Elvaston Mews in Kensington and Chelsea: The 19th century stable that’s as space-age as they come

London’s mews houses are selling like proverbial hot cakes right now. But take away the “cool” factor and they’re pretty difficult buildings to work with. Built in the 19th century as stables for the wealthy owners of mansions in Kensington and Chelsea, they’re short, square, dark and rarely come with outside space.

 

 

But developer Daphne McKinley was out to prove she could design a mews to compete with any townhouse. She alighted on this building in Elvaston Mews after she’d been gazumped around the corner, and dug as far down into the foundations as she could go to achieve the highest ceiling heights possible. Now it’s a £3,650sqft four-bedroom, four-storey house. It even has a mechanical roof that pulls back to reveal a rooftop garden and a leafy terrace off the master bedroom. And if that’s not enough greenery for you, then a self-watering living wall provides a backdrop to the basement living room. But the star of the show is the air pressure lift – imported from the United States, sales agent Savills says it’s unique to the UK.

 

 

Since its completion, Elvaston Mews has won an International Property Award for the best single residential development and interested buyers have included a Chinese UCL student looking for student digs and “a trendy down-sizing couple” looking to start their retirement in fresh surroundings. Or it could be yours for £6.25m.