A complete reconfiguration and extension of a Mews House in Hackney, for a young, growing family.
The original two-storey, brick property was embedded amongst a series of buildings at the back of Broadway Market, and as a consequence, felt claustrophobic, confined, and had little source of natural light. To turn this small property, into a larger, more usable modern home, we had to be inventive in its use of space.
We reconfigured the floor levels to increase the ceiling heights across a staggered ground floor, which is comprised of three split-levels, promoting views and interaction between different areas of the home. The new home-office opens up to the living area, and the open-plan kitchen looks down unto the living and dining spaces below. The home-office also doubles as a third bedroom, which can be closed off with its bespoke-built folding wall.
The feeling of continuous space, rather than individual rooms, is enhanced by using similar materials throughout the house. To create a calm, light interior we added larger timber windows and a full-width roof-light over the stair – bringing more natural light into the centre of the house and to the kitchen at the rear. In addition, storage, important to the family home, was maximised and concealed throughout.
Hackney Mews House
1. DINING AREA
2. STAIRCASE AND ROOF-LIGHT
We specified a simplistic, yet contemporary and textured material palette, and combined this with Scandinavian and modern, mid-century styled furniture – selected to make the home feel lighter and more spacious. Working with our clients and echoing the adjacent market aesthetic from the neighbouring Broadway Market – which is filled with contemporary bars and restaurants – we included reclaimed and refurbished lights, cast-in-situ concrete worktops to the kitchen and handmade, textured floor tiles from Hackney-based Bert & May. Other materials included bespoke plywood joinery, white-stained oak flooring, exposed white-painted brick and a grey-plastered textured stair wall.
SOFA BY LOAF
Selected to provide a snug, lived-in aesthetic to the living room.
PENDANT BY BLOM & BLOM
The light can be repositioned to suit the changing needs of the flexible home-office and 3rd bedroom space.
SIDE-TABLE BY ERCOL
Its tapered legs and lightweight design are the perfect accompaniment to the living room sofa.
3. LIVING ROOM
‘By adding a side extension, new staircase, and connecting the kitchen to the living area — we added an extra bedroom and 2 bathrooms to the existing house — all within very tight site constraints.’
4. KITCHEN
5. ENSUITE
Photography by Helen Cathcart
