Atlas Mews, London E8

This one-bedroom house sits at the end of a converted Victorian mews within the Dalston Lane Conservation Area. The house has an open-plan arrangement on each of its three floors, with broad, Crittall-style windows that scatter light across its considered palette of materials. Atlas Mews is within easy reach of the best of Dalston, Stoke Newington and Hackney, and is a short walk from the green expanse of Hackney Downs Park. 

The Tour 

Atlas Mews is a secluded gated street that engenders a quiet sense of retreat in this much-loved corner of east London.

Built in c.1905, the mews has a history of light industrial use; its buildings are thought to have been used as stables for police horses, and later home to small factories. The mews have been thoughtfully restored by resident artists and creatives since the 1980s, who have retained the original character of the buildings and fostered a warm sense of community in the process.

The front door of the house opens from the private cobbled laneway that runs between the two rows of the mews. The ground floor is currently arranged as a studio with a French flagstone floor and plywood shelving on two walls. The space could also be configured as a sleeping area, and there is an adjacent shower room with neat white tiles and a rain-style shower. Laundry facilities are neatly tucked beneath the stairs.  

A staircase with oak treads rises to the first floor, where the open-plan kitchen and living area lies. The space has a light and airy atmosphere with high ceilings and glazing on three sides of the room, including original 16-pane Crittall-style windows. The kitchen is composed of painted plywood joinery with a Cararra marble worksurface and a four-ring gas hob; exposed copper pipes lean into the building’s industrial heritage. There is space for a dining table and chairs, as well as a living area with views over the cobbled mews.  

The second floor is accessed via a larch staircase and is currently configured as a sleeping area. Richly toned cherrywood floors spread underfoot, with a Morsø log burner in one corner of the room atop a black marble hearth. There is expansive glazing around the room overlooking Dalston’s roofscape. On this floor, an en suite shower room is finished with a linoleum floor, brushed stainless steel fittings and a sink on a stone shelf. 

Outdoor Space 

Running between the mews buildings is a cobbled laneway, only accessible to residents. Behind the house, there is a designated parking space as well as a small wood store. 

The Area 

Atlas Mews is within easy reach of the independent shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs of Dalston and Newington Green; The Dusty Knuckle, Jolene, Three Sheets and Brilliant Corners are neighbourhood favourites. A short walk away is Primeur; recently described as “the perfect neighbourhood restaurant”, it serves modern European cuisine and natural wine on nearby Petherton Road. The Scolt Head and De Beauvoir Arms are both excellent pubs nearby. 

Nearby, Newington Green has a range of excellent facilities, including bakeries, a greengrocer, an Italian deli, a florist and a health-food shop, as well as numerous restaurants. Further shops, cafés and restaurants can be found on Stoke Newington Church Street and Upper Street. 

We've written more about our recommendations in Stoke Newington and Newington Green in our Journal.

There are several green spaces nearby; Hackney Downs, Highbury Fields, and Clissold Park, with its tennis courts, café, beautiful lakes, and resident deer, are local favourites. Regent’s Canal is within easy reach, providing a gateway to the rest of London. The shops, galleries and restaurants of Shoreditch are also close at hand. 

Dalston Junction, Dalston Kingsland and Canonbury stations are all within easy reach and run Overground services to Highbury & Islington, Shoreditch and Stratford. Several buses run into central London and the neighbouring area. 

Council Tax Band: D