'Enough space for a gym'

Fitness instructor Louisa Allen left her cute Victorian cottage in Hertfordshire for a 21st century mews house at Abode. "I can't believe how much my tastes have changed recently. The cottage was lovely, but I kept seeing this image in my mind of one huge living room, and that's what I found at Abode."

The open-plan living space is open to the rafters and features the huge glass windows found throughout the development. The generous space has also allowed Allen to fulfil her dream of working from home. "The ground-floor room is perfect for use as a small gym and treatment room and, because it is at ground level, it means that people don't have to walk through the house to reach it."

Her three-bedroom mews house with garden and double garage was bought for £270,000.