My partner Paul was a complete novice to house renovations,’ laughs Paula Barnes as she describes in detail the thrills and spills of her most recent project – a former Victorian mews originally serving a large house on the street behind. ‘It was our first home together post both our divorces, so it was a new life and new start, which I loved.’ And the area’s community spirit appealed to Paula’s sociable side. ‘It’s a mix of residential and businesses, so there’s lots of daily bustle.’ Paula had purchased two neighbouring mews, using this one for storage while she renovated the one next door to sell. With the deal on the first done, but the sale still on-going, she set out to transform this mews into a home on a limited budget.
Not having been touched for years, it was packed with original architectural details – the centrepiece of which was the dilapidated vinery on the first floor. ‘It was boiling in the summer, cold in the winter.’ The solution was good insulation and now it’s a wonderfully light-flooded kitchen-cum-indoor garden. The couple love to cook and do so now with their own produce. ‘You can grow all sorts of exotic things in here, just like the Victorians did. This year we had chillies, pomegranates, and lemons.’ Also on this floor is the living room and a bedroom and shower room.
‘Downstairs was just an enormous old garage with a concrete floor and a garden store with vaulted ceiling,’ explains Paula. Now it contains a studio, kitchenette, and bathroom, plus a bedroom where the garden store was. ‘With this space, I kept the walls as they were. There are some areas of exposed brick and lots of lovely peeling paint from years of use.’
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2020 من Living Etc Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2020 من Living Etc Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
modern extensions
WITH STRIKING USE OF COLOUR, MATERIALS AND SHAPE, THE LATEST DESIGNS ADD SO MUCH MORE THAN AN EXTRA ROOM
think like a pro
It's not just interior designers who are skilled at picking the perfect palette architects are in on the act, too, and Richard Parr knows just how to get the ideal shade
colour decoded
As with all successful schemes, there's much more going on beneath the surface of this space than first appears -Livingete's colour expert Amy Moorea Wong reveals all
enduring style
B&B Italia has pioneered modern Italian furniture design since 1966 - but its latest collection feels as fresh as ever
TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED
Seventeenth-century origins meet vibrant contemporary design in a cleverly reimagined Amsterdam canal house
ROCK OF AGES
The owners of a Menorcan home have made a stylish yet sustainable retreat using the island's signature stone
FORCE OF NATURE
An unexpected flood into what was already a dark basement flat prompted a new vision, full of light, natural materials and foliage
TOP OF THE WORLD
High above the busy streets of Bangkok, two talented designers have created a tranquil retreat that nods to chic 1970s style and makes the most of the views
A PLACE IN THE SUN
An apartment within a former luxury hotel celebrates - and updates - the style of France's Côte d'Azur
OUTSIDE IN
The design of this modernist bungalow in South Africa was dictated by the trees on the plot and the desire for an indoor-outdoor flow