Poor devils were the coachman of old Chelsea. would not dream of it came out that today young bankers and lawyers, architects and artists considerable amounts for the mews houses pay, where she once lived with their horses. But nowhere else in London you live so central and yet so quiet - just right for a hidden Pied-à-terre, as Tanya, daughter of an English mother and a Sicilian, and her husband, a Lombard, for themselves and their three children were looking for. The house that Tania had awakened interest served until then as a painter workshop. "At the first visit, it looked messy. Everywhere were canvases with brushes and pots, and the floor was covered in paint splashes "But there was this curved glass roof that even dipped the room on a gray winter day in bright light.. "It was love at first sight," says the new mistress of the house. The redesign took interior designer Eve Mercier, is friends with Tania for 15 years. Together they managed the feat to transform about 50 square painting studio in a house for five people. First, it attracted a loft to create more space. Then they started with the actual expansion. "In the past the area was heavily by the Arts and Crafts Movement influenced. That gave us the direction in front of "The Built-in, the wood panels for the walls and of course the stairs to the first floor. Nearly everything was customized. Sliding doors disappear into the wall, a series of ground-floor windows provide plenty of natural light also - though the whole house is now only about 80 square meters in size, it looks open and airy. After six months, the conversion was complete. Today in the converted artist's studio coming influence of feng shui ("The light must in the house") to the French Rococo together. "I grew up in Versailles," says Mercier. "Even as a child I was fascinated by the proportions and elegance of the palaces, especially at the Petit Trianon." The landlady Tania is also very happy with her little glass palace: "If the whole family is there, you have here though hardly calm, but it is a happy place . "
