Architecture firm Mosley Thorold designed a natural pool, sauna, and changing room that create the effect of country living.
Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.
The De Beauvoir neighborhood in east London is something of an open secret. Its elegant Victorian townhouses and semidetached villas retain a sense of grandeur, yet it remains distinctly village-like. Industrial pockets, yards and outbuildings dating back to the 19th century dot the area. One such example can be seen at a property newly redesigned by Mosley Thorold, which benefits from an additional plot of land that was added to the lot in the ’70s. Once used for manufacturing, it gave the home a substantial amount of exterior space in addition to its already sizable garden.
The founders of the London architecture firm, Henry Thorold and Nathaniel Mosley, were tasked with reviving the tired three-story Victorian-era interiors of the home and creating an urban sanctuary for the client, who—some way through the build—decided that they did want to add a natural swimming pool, sauna, and outdoor changing room to their renovation after all.
It’s not exactly a neighborhood you’d expect to take a dip in, but they made it happen.
The materials of the ground-floor extension at the townhome are aligned with those of the new changing room and sauna.
Ollie Tomlinson
How they pulled it off: Building a natural pool, sauna and changing room in a London backyard
Plan as far ahead as possible: The natural pool and sauna were always on the client's "nice to have" list, but due to budget constraints, they put it off until some way through the project. "We were strongly advising to do as much of the pool construction work as possible as soon as possible because it's so messy," says Nathaniel Mosley. When the pool project was finally given the green light, their instincts were proven correct. To accommodate the change of plan, the architects had to carefully project-manage the dig so as not to disturb the work that had already been done to the home. There was no way to access the land from the back of the property, so the soil had to be trucked through the garden and the ground floor.
The natural pool offers a feeling of swimming in a clear lake or spring. Vintage garden furniture was sourced at the Sunbury Antiques Market.
Ollie Tomlinson
Go natural: Instead of introducing a chlorinated pool that would have required a lot of chemicals, the client opted for a natural 10-meter-long pool, which is dressed in Yorkshire stone. The shingle in the pool and the aquatic plants act as a natural filtration system and make for a hospitable environment for frogs and tadpoles. "It’s so nice because it really feels like part of the garden," says Mosley. The architects worked with north London-based company Gartenart to create the pool, which feels like "swimming in a clear lake or natural spring rather than in a conventional pool." The winding paths and lush greenery of the garden, which was created by landscaper Sophie Gordon, add to the feeling of being immersed in a tranquil and slightly wild space.
The sauna and the adjoining changing room look out onto the natural pool.
From the Architect: "This true hard loft is housed inside the Canada Foundry Company Factory, a warehouse structure built in 1903 to manufacture railway tracks, bridges, locomotives and even fire hydrants before Canadian General Electric took possession to produce transformers. Ultimately, the building closed in 1981, following an era of transition during which most of the neighborhood’s sprawling rail yard factories were demolished. A century after its construction, the surviving structure was repurposed into residential hard lofts—a conversion primarily focused on functional reuse, with the insertion of over 100 new residential units. This renovation, by contrast, seeks to celebrate the historic structure with a more deliberate and dramatic insertion of new architectural forms. While combining what were originally two units across three levels with the addition of a fourth, a set of sculptural elements is carefully crafted and placed within the industrial shell to emphasize the heritage architecture and provide anchor features connecting the two distinct volumes of the upper and lower units. The lower unit remains defined by two brick-arched windows spanning a double-height space. A new spiral stair wrapping a glass elevator extends across all three original levels. Offset to one side of the living area, a new fourth-floor mezzanine sits perched within the space, overlooking the fireplace and open structure."
Photo by Birdhouse Media
The kitchen and dining room are lit by double-height windows.
An outdoorsy family started out by building a hyperfunctional storage structure for skis and paddleboards—and it set the tone for their future house.
As they were picking a place to build a home, Leslie Garrard and Heidi Durham thought less about square footage and more about ski runs, bike rides, and getting out on the water. "We very much wrap our lives around outdoor living and outdoor recreation," Leslie says. "And we love gear. It’s part of our daily living in a way, whether it’s a bike or a paddle board or your trail running vest."
When the Seattle-based couple (Leslie is now retired; Heidi works for a prominent Seattle coffee company) bought five acres in Washington’s Methow Valley in 2017, all that gear—the things they needed to enjoy Nordic skiing, trail running, cycling, paddling, climbing, and more—demanded a different kind of home planning. So instead of starting work on their dream home right away, Leslie and Heidi partnered with Johnston Architects in 2019 to build a "gear loft": a 750-square-foot structure designed primarily around equipment storage, with a sleeping loft, sauna, and small kitchenette layered in.
Leslie Garrard and Heidi Durham built three structures—a carport, a gear loft, and a main house—on their five-acre property in Washington’s Methow Valley.
Photo by Benjamin Drummond
A warm, carved-out entry alcove is surrounded by black-stained cedar board-and-batten siding and black corrugated metal cladding. The latter material was chosen partly for its fire resistance.
Photo by Benjamin Drummond
"It really started with: how do we accommodate the gear, and also have a little bed looking over the valley," says architect Ray Johnston, coprincipal of Johnston Architects alongside his wife, Mary. The ground floor of the gear loft keeps skis, bikes, paddleboards, and climbing gear within arm’s reach, organized around a garage door that opens directly onto the property. A steep ladder—fitted with climbing holds instead of standard rungs—leads to the sleeping loft above. "Kids love it," says Mary.
During the Covid pandemic, the gear loft became unexpected proof of concept for phase two of the property. Leslie and Heidi’s son attended online school in the sauna, and Heidi worked at a rise-height bench built specifically to accommodate ski equipment. It was simple, but "it was just idyllic," Leslie says. "We had the best memories and times during that period."
That lived experience—testing how gear storage and daily activity actually flow through a space—shaped everything about Second Gear, the family’s 1,490-square-foot permanent residence completed in 2024. Three structures are now strung across the property: a carport, the gear loft, and the new main house, connected by circulation paths built for people constantly in motion.
Blu Dot pendant lights hang above the kitchen table.
The textured metal cladding pairs with two glazed facades intended to capture the surrounding beauty of the Carpathian foothills.
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From the Architect: "The family house is located in the Sihoť area along Devínska Road, in a unique setting where the foothills of the Carpathian massif meet a branch of the Danube River. The site offers exceptional views of two contrasting landscapes while occupying a prominent position in the immediate vicinity of a well-known horticultural center. The positioning of the house is based on the original building permit issued in 2009, which established the site’s fundamental urban relationships. The design builds upon these parameters and further develops the location’s inherent potential.
"A key objective of the design was to achieve a high degree of privacy while maintaining a strong connection to the landscape. For this reason, both the living and sleeping areas are located on the second floor. The main living space opens through two glazed facades that frame views of the surrounding natural scenery. Interior comfort is ensured through a combination of passive and active shading systems.The second floor is conceived as an open and adaptable living environment. Its layout canevolve over time through predefined partition positions integrated into the built-in furniture. This flexibility is further supported by a structural system composed of columns and beams arranged within a strict modular grid. The ground floor accommodates the entrance area, garage, technical facilities, and a fitness space. The third level functions as a gateway to the rooftop terrace, offering panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. The vertical circulation spine of the house is formed by a slender steel staircase. Its transparent structure allows visual connections between floors while bringing diffused daylight deep into the interior through a roof skylight. As a result, the visual continuity between the different levels is experienced from the moment one enters the house.
"The character of the building is defined by the use of untreated raw aluminum, which envelops all solid sections of the facade. The corrugated metal cladding and window frames respond to changing light conditions, reflecting the colors of the surrounding landscape as they shift throughout the day. The house thereby acquires the ability to blend naturally into its environment. The facade is organized according to a clearly defined three-module system, which is also reflected in the building’s structural logic. This consistent modular principle unifies the architectural expression with the load-bearing structure, spatial organization, and built-in furniture, creating a coherent identity for the entire project."
Soothing interiors paired with expansive outdoor amenities, including an infinity pool perched over the Aegean, offers the ultimate indoor/outdoor experience.
Set on a hillside above Elia Beach on the southeastern coast of Mykonos, Icarus occupies a privileged position overlooking the Aegean Sea with uninterrupted views extending towards Paros, Naxos, and the distant horizon of the Icarian Sea. The residence is carefully integrated into the natural contours of the landscape, combining privacy, openness, and a strong connection to its elevated coastal setting while remaining only a short distance from the beach below.
The architecture follows a contemporary interpretation of Cycladic design, combining white-rendered volumes with natural stone elements and a restrained material palette that responds naturally to the surrounding landscape.
Broad openings throughout the house frame the sea from multiple vantage points, while the orientation takes advantage of the views and provides shelter from the prevailing summer winds. Light moves continuously through the interiors, reinforcing the relationship between the house and the coastline beyond.
The principal living spaces are arranged within a generous open-plan layout that connects seamlessly to the outdoor terraces. Natural materials and clean architectural lines create a calm and understated atmosphere, while large sliding openings allow the interior and exterior spaces to function as a single environment during the warmer months.
The layout is designed to maintain uninterrupted visual connections towards the sea, ensuring that the landscape remains central to the experience of the house. Seven en suite bedrooms are distributed to provide both comfort and privacy, with each room positioned to benefit from natural light and carefully framed views.
The accommodations follow the same restrained architectural language found throughout the property, favoring simplicity, proportion, and a strong sense of tranquillity. The principal suite occupies a particularly privileged position, enjoying an elevated outlook across the coastline and surrounding bays.
Outdoor living unfolds across a series of expansive terraces that step naturally with the topography of the site. The infinity pool is positioned along the seaward edge of the property, visually extending towards the horizon and reinforcing the connection between the house and the open water beyond.
Covered and open-air terraces provide a variety of settings throughout the day, while the overall composition of the exterior spaces allows the architecture to remain closely connected to the landscape and the changing conditions of light.
The lower level of the property incorporates dedicated wellness and leisure facilities, creating a self-contained environment designed for extended stays. The layout of the residence balances communal areas with more private spaces, allowing the house to function equally well as a family retreat or as accommodation for larger groups while maintaining a sense of separation between different areas of the property.
Located less than 20 minutes from Mykonos Town and the international airport, and only moments from Elia Beach, Icarus combines a commanding hillside position with direct access to one of the island’s most sought-after stretches of coastline. As evening approaches, the changing colors of the sea and the distant islands gradually become the defining feature of the view. This residence is also notable for its eligibility for both the Greek Golden Visa and the Greek Non Dom Programme.
"Interior Motives" is among a growing niche of social media-first series that feel like this generation’s answer to "Room Raiders." The premise? "You show us your bed and we guess who’s been in it."
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The 2000s brought us voyeuristic home series like MTV’s Cribs and Room Raiders, so it only makes sense that from the Y2K revival of the 2020s a similar genre has emerged. A growing niche of short-form "shows" are following the familiar format and tone of early-aughts TV series that explored what our homes say about us, but for the social media generation.
Some of them are the brainchildren of creators: Caleb Simpson’s schtick of asking strangers how much they pay for rent made him a TikTok staple with 8.7 million followers (at the time of writing) and a career revolved around video home tours—often now with celebrities—that bridge the gap between glossy Architectural Digest home tours, reality TV candor, and game show investigations. Internet personalities like Seth Hollingsworth form their TikTok and Youtube presences around comedic reactions to celebrity homes and unusual Zillow listings, while others regularly post similar short-form reviews of famous people’s properties and other eye-catching real estate. Production studios are investing in the genre too. "Digital TV studio" Gymnasium launched the man-cave-tour short-form show Boy Room in 2024 and made it into a makeover series in its second season, the result of an Amazon Prime partnership that also led to the 2025 Girl Room spin-off. It also developed Roommate Court, an Instagram and TikTok series in which an in-home comedian-judge settles conflicts between cohabitators.
Ben Mora, the host of Interior Motives, is a rising star in this space. The Youtube game show—which has 140,000 subscribers and more than 6.9 million views on the platform (at the time of writing)—sees Mora and a rotating selection of contestants hop on a remote call to look at photos of three bedrooms submitted by their owners (plus a bonus space, like the inside of a fridge or a workspace) and try to guess each person’s identity down to age, sexuality, gender identity, and location. So far, Mora’s roster of contestants has included celebrity/artist/comedian/internet-personality players like Courtney Love, Margaret Cho, Jeremy O. Harris, Julio Torres, Juliana Huxtable, Jake Cornell, Marley Gotterer, and Kay Poyer. Most of the submissions come from viewers in the U.S., though there is the occasional international edition. It plays like a points-based version of Room Raiders. (The tagline is: "You show us your bed and we guess who’s been in it.")
Ben Mora launched the online game show Interior Motives in summer 2025.
Courtesy Ben Mora / Interior Motives Show
Mora started Interior Motives a year ago as an extension of the Seeking Derangements comedy podcast he cohosts with friends. "It was just a little bonus series I started," he says, continuing that the side project quickly gained traction, pushing him to relaunch it as a separate series. The core premise came to him when he was watching TikToks and saw a video of a person’s room and tried to guess who they were by space alone. "Then, I was looking around my room, laying on a mattress with no bed frame. I was like, ‘This room looks really gay.’"
The show found success in short-form clips on Instagram and TikTok that drove attention to full episodes on YouTube and Patreon, where patrons pay $7 a month to access bonus content and the ability to play live with him. In recent months, its popularity has expandedmuchbeyond its original (largely queer, in comedy, and/or chronically online) audience. We spoke with Mora about why he thinks Interior Motives is having a moment and what drives the enthusiasm for gamified home tour shows. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
On why the show is resonating
It’s the candidness of the show, it’s the concept of the show, but also, in so many ways, interiors are the new fashion, or they’re the new way to display your personality. Post-Covid, with the rise of TikTok, people became very attuned to what are functionally sets for them, even if you have a lower count of followers. What’s in the room? How is that going to portray your personality? The bedroom and interiors have become a new space of performance for people, and with that performance comes judgment. We’re able to play off of internet archetypes like the performative male or the "fake" bi girl [in a way] that isn’t actually about seeing them. It’s about seeing their stuff. The show is speculative as well—it allows us to engage in these stereotypes without actually passing judgment.
We talk a lot about identity: sexual identity, gender identity…. For a long time these conversations have been a little daunting. It’s a minefield because it can be loaded with moralizing or bigotry, depending which direction you may be coming from. The show manages to package these conversations in a way that unburdens it from the pressure. It feels transgressive, and I think that’s what gets the biggest laugh.
On the influence of early-aughts home shows
It shares DNA with Queer Eye, in that gay people are bursting into your space and critiquing you. Queer Eye, gen one. Gen two? It’s inspired by GeoGuessr too. Part of the idea was, What if you did GeoGuessr for gender? For sexuality?
On viewers playing the game at home
We’re in a culture right now where everyone is so hypercritical, so it makes sense to me that people would want to play along. But I think it’s nice to see that level of actual engagement. It reminds me of American Idol, where you text a phone number: "We want this person to win!" I would like to integrate that somehow in the show, like a live stream where it’s the audience doing a poll. So much of what we watch now can be passive, and certainly my show falls into this as well. I like that people are playing it at home. It makes me really happy.
I want old people to submit their rooms. I want Boomers and Gen X to submit. I haven’t seen a retirement home. I haven’t seen any snowbirds in Florida or Arizona. Since we do international episodes, we’re getting submissions from all over, but I would like to see rooms from the Middle East, parts of South America, and Africa. Rich people too. We do get a lot of upper-income homes, but I do feel like they’re maybe a little bit more hesitant. I would love to see some sprawling mansions.
Artist Ser Serpas and internet personality Jovan Hill appeared in an international edition of Interior Motives.
Courtesy Ben Mora / Interior Motives Show
On recurring aesthetics in user-submitted rooms
A lot of people don’t have seamless aesthetic continuity in their rooms. You see half-attempts at a color-drenching. You see half-attempts at a high-brow tasteslop thing. The thing that surprised me the most is that very few people are actually following through on having the completely aestheticized room. The gallery wall is huge. That’s because that’s easy. There’s plushies everywhere. Gen Z loves fake ivy. Gay men are doing USM and lots of Togo couches. I’m learning these brands from doing the show. You know a design gay when you see it. They are the ones who are really following through on the trends.
On tricks of the guessing game
Trust your gut. It sounds corny, but I’ve been wrong many times and it’s because I start overthinking a certain piece of art or a book. We’re guessing various dimensions of someone’s identity—it actually doesn’t work. I’ve been playing the game for months and I haven’t gotten any better at it.
On the most shocking reveals
The most shocking reveal was in an international episode with Ser Serpas and Jovan Hill. It was a person in Barcelona, and they had plastic covering underneath their mattress on the floor as some sort of protective barrier. All of the books were so indicative of gay male reading habits. It was Giovanni’s Room, Allen Ginsberg, The Sluts, I think even Marquis de Sade. It felt really canon. It was all male clothes. It ended up being a 24-year-old cis girl who was a straight, but just kind of butch. That one really threw me. I just didn’t understand what was going on. I’m obsessed with that girl.
On whether contestants would "correctly" guess his room
You could probably tell it’s a gay guy who’s maybe living some kind of transient lifestyle because it’s just like a suitcase, an LED face mask, and a giant matte black water bottle. Right now there is a beer on my windowsill. There’s Zyn cartridges everywhere and belts and boxers. My suit is there. You could be able to tell. The last permanent place I was living, people would probably guess lesbian because of the big wooden furniture and worldly ceramics and Renaissance art. It reads more like lesbian den.
The show’s tagline is: "You show us your bed and we guess who’s been in it."
The converted structure sits on a 12-acre property dating to the 1750s that includes a swimming hole and an art studio with a colorful glass mural.
Location: Salt Point, New York
Price: $5,250,000
Footprint: 3,424 square feet (5 bed, 4 bath)
Lot Size: 12 acres
From the Agent: "Spanning nearly just over 12 pristine acres, Bloomvale is a preserved waterfall estate. Dating back to the mid-1750s, this National Historic Register treasure is a one-of-a-kind old-world masterpiece. Initially a grist mill, later a cotton factory, and then reinvented and rebuilt as a cidery, the mill fostered the region’s early economic development. In the late 1960s, with incredible attention to detail, a visionary architect and interior designer duo transformed the stone mill into a residential estate. Over decades, its stewards strategically assembled four separate parcels to protect its privacy and integrity, creating a sanctuary of nature, history, and design. A natural, fast-moving stream and cascading waterfalls run directly alongside, and partially through, the lower footprint of the building. The gentle, ambient rush of water is heard from nearly every room. It’s an ideal candidate for a micro-hydroelectric power system, offering the potential for self-sustaining, eco-conscious luxury living."
The main home is a converted cider mill from 1913.
Photo by Gabriel Zimmer
The property sits on the bed of Wappinger Creek.
Photo by Gabriel Zimmer
The ruins of a former mill are preserved on the grounds.
