A London Victorian Gets a Feminine, Pattern-Filled Expansion

Katherine Burns Olson
·10 min read

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Emma Ainscough’s recent clients discovered her in a storybook—well, sort of. A pink limewashed holiday cottage belonging to a viscount and viscountess, nestled in the picturesque British countryside and designed by Ainscough, served as a calling card for the London-based designer. Its cheeky, fairytale-like façade hinted at the creative interiors within: an ebullient blue bedroom clad in Folies Bergère wallpaper, a bespoke kitchen with a deep red-and-white checkerboard motif, a thick-stripe-walled dining room with a larger-than-life dried floral installation. “I had kind of gone to town on that,” laughs Ainscough. “I was a bit worried that everyone, any future potential client, would think it was way too bonkers.” But boldness was precisely what her new clients—a couple with two young children—were seeking for their home, a 3,000-square-foot Clapham renovation.

Due to post-pandemic delays in London, the homeowners faced a challenge in planning commission approval. But construction eventually proceeded, with the house’s lower ground floor being dug deeper to create a more expansive ceiling height and a larger reception room. The house’s grand bones remained, providing an ideal ground for creative experimentation. Ainscough worked together with Smith Brooke Architects on the project.
In the entryway, Edward Bulmer’s French Blue sets a serene tone. The bench cushion is upholstered in Lisa Fine Textiles’ Nicobar in Indigo. The accessories are antique, and the cat belongs to the clients.

“The wife was up for embracing a certain amount of color and pattern, which is what I love so much,” enthuses Ainscough. And given the scale and ceiling heights of the Victorian house, it was “easier to incorporate that without it feeling overbearing.” In turn, the project’s primary challenges proved to be spatial rather than style-related, as the architect worked to bridge former and future in the original house and its newly added extension. The lower ground floor—“dark and dingy” at first—was transformed via a reconfiguring of the walls. Reimagining the kitchen, with DeVol Kitchens, provided a special challenge, since the space “historically wouldn’t ever have been a kitchen,” notes Ainscough. The architects opened up the dining and kitchen areas to make it more family-friendly (and better lit, thanks to the double-aspect floor plan). Ceiling moldings, which upon first glance during the selection process appeared oversized, actually worked—thanks to the house’s proportions—to “soften and make it feel less like a kitchen.”

The checkerboard floor in the main entry—“classic of those Victorian houses”—features Mandarin Stone’s Di Scacchi tumbled marble, set against Soane’s Wild Tulips wall covering from “floor to ceiling, which really sets the tone for the house beyond.” The stair runner is Sinclair Till’s Coir runner, and the Eloise mirror is from Sweetpea & Willow. Alfred Newall’s Berwick console table with reeded drawers (left) holds a Penny Morrison table lamp with an Imogen Pope lampshade. The pendant lights are Beata Heuman’s Dodo Egg lanterns in brass, and the blinds are rendered in Flora Soames’s Cornucopia fabric.

The designer also tucked in some subtle references to the local neighborhood, a conservation area of London: When the family originally purchased the home, an “old William Morris wallpaper went the whole way up the stairway, which was quite full-on,” she shares. “It was so English.” While that wall covering wasn’t to be preserved, a refined “nod to that Arts and Crafts style” was achieved with Soane’s Wild Tulip wall covering papering the main hallway. In accommodating a young family, the brief meant carving out special—and sometimes small—spaces. Take the children’s rooms: The son’s room, which pops with a monochromatic blue theme, was so slight that the designer “didn’t even know how we were going to get a single bed in it.” The pair of bedrooms benefited from a bathroom “shoehorned” between them.

The DeVol kitchen cabinets and island are set against Paint & Paper Library’s Stone II paint. The backsplash tiles are Mosaic Factory’s zellige tiles in blush pink, and the wall lights are Visual Comfort’s Clemente double sconces in black. DeVol’s Bum stools sit at the island, while the antique pendant lights above were sourced from Joseph Berry Interiors. The pendant lights above the sink are DeVol’s Frilly Cranberry Light, and the blind fabric is Howe’s Cypress Linen in Cocoa.
With the same double-aspect layout as the primary suite, the dining and kitchen areas also echo the femininity of the room upstairs. The dining table was designed by Ainscough and, like the office desk, made bespoke by Made by Bill. The dining chairs are antiques sourced from Joseph Berry Interiors and clad with Pierre Frey’s Le Manach fabric. Beauvamp’s pinstripe Tiffany ruffle lampshade flutters above, and an antique black dresser sourced from Adam Lloyd sits at right.

Meanwhile, the guest suite—though “eaten into quite a bit to accommodate” an ensuite bath in the primary bedroom—evokes a hotel-like cool, clad in Edward Bulmer’s soothing Celadon shade. The playful powder room bursts with Parisian atelier Antoinette Poisson’s Guirlandes de Fleurs wall covering, a mix-and-match contrast to the Fired Earth checkerboard tiles. The playroom, located just beside the main sitting room, is presided over by a mischievous vintage Polish circus poster from Projekt 26 and outfitted with an upholstered sofa nook clad in Josef Frank’s fantastical Vegetable Tree print.

Filled with pattern play, the playroom is also adjacent to the main sitting room. “I was really mindful of what was going on next door, without them clashing too much,” says Ainscough. “Colorwise, they talk slightly to each other. The playroom area will evolve as the kids get bigger.” The wall color is Paint & Paper Library’s Slate II. The joinery color is Little Greene’s Woad, and the windows are cast in the same brand’s Bone China Blue. The wall lights feature Matilda Goad’s Raffia scallop candle shade; the rug is Evelina Kroon’s Korean Chives jute rug; and the two vintage posters were sourced from Projekt 26.
A sweet wall covering—Cherry Pie in Pink, by British designer Honor Addington—adorns the walls in the children’s bathroom. The vanity is Neptune’s Chichester undermount vanity unit with a Carrara marble top, and the wall mirror is from Oliver Bonas.

Despite all the color and playfulness, Ainscough also created a quiet sanctuary with the primary suite through “feminine touches and colors,” like Farrow & Ball’s Dimity on the walls, Edward Bulmer’s Jonquil on the joinery, Pierre Frey’s La Pannonie on the headboard, and a custom bamboo silk rug by Pelican House on the floor. The subtle hues work together, gently offering up what she calls “an escape from kid life.” The home has a place for everyone.

In the primary bedroom, Shaker-style closets feature braiding detail. The walls are cast in Farrow & Ball’s Dimity, and the joinery is in Edward Bulmer’s Jonquil. The headboard is clad in Pierre Frey’s La Pannonie. The daybed, a 19th-century antique with adjustable arms, is upholstered in Yarn Collective’s Marci Mohair with a cushion in Bennison’s Hibiscus fabric. A bamboo silk rug designed by Ainscough and made by Pelican House grounds the space.
A timber floor runs from the bedroom into the bathroom. “The client was keen to keep that,” says Ainscough, who aimed for a decidedly “not clinical” ambiance in the bathroom. Porter Bathroom’s Carter double vanity unit is joined by Vendome single sconce wall lights from Visual Comfort.
When the doors are open, the primary ensuite bathroom reveals “an amazing double-aspect [view] from the front to the back of the house,” says Ainscough The towel rail and taps are from Lefroy Brooks, and the marble, which “took quite a while, to find the right slab,” is white cipollino from Porter London.
For the house’s extension, the clients “wanted [it] to feel architecturally different to this house. It does feel different.” Howe at 36 Bourne Street’s Cypress, a paisley wall covering, provides a patterned backdrop in the home office. The custom-designed desk features plane timber sourced from old trees originating in London. Ceraudo’s Chiara dining chair, Soho Home lamps and wall lights, and a mix of retail and antique accessories complete the WFH setup.
Beswick Stone’s Avignon limestone covers the floor of the utility room, which was “carved out as a small space,” shares Ainscough. The designer wanted to “lean into this utilitarian feel down there,” with Mosaic Factory’s zellige tiles in brown and cream hues accenting the area and Farrow & Ball’s Dimity on the walls. A curtain featuring Ian Mankin’s Ticking Stripe 01 fabric hides away the washing machine and dryer.
In the daughter’s bedroom, a Living Quarters Creeping Toadflax wall covering provides a fanciful backdrop for a tented nook crafted of Ian Mankin’s Ticking Stripe in Rose. Edward Bulmer’s Pea Green is on the beams and woodwork.
An “upcycled” chest of drawers was repainted in Little Greene’s Olive color, and the single beds feature Scumble Goosie’s Gustavian headboards. Ferm Living’s rattan lamp duo shed light from above.
Cozy was the prevailing direction for the son’s bright blue bedroom, which is notably smaller than the daughter’s. “Embracing” the smaller footprint was key, shares Ainscough. “It’s often more successful than trying to kind of elongate and make things feel bigger.” Rosi de Ruig’s Bonbon stripe lampshade, bespoke cushions from the designer herself, and a round metal side table from The Masie provide red counterpoints.
The powder room on the lower ground floor showed to be “one of the spaces where you can go a bit wild and surprise the guest with an explosion,” shares Ainscough, who praises the clients for letting her “embrace that and let me do my thing.” Antoinette Poisson’s Guirlandes de Fleurs wall covering is accented by Edward Bulmer’s Azurite paint along with Fired Earth’s Forecast tiles. The antique brass taps are from Lefroy Brooks, and the mirror is vintage. “Whilst it’s an explosion,” says the designer, “it still does tie in with the rest of the space.”
“[This is one] of my favorite bedrooms,” shares Ainscough of the guest room. “We wanted it to feel like a bit of an escape or a hotel suite for guests.” Edward Bulmer’s Celadon paint “maxed out the size and height of the space,” while a custom headboard with Pierre Frey’s Teddy Mohair in aubergine, House Nine Design’s Nelly bedside table, and custom-designed throws and cushions provide deep-hued accents.
Marigold checkerboard wall tiles from Bert & May line the guest bathroom’s shower, while Farrow & Ball’s White Tie was used on the wall paneling. The sink is from Burlington, the taps are from Cast Iron Bath Co., and the wall light is Original BTC’s Hector Bibendum wall light. The mirror is from Zara Home, and the candlestick holder is an antique.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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