Mews living: making space in a stable 'Considering this was actually built for a single guy it's very quickly starting to evolve as a family home," Madeleine Heide says. It works as a great entertaining space, too, with plenty of room for friends to stay over without anyone feeling cramped or on top of one other. Martin achieved this spaciousness by adding two floors, doubling the size of the existing house. Essentially, it was a complete rebuild. We knocked the whole thing down and started from scratch, bringing the exterior back to pretty much how the original would have looked, complete with stable door. It's a mews house so there are limits on what you can do, but this is our own, very 21st-century take on the concept," he says. A new floor at the top of the house made room for a master bedroom suite with floor-to-ceiling glass doors leading on to a front-facing balcony. The basement was dug out to create a playroom/cinema/guest room with bathroom and bar. 'It's perfect for visitors, their own private little apartment. We don't even have to know they're here," Martin says. This intimate space is cleverly lit by an interior well of natural daylight, as well as by a phalanx of spotlights for night-time use. The ground floor is an open-plan living, dining and kitchen space. Martin eked out an extra two metres beyond the original footprint here, pushing to the limit of the boundary at the back of the property, which bought him enough room for a dining area. A partially glazed wall wraps over the top of this space, allowing light to flood in. 'One of the things I'm most pleased with is how we've managed to capture the available light creatively throughout the house," Martin says. The play of dark and light that can be achieved as the day changes into night is quite unique. Designer furnishings nestle comfortably alongside Martin's own work. Linear Italian sofas and 20th-century Scandinavian lighting in shades of grey create a snug vibe, enlivened by pops of orange and lime. I do a lot of white houses and it makes me yearn for a bit of colour," Martin says. Not through a paint finish, but through different materials - concrete, wood and glass. The first floor, which accommodates a bedroom, office and bathroom, is reached by an open-tread staircase made from Douglas fir. This wood has also been used in wide planks to clad the interior of one side wall from basement to roof. The opposing wall is defined by glossy black cabinetry. Throughout, the lighting, heating, televisions, sound systems, cooker and shutters are operated remotely (sometimes by iPhone), although even Martin struggles with the state-of-the-art controls. The system is a little over-complicated. But we're still new here; we'll figure it out. andymartinstudio.com