Bloomsbury was the seat of London’s early modernist movement, home to the Bloomsbury Group’s Virginia and Leonard Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E M Forster, Clive and Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Lytton Strachey. Today, the enclave is still an intellectual and creative hub – and a unique building in the neighbourhood has come to market with planning permission for an unusual home.

The coach house is located in the heart of London’s Zone 1, just off Red Lion Street at the end of Wheatsheaf Yard and was originally a stable and coachman’s accommodation. Since the early 20th century, the building has been used as an artist’s studio and residence, with sculptor Esmond Burton among its more famous residents, and it has giant roof windows and vaulted ceilings to maximise the light.

The existing building is a rough-and-ready two-bedroom home and studio, with exposed beams and brickwork, for sale as is via Savills for £1.5m. However, planning permission has been granted to expand the London property into a three-bedroom, 2,000 sq ft residence.

David Kohn Architects has drummed up plans to transform it into a 2,000 sq ft three-bedroom home that would retain the studio space while creating a double-height living room and gallery. Renders show how the practice intends to preserve the mews’ existing character and architectural language while updating it: the old external staircase is replaced and enclosed with a glazed shelter in keeping with the stable door facade, and reclaimed brickwork is used inside.

Covent Garden, Soho and the British Museum are all within walking distance of the building, which is located within the Bloomsbury Conservation Area.

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