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Designer Emily Pun helped a couple renovating a Balham terraced home settle on a more personal interior scheme, moving beyond their preference for neutral colors. The project combines a calm base with choices including a Bronze Red kitchen island, patterned utility-room wallpaper and a red living-room rug.
Designer Emily Pun helped a couple renovating a Balham terraced home choose a more personal, colorful interior while their building work was under way, according to a Livingetc report. The project turned a three-bedroom house into a four-bedroom family home and paired a largely neutral foundation with stronger choices such as a Bronze Red kitchen island and patterned utility-room wallpaper.
The couple contacted Pun, of the design studio Den, after realizing they were struggling to manage the renovation and make decisions about its finished look. The home was being expanded with a loft conversion and rear extension as the couple prepared for a baby. Pun’s role included helping clarify the design direction and giving the clients confidence as construction moved ahead.
Livingetc reported that the couple had collected inspiration images on Pinterest, but wanted a home that felt like their own rather than a direct reproduction of an online mood board. The challenge was to turn those references into choices suited to the house and the clients, including the right paint colors and finishes. Pun suggested Farrow & Ball’s Lime White for the home’s walls, describing it as a shade between yellow and white.
The kitchen’s palette developed from a slab of Nacorado quartzite chosen during a visit to a stone yard. The couple did not want marble because of its maintenance needs, the report said. They considered a jade-green slab too, but decided that the house already had enough green. The quartzite’s warm, rusty tones informed the choice of Little Greene’s Bronze Red for the island. In the living room, a red Nordic Knots rug adds color against a more restrained base.
Personal Choices Shape the Renovation
The report offers a specific example of how design decisions can shape the character of a home during a renovation, particularly when a client finds it hard to imagine how a paint chip or material sample will look in a finished room. Pun’s approach, as described by Livingetc, was not to cover every space in bold color. Instead, it used a neutral foundation alongside a few more confident choices, including the kitchen island, a living-room rug and utility-room finishes.
That approach matters for homeowners who want rooms to feel distinctive without committing every surface to a strong palette. The project also shows how practical needs can inform design: the couple chose quartzite over marble because of upkeep concerns, while utility-room storage was designed around laundry and cleaning equipment. These are details from one home, not evidence of a broader renovation trend or a guarantee that the same choices will suit other households.
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A Family Home Under Expansion
The property was originally a three-bedroom London terrace. A loft conversion and rear extension added space for a fourth bedroom as the couple prepared to welcome a baby. Pun became involved after construction had begun, when the clients felt they were getting out of their depth with the pace of the build and the number of decisions required.
The couple had already assembled design references before asking for help. As Pun told Livingetc, the task was to make the home feel like the clients, rather than simply reproduce their Pinterest collection. In the living room, the work also included new windows and cabinetry and restoring original details, including cornices and a dado rail, the report said.
The utility room offered a lower-cost place to add pattern. Pun said the clients used lime-green Dulux paint and inexpensive peel-and-stick wallpaper there, while investing in custom joinery. The storage accommodates a stacked washer and dryer, shelves, a pull-out clothes rail and spaces for an ironing board and vacuum, alongside a sink.
“The main goal was to get the project in line and breathe some clarity and transparency into the process.”
— Emily Pun, speaking to Livingetc
Project Details Still Unreported
Livingetc’s account does not provide the renovation’s total cost, construction timeline or a full specification of the materials and products used. It also does not identify the couple or provide their own direct comments, so their perspective is relayed through Pun and the magazine’s report.
The report describes the project and its design decisions but does not establish whether the work is fully complete, how the finished home is being used, or whether the couple’s preferences changed after moving in. Pun said the living room would continue to evolve over time. No broader results, such as measured effects on resale value or renovation costs, were provided.
How the Rooms May Evolve
The next developments in the home are not specified in the report. Pun described the living room as an iterative process that may change over time, rather than a room with a permanently fixed scheme. The account also offers no date for further work or update on the family’s move-in plans.
For now, the reported design choices show how the clients’ neutral starting point was supplemented with selected color and pattern, while practical considerations shaped materials and storage. Any additional project details would be needed to establish how the home’s renovation and interiors develop from here.
Key Questions
Who is Emily Pun?
Emily Pun is a designer with Den. According to Livingetc, the couple contacted her during their Balham home renovation for help bringing clarity to the project and making interior design decisions.
What changed in the London home?
The original three-bedroom terrace was expanded into a four-bedroom family home through a loft conversion and rear extension. The interior work included new windows and cabinetry in the living room, as well as color and material choices across the house.
How did the couple add color?
The reported choices include a Bronze Red kitchen island, a red rug in the living room, and lime-green paint with patterned wallpaper in the utility room. These details sit alongside a more neutral base rather than replacing it throughout the home.
Why did they choose quartzite for the kitchen?
Livingetc reported that the couple did not want marble because of its upkeep and maintenance requirements. They chose Nacorado quartzite, whose warm tones helped shape the kitchen’s palette.
Is the renovation confirmed as complete?
The report describes the renovation and its design decisions but does not clearly state whether all work is complete. Pun said the living room may evolve over time, and the article gives no final completion date.
Source: rss
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