London Mews: Premium Design Meets Smart Technology
London Mews | Gira KNX System | AVINU
Tucked away near London’s iconic Regent Street in the City of Westminster, this Mews property exemplifies how premium design can be integrated with cutting-edge home automation, having undergone a complete transformation, evolving into a design-led, fully connected smart home. The project was initiated by the client’s interior designer, who approached our Smart Buildings Partner, AVINU, to develop a whole-home control strategy that would match the high standards of the wider renovation.
The goal: to seamlessly integrate smart technology into a luxury family residence while maintaining the refined aesthetics throughout the home
Mews Heritage, Modern Living
A mews is a traditional street or row of buildings that originated as stables with living quarters above, typically located behind grand homes in London and other historic city centres. Built primarily in the 18th and 19th centuries, these structures were used to house horses and carriages on the ground floor, with accommodation for coachmen or servants above. Over time, as the need for stabling declined, many mews buildings were converted into private residences. Today, they are highly sought-after for their picturesque, often cobbled streets, historic charm, and central locations, offering a rare blend of quiet living and city-centre convenience.
Behind this property’s classically understated façade lies a luxurious interior, where KNX technology and meticulous design work in harmony to deliver effortless control, energy efficiency, and sleek design integration.
Design Vision
From the outset, this was a design-led project. The property was stripped back to bare walls and reimagined with new heating, cooling, lighting, windows, doors and joinery, designed to fuse function with style, ensuring every element contributes to the overall aesthetic and comfort of the home.
Balancing modern and traditional design cues, the interior beautifully captures today’s quintessential ‘London Townhouse’ aesthetic. The transformation complements the building’s history and setting, featuring a sculptural staircase and characteristic large windows that nod to its original features. A carefully curated neutral colour palette and use of natural materials enhance the timeless interior design, which blends contemporary accents with softer, traditional touches to create an understated yet premium atmosphere.
During the design phase, it became clear that smart technology would be essential in delivering the functionality and performance the client expected. To achieve this, AVINU was engaged to ensure that the smart technology strategy was developed in parallel with the architectural and interior design, and was aligned with the client’s modern lifestyles. The brief was clear, the system had to be comprehensive, flexible and visually discreet, offering seamless control across lighting, climate, security, shading and entertainment, all without compromising the clean, elegant aesthetic of the interiors. AVINU was tasked with the design and implementation of a flexible, integrated building control system that would manage all aspects of the home while matching the overall design vision for the transformation.
As the design vision for the home took shape, it quickly became apparent that the smart control interfaces would need to meet the same high standards as the rest of the interiors. Gira was specified early in the project, guided by the interior designer’s previous positive experience with the brand and its reputation for combining technical excellence with refined aesthetics. Following a review of Gira’s product portfolio, the Gira Pushbutton Sensor 4 in Bronze was selected for every room. This offered the perfect balance between form and function, its precise lines and responsiveness delivers tactile control while the bronze finish matches the property’s overall colour palette, complementing other hardware used throughout the home.
“GIRA was a natural choice given its strong reputation for combining technical excellence with refined design. Both AVINU and the interior designer had previously worked with the brand and trusted its ability to deliver elegant, high-quality solutions.”
– AVINU
As the switches were installed directly into bespoke joinery and carefully detailed wall finishes, one of the design challenges was ensuring that the system hardware aligned with the high-end design language and structural features. The Gira Pushbutton Sensor 4 offered the perfect solution, its minimalist design allows the control panels to sit discreetly within the walls, delivering a streamlined result while still offering a premium, tactile user experience. This selection also helped overcome another core design challenge: avoiding excessive wall clutter. With a wide range of functions integrated throughout the property, it was essential to consolidate multiple functions into a single, refined interface. The Gira Pushbutton Sensor 4 achieved this with ease, offering multi-function control while maintaining the clean, cohesive aesthetic that underpins the property’s interior design.
To enhance user experience and ensure the technology is intuitive for all users, each Gira Pushbutton Sensor 4 rocker switch was laser-engraved to order with unique combinations of text and iconography. These engravings were carefully chosen to match the functionality of each room, whether lighting, scenes or shading, and were designed in close consultation with the client and AVINU.
These precise engravings provide simple, thoughtfully designed control of key functions whilst maintaining the clean lines and modern aesthetic of the Gira Pushbutton Sensor 4. The result is a switch that is as easy-to-use as it is understated, enhancing everyday usability while blending seamlessly with the design language of the home and preserving its visual harmony.
The Gira KNX System
Following a design consultation, the KNX building management standard was identified as the ideal solution, offering unrivalled flexibility, reliability, and integration potential across multiple services. At the heart of the home’s transformation is a fully integrated Gira KNX system, chosen for its versatility, reliability, and ability to control a wide variety of devices and functions. The system is powered by the Gira X1, which manages logic and visualisation, with secure connectivity and remote access provided by the Gira S1. Together, they form an intuitive, user-friendly platform that puts full control in the homeowners’ hands, whether on-site or remotely. The Gira KNX System enabled AVINU to create a complete single solution, tailored to the family’s habits, routines and preferences, as well as offering the potential to adapt and expand over time, evolving with the home and the homeowners’ lifestyles.
“At the heart of every project is the client’s lifestyle, and we create systems that feel natural and effortless to use. For this home, that meant automation and controls that support routines, enhance energy efficiency, and deliver comfort, without complicating the experience or detracting from the design. The Gira KNX System offered the ideal foundation, combining reliability, flexibility, and advanced automation in a unified platform that integrates lighting, climate, shading, and more, tailored precisely to the client’s needs.”
– AVINU
AVINU employed the Gira KNX system to deliver a suite of advanced automation across a range of functions and systems, integrating lighting, shading, temperature control, and domestic hot water management. Beyond convenience, the system actively supports energy efficiency, offering precise control, automated functions and monitoring, enhancing comfort while also reducing environmental impact.
Lighting Control
Lighting throughout the property is integrated into the Gira KNX system, delivering intelligent, responsive illumination that seamlessly adapts to daily life. Gira’s Pushbutton Sensor 4 units provide precise, intuitive manual control, allowing users to select pre-configured lighting settings to suit each space. In key areas, default brightness and tone are set to ensure a consistent ambience without the need for adjustment, while occupancy sensors in selected zones provide automated, presence-based control, switching lights on to optimal levels when movement is detected and turning them off when the space is vacated. This level of automation helps streamline everyday activities, helps to conserve energy, and ensures that the ambience remains consistent throughout the home.
Scene Setting
In addition to lighting control, the KNX system supports a suite of customised lighting scenes. These scenes are designed around the client’s lifestyle, allowing multiple functions to be triggered with a single touch. For instance, “Day” and “Night” scenes create ideal conditions for morning routines or evening relaxation: lights brighten and blinds open for the day, while lighting dims and blinds close for the evening.
These scenes also coordinate with shading and temperature control where applicable, creating seamless environmental transitions throughout the home. The ability to switch between functional and atmospheric lighting at the press of a button, whether for entertaining, relaxing, or moving between floors, brings a new level of convenience and sophistication to the property.
Blind Automation
The property’s blinds are integrated into the KNX system, offering flexible control of privacy and light management. Motorised blinds are automated in some of the scene settings, meaning that they adjust according to the selected scene. Homeowners can also adjust blinds manually via the Gira Pushbutton Sensor 4 units, ensuring flexibility whenever needed.
With blind automation embedded within the wider KNX framework, the home’s lighting and shading work in harmony without disrupting the visual flow of the interiors.
Temperature Control
Heating and cooling systems, including both wet and electric underfloor heating, are integrated with the Gira KNX system, giving the homeowners complete control over their indoor climate. Users can set desired temperatures for individual spaces, allowing different comfort profiles for living areas, bedrooms and bathrooms, while the pre-set schedules adjust the temperature automatically based on time of day or occupancy.
Temperature sensors and controls are embedded throughout the home, connected via the Gira KNX system, to ensure each space consistently maintains the desired temperature without the need for manual adjustment. By intelligently co-ordinating climate control with occupancy and usage, the system supports the homeowners’ energy goals while delivering a consistent, comfortable environment throughout the year.
Master Control Panels
Strategically located master control points simplify the management of the entire property. Key scenes such as “I’m Home” and “All Off” are accessible at main entry and exit points, enabling the homeowners to activate or deactivate core systems with a single touch. This type of consolidated control reduces the number of interactions required for routine activities. When leaving the house, “All Off” turns lights off, adjusts blinds, and sets back heating and cooling, helping to conserve energy and provide peace of mind. Similarly, “I’m Home” activates a warm, welcoming environment upon entry, tailoring the ambience to the family’s preferred settings. By placing these functions at key transitions within the home, the smart system enhances daily life through simple, convenient automation.
Home Cinema
One standout feature of the project is a dedicated home cinema experience, achieved by integrating the Gira KNX system with third-party AV technologies. At the push of a button, the cinema scene transforms the room: blinds close automatically to block out light, ambient lighting dims to the perfect level, and temperature is adjusted for long-form comfort. The AV system handles routing and playback, while the KNX system orchestrates the physical environment, working behind the scenes to deliver a high-performance experience without the need for multiple remotes or apps. This automation ensures that every viewing session feels immersive, creating a cinematic experience at home that is effortless, comfortable and integrated.
“Smart home technology has the power to completely transform how we live in and interact with our spaces. In a project like this, where design and lifestyle go hand in hand, systems like Gira KNX bring elegance and simplicity to everyday routines. And because it includes intelligent automation and energy-efficient features, it delivers long-term value that goes far beyond everyday convenience.”
– Hus Musalar, Head of Sales
The result is a flawlessly integrated smart home that feels effortlessly simple to operate, with technology ever-present yet never overpowering, carefully woven into the fabric of the space to enhance rather than distract. By consolidating all services under a unified interface, AVINU utilised the Gira KNX system and Gira Pushbutton Sensor 4 switches to deliver an elegant, robust solution that surpassed client expectations, balancing the property’s heritage with the demands of modern living while transforming the home into a comfortable, efficient, and stylish residence that caters equally to daily routines and special occasions.
This approach streamlined functionality and fulfilled the design specification, eliminating excessive wall furniture with minimalist switches ensuring that the technology supports rather than dominates the home’s design. The striking contrast between the historic exterior and the luxuriously modern interior sets the tone for a home that celebrates its past while embracing the future, exemplifying how once-utilitarian spaces can become luxurious, character-rich environments where smart technology elevates both function and form without compromise.
“The automation systems they [AVINU] installed have transformed our home into a more efficient, convenient, comfortable and fun space. From smart lighting, opening & closing of curtains & blinds, and HVAC control to enhanced security features, every aspect of the automation works really well, enhancing our daily lifestyle.”
– Homeowner
“For this project, collaboration was key. We worked closely with GIRA, My KNX Store, the main contractors, interior designers, and, of course, the homeowners to ensure every requirement was met and the brief fully realised. Our focus was on designing solutions that fit naturally with the client’s lifestyle, delivering intuitive control and energy efficiency without compromising on style.”
– AVINU“This project really highlights the benefits of bringing smart technology into the conversation early. Thoughtful planning and the right systems make all the difference when it comes to creating a cohesive and intuitive Smart Home. We’ve built strong relationships with both AVINU and MyKNX Store over the years, and it’s great to see our shared focus on quality and attention to detail reflected in the finished result.”
– Alp Chirakli, Gira Key Account Manager
AVINU
AVINU is an award-winning smart home design and installation company based in Berkshire, serving London, Oxford, and the South East. With over 16 years of experience, AVINU has delivered intelligent properties that support homeowners, architects, construction companies, property developers, and interior designers in creating bespoke smart homes tailored to all lifestyles. As passionate smart home specialists, AVINU design intelligent, energy-efficient homes with elegant ease of use at the forefront, working closely with clients and project teams to create systems that seamlessly integrate into daily life. Their expertise spans KNX, lighting control, energy management, home cinema, HVAC, and more, combining technical excellence with thoughtful, lifestyle-driven design to deliver outstanding performance and complete integration.
GIRA
Founded in 1905, Gira is a leading innovator in intelligent building technology, shaping the electronics sector with smart solutions for intelligent building control. Each innovative product we create is designed with people and their needs in mind, and people are at the heart of our product development process. With a commitment to quality, innovation, and usability, Gira continues to set standards in smart technology for modern living, offering a variety of intuitive, future-ready building control solutions. Visit our showroom at Wandsworth, the home of Gira in the UK, to discover our pioneering products and Smart Technology solutions.
The Wandsworth Group
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