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A 3,000-square-foot Victorian house in Clapham, London, was reshaped for a couple with two young children by interior designer Emma Ainscough and Smith Brooke Architects. The renovation solved difficult spatial problems—an excavated lower ground floor, a newly opened kitchen and dining area, and an extension that feels deliberately different—then used color, wallpaper and tile to make the older architecture and modern family life feel coherent.
The project at a glance
Architectural Digest’s November 27, 2024 feature follows a 3,000-square-foot Victorian renovation in Clapham, London. Emma Ainscough designed the interiors with Smith Brooke Architects for a couple raising two young children. It is a room-by-room design story rather than a technical construction report: the feature does not publish a budget, measured lighting or energy results, or product-performance testing.
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The central challenge was not simply choosing finishes. The existing house had to connect convincingly to a new extension while accommodating the practical rhythms of family life. Construction was delayed by post-pandemic conditions in London and by the difficulty of securing planning commission approval. Once work progressed, the lower ground floor was dug deeper to gain ceiling height and create a larger reception room. Walls were reconfigured in the formerly “dark and dingy” lower ground floor, while the kitchen and dining spaces were opened into a brighter, double-aspect plan.
Ainscough and the architects kept the Victorian proportions and traditional references visible, but allowed the extension to read as a newer architectural layer. Inside, a receptive client and generous ceiling heights made it possible to use expressive pattern without making every room feel noisy.
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How the renovation changed the house’s difficult spaces
Excavating the lower ground floor
Lower-ground rooms often struggle with low ceilings, limited daylight and awkward circulation. Here, excavation increased ceiling height rather than trying to disguise the existing proportions with decoration alone. Reconfiguring the walls also turned the former dark, dingy area into a larger reception room. The project therefore treated structure and layout as the first design decision; paint and wallpaper came after the room could function properly.
That sequence matters for anyone studying the house as a model. A darker room cannot be made genuinely more spacious by pattern alone. In this renovation, the usable volume was changed first, creating a better setting for the furnishings and finishes that followed.
Opening the kitchen and dining areas
The kitchen occupied a space that, as Ainscough noted, “historically wouldn’t ever have been a kitchen.” Opening it to the dining area improved family use and brought more light through a double-aspect arrangement. DeVol cabinetry and an island sit against Paint & Paper Library’s Stone II, with blush-pink zellige tile from Mosaic Factory at the backsplash. A dining table designed by Ainscough and made by Made by Bill completes the shared zone.
The important move is the relationship between plan and finish. The kitchen was not treated as an isolated service room; it became part of the family’s everyday gathering space. The pink tile adds color, but the brighter, connected plan is what makes the room practical for meals, homework and conversation.
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Making the extension feel new without making it feel detached
The extension was intended to feel architecturally different from the original Victorian house. Rather than imitate every historic detail, the design lets old and new read as distinct periods that still belong to one home. Traditional architecture remains visible in the original rooms, while the newer volume provides a clearer contemporary counterpoint.
This approach avoids two common problems: an extension that looks like an unrelated box, or a new addition that copies the old house so literally that its function and date become unclear. In Clapham, contrast is part of the composition.
Why the color and pattern feel controlled
Ainscough describes the clients as receptive to color and pattern, especially the wife, who was “up for embracing a certain amount of color and pattern, which is what I love so much,” she told Architectural Digest. The Victorian home’s scale and ceiling heights helped absorb those stronger choices without making them feel overbearing.
The scheme is not based on one repeated print in every room. Instead, pattern density, color contrast and the existing architecture vary from space to space. A highly decorative hallway can lead to a calmer bedroom; a children’s room can be exuberant while the adjacent sitting room remains more restrained. The original ceiling heights and proportions act as a visual buffer around the expressive surfaces.
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The following room-by-room summary records the named elements in the feature. They are examples from this house, not independently evaluated product recommendations.
| Area | Documented finishes or furnishings | Design role described in the feature |
|---|---|---|
| Main hallway | Mandarin Stone Di Scacchi tumbled marble checkerboard floor; Soane Wild Tulips wall covering | Sets an Arts and Crafts-influenced, pattern-forward arrival |
| Kitchen and dining | DeVol cabinets and island; Paint & Paper Library Stone II; Mosaic Factory blush-pink zellige backsplash; Ainscough-designed table made by Made by Bill | Supports a brighter, open family zone |
| Playroom | Patterned upholstery; vintage circus posters; coordinating blue tones | Creates a child-focused room that relates visually to the sitting room |
| Son’s bedroom | Compact footprint intentionally embraced | Uses the small size as a deliberate character rather than forcing an illusion of enlargement |
| Primary suite | Farrow & Ball Dimity walls; Edward Bulmer Jonquil joinery; Pierre Frey La Pannonie headboard; custom bamboo-silk rug designed by Ainscough and made by Pelican House | Provides a quieter retreat within the patterned home |
| Guest suite | Edward Bulmer Celadon | Introduces a softer, calmer color direction |
| Powder room | Antoinette Poisson Guirlandes de Fleurs wall covering; checkerboard tile | Pairs a decorative wall treatment with a hard-wearing geometric floor |
| Home office | Howe Cypress paisley wall covering | Adds a tailored pattern to a work room |
| Utility room | Mosaic Factory zellige tile; Farrow & Ball Dimity | Extends considered materials into a service space |
| Children’s bathroom | Honor Addington Cherry Pie in Pink wall covering | Uses a distinctly playful wall treatment in a family bathroom |
| Daughter’s room | Living Quarters Creeping Toadflax wall covering | Gives the room its own botanical identity |
Reading the main hallway as a design strategy
Checkerboard floor and floral wall covering
The entrance combines a checkerboard floor in Mandarin Stone’s Di Scacchi tumbled marble with Soane’s Wild Tulips wall covering. The hard geometric floor and florals create contrast rather than compete for the same visual effect. Because the hallway is a threshold, it can carry a stronger first impression than a room where people sit for long periods.
Arts and Crafts references
The hallway’s Arts and Crafts cues connect the new decoration to the house’s history. A William Morris wallpaper had previously covered the stairway, and that precedent helps explain why pattern does not feel imported from nowhere. The design acknowledges the Victorian setting while selecting new surfaces with enough personality to suit the family.
Designing rooms around family life
Playroom beside the sitting room
The playroom sits beside the main sitting room, so the children have a dedicated place to play without being isolated from the adults. Patterned upholstery, vintage circus posters and coordinated blues make the room energetic, but Ainscough also considered how it would look next door. The connection is chromatic and visual rather than a demand that both rooms use identical fabrics.
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For a family adapting an older plan, this adjacency is a useful planning idea: place high-activity space near shared living areas, then coordinate sightlines and colors so open doors do not produce a jarring transition.
Two children’s bedrooms and a shared bathroom
The plan gives each child a bedroom and places a bathroom between them. That arrangement supports independence while keeping plumbing and circulation compact. The named wall coverings distinguish the rooms: Honor Addington’s Cherry Pie in Pink appears in the children’s bathroom, while Living Quarters’ Creeping Toadflax appears in the daughter’s room.
Embracing the son’s small bedroom
The son’s bedroom is notably small. Instead of trying to “elongate” it visually, Ainscough chose to embrace its compact footprint. She explains that this can be more successful than trying to make a room feel bigger. The lesson is not that every small room should be dark or heavily patterned; it is that a clear, intentional identity can be more convincing than a collection of visual tricks that deny the actual dimensions.
In practice, that means selecting furniture that fits, protecting usable floor area and allowing the room’s scale to become part of its character. The feature does not publish a measured furniture plan, so the exact dimensions and clearances remain unreported.
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The quieter primary suite
The primary suite provides relief from the more extroverted public rooms. Farrow & Ball’s Dimity covers the walls, Edward Bulmer’s Jonquil appears on the joinery, and Pierre Frey’s La Pannonie covers the headboard. A custom bamboo-silk rug, designed by Ainscough and made by Pelican House, adds softness underfoot.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The palette is still layered, but its contrast is lower and its textures are more tactile. This is a retreat rather than another display room. The guest suite continues the quieter direction with Edward Bulmer Celadon. In the primary bathroom, Ainscough wanted a decidedly “not clinical” atmosphere, according to the feature, favoring a residential sense of warmth over a stark institutional finish.
How to adapt the project’s ideas without copying it
The Clapham house illustrates decisions that can be translated to another Victorian property, but it does not establish universal decorating rules. A useful adaptation process is to work through the same questions in sequence.
- Resolve volume and circulation first. Identify low ceilings, dark rooms, blocked sightlines and awkward connections before selecting wallpaper. The project addressed these issues through lower-ground excavation, wall reconfiguration and an opened kitchen-dining plan.
- Map old and new architecture. Decide which elements should remain recognizably Victorian and where a newer intervention can be distinct. The Clapham extension was designed to feel different rather than imitate the original house.
- Set a pattern hierarchy. Choose where the strongest print belongs, where geometry will provide counterpoint and where a quieter surface is needed. The hallway’s floral wall covering and checkerboard floor demonstrate one form of contrast; the primary suite demonstrates restraint.
- Match pattern scale to room scale. Generous Victorian proportions can carry larger motifs, while a compact bedroom may benefit from acknowledging its intimacy instead of using competing “enlarging” tricks. Test samples in the actual light before committing.
- Coordinate adjoining rooms. The playroom’s blues relate to the sitting room without making the two spaces identical. Use a shared color, material or sightline to create continuity.
- Give service spaces equal design attention. The utility room uses zellige tile and Dimity, showing that practical rooms can participate in the home’s material language rather than being treated as afterthoughts.
- Keep family change in mind. A playroom, children’s bedrooms and a shared bathroom must accommodate changing ages and routines. Favor layouts and finishes that can accept new furniture or uses without requiring a full renovation.
What this feature does—and does not—tell you
The story documents a completed design approach, named rooms and selected materials. It does not provide a construction cost, a schedule, structural calculations, planning drawings, energy performance, daylight measurements or durability tests. Those facts would require project documentation beyond the published home tour.
It also does not establish that any named covering, paint, tile or furniture item is the best choice for another house. The products appear as part of Ainscough’s specification for this family and this architecture. Availability, pricing and installation requirements can change, so anyone pursuing a similar look should verify current details with the manufacturer or an appropriate professional.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsWhy the Clapham Victorian feels coherent
The renovation succeeds as a visual narrative because each layer answers a different problem. Construction improves volume and connection; the extension clarifies the boundary between historic and contemporary; pattern gives rooms individuality; and quieter bedrooms prevent the house from becoming relentlessly busy. Traditional references, including the Arts and Crafts lineage in the hall, keep the expressive finishes anchored to the building’s age.
Most importantly, the design accepts the house as it is. The lower ground floor is made more usable instead of cosmetically disguised, the kitchen is opened despite its nontraditional history, and the small son’s bedroom is treated as an intimate room rather than a defect. That combination of physical intervention and confident decoration is what turns a Victorian renovation into a family home rather than a period-style set.
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