AN ENTENTE-CORDIALE IN HAMPSTEAD. A PLACE TO
RETREAT TO.
HAMPSTEAD MEWS HOUSE
How do you want to feel in a space? This is the question we always start with. For the owners of this mews house embarking on a full house renovation, the answer was simple. Two years of construction and disruption would eventually fade out to leave a calming sanctuary to escape to at the end of busy office-bound days in London & Rotterdam.
Like all mews houses without gardens, natural light exists from the front side of the building only, presenting an exciting challenge to embrace. The building’s light constraints however were not mirrored by the couple’s infectious brightness and zest for life. Their sunny dispositions inspired a series of light, bright rooms with optimistic colour that was still easy to live with.
This is a sanctuary to be shared – with friends, family and new family additions.
A bespoke storage bench doubles as a cosy window seat for hosting dinner parties by night and for recovering and reclining the morning after. The kitchen was opened up across a landing to allow for connection with the Living Room on the floor above, enabling the cook to interact with the party.
To future-proof the home for the next generation, granite worktops were softened with bull-nose edging. Stain resistant, hospitality-grade textiles were used to upholster all seating. And easy to maintain flooring was installed throughout via reclaimed parquet from a London school, super-resilient Spanish terracotta and honed marble tiles.
moodboard
TESTIMONIAL
We instructed Bella to be the interior designer for the refurbishment of our house in Belsize Park. She's been involved every step of the way, from initial design concepts to 3D plans (which were brilliant), material sourcing and implementation.
Bella has exceptional natural talent for designing beautiful and practical spaces. For example, she suggested a box seat for our bay window, which is now used as both a lovely dining room bench seat as well as storage space. People always comment on it as soon as they come in!
Bella also helped us find great tradesmen who were conscientious and hard working. She made the process incredibly smooth and the final product is well ahead of our expectations.
We would highly recommend Bella - she's lovely to work with, imaginative and hugely talented!
NICK, Hampstead Mews
