Modern mews scheme transforms this tiny London site
The DHaus Company creates a pair of elegant apartments in a squeezed north London site, resulting in this modern mews scheme
![Exterior of Modern Mews apartments](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ztuCd8HvEdeWcmJWWZ4xBC-415-80.jpg)
Tucked away behind a north London street, on land that once belonged to a pub, is a pair of modern mews-style apartments by The DHaus Company. DHaus is a low-key, high-concept practice based in London, specialising in modest but meticulous domestic spaces and product design, making the most of small spaces and incorporating flexibility and transformability into every design.
These two interlocking duplex apartments combine the typology of the London mews house with the spatial flexibility of a compact Japanese house. The street façade has a geometric metal screen at ground-floor level, angled in such a way as to avoid direct views into the space. The rear façade has a similar faceted form for privacy reasons, but finished in white blocks. The black-painted front façade is an obvious continuation from the heritage façade of The Bull & Last next door, a charismatic and celebrated gastro pub with a 300-year history on the site. The pub’s current structure dates from the 1880s and has also been given a comprehensive restoration and overhaul by DHaus.
Redeveloping the adjacent site for housing involved close collaboration with the local council, with the carefully planned interior spaces and angled sight lines ensuring that views were directed as far as possible without encroaching on existing residences. DHaus also incorporated and reinterpreted other vernacular traditional elements in its façade designs, using a modern concrete cornicing and stepped window reveals to give the new building a sympathetic relationship with the pub.
Inside, the lower unit has three bedrooms on the entrance floor and steps down to a living area and sunken rear courtyard, while the upper unit has two bedrooms and an open-plan kitchen and living area on the top floor with a large glass roof. The wooden stairs that lead up to the top floor have wide risers that extend the edges of the available space, with a minimalist steel ribbon balustrade. Frameless windows, white walls, an absence of mouldings and cornicing and bespoke joinery all maximise the feeling of space, despite the compact site and close proximity of other buildings in this modern mews.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Hideaway House in London features timber panelling inspired by the New York hospitality scene
The elegantly refurbished Hideaway House by Studio McW in London features timber panelling inspired by Philip Johnson’s The Four Seasons Restaurant
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Triangle House invites you to its inner world of colourful surprises
Triangle House by Artefact is a private home in Epsom, outside London, combining Caribbean style, colour and functionality
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Suffolk house by Studio Bark pairs a fresh visual language with low-energy design
Suffolk house Water Farm is off-the-grid but defiantly on the map, a bold new object in the landscape with a strong visual impact and minimal carbon footprint
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneer
Back in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Hermitage Mews is a net-zero family of homes in London’s Crystal Palace
Hermitage Mews by Gbolade Design Studio is a sustainable residential complex in south London's Crystal Palace, conceived to be green and contextual
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Putney riverside house project updates a Victorian home on the River Thames
This Putney riverside house by VATRAA showcases the contemporary transformation of a Victorian home on the River Thames
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A light-filled Norfolk house makes the most of its natural setting
Platform 5 Architects designed this waterfront Norfolk house, using VELUX products to maximise natural light and ventilation
By Simon Mills Published
-
The newest Centre Point Residences’ showcase is a masterful balance of art and furniture
Conran and Partners’ new apartment design for Centre Point Residences balances artwork and curated furniture and objects to craft a space that feels intimate yet luxurious
By Ellie Stathaki Published