Brew House Lane, Hartley Wintney, RG27

Loft-style living. Village life on the doorstep. This home is less about how many rooms you own and more about how you use them and the lifestyle it gives you.

There is something rather different about this home in Malthouse Mews.

From the outside, it forms part of a small and beautifully considered collection of contemporary homes tucked discreetly away in the very heart of Hartley Wintney. Step inside, though, and the layout turns convention on its head.

The bedrooms are downstairs. The living happens upstairs. And that is exactly what makes it work.

The entire first floor has been designed as one wonderfully open kitchen, dining and living space, extending to around 24 feet and rising into a vaulted ceiling. It has the character and openness of loft-style living without asking you to swap village life for a city apartment.
Light is a huge part of the appeal. At one end, a dramatic floor-to-ceiling bay window draws daylight deep into the room, while at the other, bi-fold doors open onto the private balcony. Open them on a warm day and the boundary between inside and outside begins to disappear. The velux roof lights let even more light in.

It is a room that can change with you during the day. Coffee at the kitchen island. A laptop open at your desk. Friends around for supper. Or simply the doors folded back and somewhere comfortable to sit with a glass of something at the end of the day.
The kitchen sits naturally within the space rather than dominating it, with stone work surfaces, integrated SMEG appliances and plenty of storage. The original specification was deliberately contemporary and uncomplicated, and that has helped the house age particularly well. Their original exceptional specification has been further enhanced with the addition of the automated roof lights and blinds, fitted wooden shutters and a water softener.

Downstairs, the layout becomes calmer and more private.

There are two double bedrooms, with the principal bedroom having fitted wardrobes and its own en suite shower room. The second bedroom works equally well for guests, a home office or permanent bedroom accommodation, with a separate bathroom completing the ground floor.

It is a particularly clever arrangement for anyone who likes entertaining but does not want bedrooms opening directly from the main living space.

And then there is the location.

Malthouse Mews sits just off Hartley Wintney's High Street, within a gated development of only eight individual homes. The scheme was created by T A Fisher on the site of the former Kenward's Hartley Row Brewery, creating strong urban design while respecting the original history of the site. The courtyard development features stock bricks, slate roofs, cedral horizontal boarding, herringbone brickwork panels, a cobbled courtyard and ambient lighting. It went on to become a finalist in the Thames Valley Property Awards.

Yet once the front door closes, it feels surprisingly tucked away.

Walk out of the mews and village life is quite literally on your doorstep. Independent shops, cafés, pubs and places to eat are only moments away, while in the opposite direction are the Cricket Green, duck pond and the open spaces and mature oaks for which Hartley Wintney is so well known.
It means the car can spend rather more time parked than it might in most Hampshire villages. And perhaps that is the real attraction here.

There is no large garden demanding every sunny Saturday. No sprawling house to maintain simply for the sake of having extra rooms. Instead, there is private outside space on the balcony, parking, a beautifully open main living area and almost everything you need within walking distance.
For someone downsizing but refusing to compromise on style, it makes enormous sense. For a professional couple wanting a lock-up-and-leave home with somewhere genuinely enjoyable and dramatic to entertain, it works just as well.