handrails were clad in leather for warmth to the touch in contrast to the cold glass surface under foot. I made all the wardrobes and cupboards myself each weekend and those handles were designed to be wrapped in leather too.
The raised ground floor had a double height ceiling with fireplace to the rear and a modern stainless steel Kitchen to the font on the newly formed mezzanine gallery. The bar stool at the Kitchen island unit was a leather clad pummel horse, a homage to my gymnastic days. A pair of rings hung in the double height space for fitness to keep in tone for surfing trips.
The top floor was a hideaway master bedroom with en-suite shower open to the sky and a hot tub. The headboard was a “walk behind wall” that concealed closets and a loo and that design became a feature that was repeated often in small spaces for later clients.
I built the building with my independent construction team & designed and made all the furniture..