The Chilterns · 2024
The Mutton Pub
The Brief
A village pub,
brought back
to life.
brought back
to life.
The Mutton is a much-loved country pub that had lost its way, tired, over-lit and stripped of the character that once filled it. The new owners asked us for somewhere that felt like the village had always wanted: warm, unpretentious and built to be used.
We rebuilt the bar in reclaimed oak, softened the rooms with deep paint colours and layered in antique furniture, worn leather and low, generous lighting. From the bar to the snugs and dining rooms, every space downstairs carries the same hand, honest, characterful and quietly comfortable.
The brief throughout was hospitality, not show: a pub you settle into for an afternoon, and one you are reluctant to leave.
The Bar
A fire
worth sitting
beside.
worth sitting
beside.
The bar anchors the whole building, a long run of reclaimed oak, brass rail and a fireplace we rebuilt around an old inglenook. Snug corners, mismatched chairs and warm pools of light make it the kind of room people choose to stay in.
The Pub
The village,
looking like
itself again.
looking like
itself again.
Our work stayed downstairs, where it matters most, the bar, the snugs and the dining rooms, each rethought with its own character but unmistakably one pub. Fires lit, candles down, and a welcome that starts at the front door.
“House Nine understood exactly what a village pub should feel like. It’s busy from open to close now, people come for the room as much as the food.The Landlords
Credits
Interior Design
House Nine Design Studio
Build
Chiltern & Oak Contracts
Joinery
Field & Form, Hackney
Lighting
Original BTC
Photography
Joey Kendall Brown
