Out of the woodwork
Orleston Mews is a home with a difference. Designed by one of the UK’s leading architects, every strut and beam is on show. The effect is outrageously cool, but soft, too- light flows through like the sweetest sap. There’s a definite organic feel to this home, living spaces interconnect across different levels, and rooms are divided with screens that seem almost Japanese.
This harmonious vibe reverberates beyond the front door and out into trendy Islington beyond, where the cafes are organic, the restaurants artisan, and the bars thronged with everyone from flamboyant media types to the hippest young mums.
Top of the tree
Your hosts are in the design and media industry and it's their eye that’s responsible for the gorgeous pieces that you’ll see dotted around Orleston Mews, from the bar stools to the armchair.
Lay down roots
At Orleston Mews one room branches seamlessly into the next, so enter through the sliding front door and move on into the open plan kitchen and living space- there’s every appliance you could possibly need, and doors out onto your private garden. Around the corner, past the spacious dining room, you’ll discover the sitting room, where the marble coffee table, the natural slate floor, and the sound system are wildly modern.
Climb the spiral staircase (made from 100 year old pitch pine) to the first floor and the master bedroom, with enormous windows and a sumptuous king sized bed. You’ve a bright blue ensuite and, next door, a further double bedroom. Pass the dramatically down-lit family bathroom to find the open plan study, with a wall of books and views out onto the garden below.
Then it’s up again to the second floor. Here you’ve another double bedroom, a sweet single (which can be converted to a double), and a useful extra sitting room nestling beneath the rafters, with a TV and an enormous cobalt blue couch.
Trunk call
Islington’s a patch of London so desirable it’s a destination in its own right. Upper Street’s selection of restaurants is one of the finest in the UK, with everything from tiny neighbourhood bistros to fine dining. The bars are lively, and, by day, you’ve a wallet-emptyingly good selection of boutiques. Or, if you’d rather shop in town, the tube from Highbury and Islington to Oxford Circus takes just eight minutes.
