Miracle Mews

In her Victorian coach house, interior designer Paula Barnes took upcycling to a whole new level. The result? Wondrous

- Sara Emslie

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.’