“A distinguished house full of colour and considered touches, by Patrick Williams of Berdoulat and Tess Newall"
“A distinguished house full of colour and considered touches, by Patrick Williams of Berdoulat and Tess Newall"
This sophisticated early 20th-century home is found within Queen’s Gate Mews, a historic cobbled mews in South Kensington. Over 2,300 sq ft covers four storeys, with three well-composed bedrooms. The current owners, in collaboration with Patrick Williams of Berdoulat and Tess Newall, painstakingly renovated the home with incredible care and attention, creating a series of elegant rooms with finishes from renowned suppliers. The house is wonderfully positioned a few steps from Kensington Gardens, Royal Albert Hall and Hyde Park.
Setting the Scene
Queen’s Gate Mews was originally developed in the mid-to-late 19th century, with construction following the legacy of the Great Exhibition, to provide stable blocks, coach houses, and ancillary accommodation for the grand Victorian residences and mansions lining Queen's Gate and the surrounding estate.
The house is quietly positioned at the end of the mews, with a composed London-brick façade punctuated by sash windows, stucco detailing, and a rich umber-coloured front door; a mansard dormer roof crowns the building. Occupying a corner position in the mews, the house receives direct light from south and west so is beautifully bright throughout the day.
The Grand Tour
Set into an ornate doorcase with plasterwork detailing, the front door (protected with a biometric security system) opens onto an entrance hall, also accessible from the garage to the left. A sliding door painted in ‘Berdoulat Green’ by Farrow & Ball – a detail repeated on the window and door frames beyond – reveals a spacious and airy open-plan kitchen-reception.
Reclaimed floorboards from an old mill in Bristol run underfoot, complementing the tarnished finish of waxed Venetian plaster on the walls. On the south-facing side of the plan, triple-section sash windows capture views across the mews and fill the space with light. A wonderful kitchen occupies another side, with light-painted cabinetry, a Carrera marble worktop and brushed gold handles; it lies opposite a log burner encased in an elaborately carved mantelpiece.
A curved staircase with a bespoke oak handrail rises to the first floor landing. On this floor are two beautifully composed bedrooms, with painted motifs by Tess Newall and enveloping shades of red, blue, and pink by Atelier Ellis on the walls. Each bedroom has tall sash windows, cast-iron radiators, and built-in joinery by Plain English, while the larger has an en suite bathroom. Here, entrancing green Tadelakt plaster coats the walls, and there is a walk-in shower, Drummonds fittings, a Rutlands unlacquered brass towel rail, and marble flooring warmed by underfloor heating. The adjacent office has a wood burner and more Tess Newall murals.
The top floor houses the principal bedroom. A shift in tone to melancholic shades of umber and blue lends this floor an intimate atmosphere, amplified by the partial light entering through the dormer windows. The addition of a Plain English walk-in wardrobe and remote-controlled blinds adds a decidedly contemporary quality, and the en suite bathroom is exquisite. Natural stone chequerboard tiles run underfoot, next to a Jennings clawfoot bathtub, a reclaimed double basin, a generous shower and unlacquered brass fixtures.
On the lower-ground floor, there is a well-appointed utility room (with an iroko collapsible folding table and Miele appliances), a home gym, a cinema room and a Lefroy Brooks WC. A Lutron lighting system runs throughout the home; all blinds and shades are connected to this too.
Out and About
The house is just off Gloucester Road and within easy reach of the excellent shops, boutiques, restaurants and cafes of South Kensington, High Street Kensington and Chelsea. The open green spaces of Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park and Holland Park are a short walk away. The apartment is also within walking distance of the world-famous Harrods, the Serpentine Gallery, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and London’s most opulent concert venue, the Royal Albert Hall.
At the corner of the mews is The Queen’s Arms, a much-loved historic pub established in 1859, known for its quality food and selection of ales. The area has many excellent restaurants, including Bibendum, Daquise, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and Holy Carrot. On Harrods’ rooftop, Studio Frantzen is home to six-Michelin-star-holding chef Bjorn Frantzen, serving Nordic-Asian fare. The Finborough Theatre is a short walk away, as is the much-loved Cine Lumiere.
The nearest underground station is Gloucester Road (Piccadilly, District and Circle lines), which is approximately five minutes’ walk away. The A4/M4 is close by for fast routes to the west and Heathrow Airport.
Council Tax Band: H
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