This mews house proves bold colour is always worth the risk
Returning to the UK after several years living and working in mainland China, David Lewis resolved to reconfigure his London home to properly accommodate his distinctive collection of furniture, ceramics and artworks he had amassed abroad. Having invested heavily in altering the existing layout and the practical elements that make a house function comfortably, he found his budget for decorative intervention necessarily constrained, so a resourceful and selective strategy was required. He wanted each acquired piece to feel at ease within the domestic sequence— deliberately sited to create moments of surprise and calm—while respecting the building’s existing proportions and period character. Working within these limits meant prioritising intelligent spatial planning, installing budget friendly Ikea kitchen units, identifying and purchasing vintage storage units for both display or protection of fragile objects, and a palette of high-quality finishes that would provide a colourful and warm backdrop. Beautiful lighting design added softness and carefully chosen textiles were used add interest without competing with the pieces themselves, and multifunctional storage solutions concealed modern necessities to maintain an uncluttered aesthetic. The result is a considered interior that reads as a cohesive home rather than a gallery, where David’s travels are narrated through objects integrated into daily life, and where thoughtful, budget-aware interventions amplify the personality of each collected item while sustaining comfort and practicality for contemporary London living.
It’s projects like these that really benefit from our combined disciplined studio of architects and interior designers, where beauty and practicality can merge. The primary concern here was budget, so we planned to keep the proposals quite strict but still have fun! Decoration and paint is fundamentally the easiest way to add personality, it really can change the whole look and feel of a home. Really the project was a joy, the client was very open to our ideas, and we quickly created his reimagined home for his return to the UK.
