TL;DR
Get furniture and decor delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
Designer Emily Pun worked with a couple renovating a London terrace in Balham after they felt overwhelmed by construction decisions and struggled to choose colors. The expanded four-bedroom home keeps a neutral foundation but adds color and pattern, including a Bronze Red kitchen island and a bolder utility room.
Designer Emily Pun helped a couple bring their renovation in Balham, south London, back into focus, guiding them toward a four-bedroom family home with a neutral base and more confident use of color. In a report by Livingetc, Pun described joining the project while the couple were already building and feeling overwhelmed by construction and design decisions.
The original three-bedroom terraced house was expanded with a loft conversion and rear extension to create a four-bedroom home for the couple, who were expecting a baby. Once the structural work was in place, Pun’s role was to help settle the interior palette and finishes, while supporting the couple as they made choices they found difficult to visualize.
The couple had collected ideas on Pinterest, but Pun said the aim was to make the finished house feel personal rather than like a collection of online references. The design uses a calm, mostly neutral foundation, with color and pattern layered into rooms. In the living room, changes included new windows and cabinetry, along with the restoration of architectural details such as cornices and a dado rail. A red rug adds a more limited color accent.
The kitchen became the project’s strongest color statement. After visiting a stone yard with the clients, Pun selected Nacorado quartzite, whose warm, rusty-red tones informed the choice of a Bronze Red island by Little Greene. The couple had also considered a jade-green slab, but decided there was already enough green elsewhere in the home. In the utility room, glossy cabinetry, lime-green Dulux paint and peel-and-stick wallpaper bring color to a space designed around laundry and storage.
How the Palette Became Personal
The project illustrates the practical role a designer can play when renovation choices become difficult to manage: translating broad inspiration into specific decisions while a build is underway. For this couple, that meant choosing colors and materials they could not confidently assess from small samples alone, rather than defaulting to the safest neutral option.
The example also shows how a home can retain a restrained overall feel while still using stronger color in targeted areas. The kitchen island, selected to relate to the quartzite, gives the room a clear focal point; the utility-room wallpaper and paint add personality in a less prominent, highly functional space. Those choices may be useful reference points for readers weighing where to make a lasting statement and where to experiment more affordably.
Livingetc’s account is a report on one private renovation, not evidence that the same design approach or materials will suit every household. The project’s details do, however, make clear how the couple’s preferences, maintenance concerns and timing shaped the final decisions.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
A Renovation Already Underway
The couple contacted Pun, who works through the studio Den, through Instagram while their Balham renovation was in progress. Livingetc reports that they were finding both the build and the growing number of design decisions difficult to manage. The project involved an expanded family home, with the loft conversion and rear extension creating the additional space.
The couple had already assembled Pinterest references and had a broad sense of the look they wanted. The issue, as described in the report, was turning that inspiration into choices that felt like their own. Pun said that timing was a factor: the build was moving ahead, while the client struggled to picture the effect of colors from paint samples.
For the kitchen, maintenance was part of the material decision. The couple did not want marble because of the upkeep they associated with it, and chose the Nacorado quartzite after viewing samples in person. In the utility room, the report describes a different balance: spending on practical, fitted joinery while using less expensive paint and peel-and-stick wallpaper for decorative impact.
““The main goal was to get the project in line and breathe some clarity and transparency into the process.””
— Emily Pun, as quoted by Livingetc
Project Details Not Reported
The supplied Livingetc report does not give the project’s total budget, build duration or completion date, and it does not name the couple. It also does not specify whether the home’s final rooms, materials or colors have changed since the account was published.
Several design judgments are attributed to Pun or presented as part of the project’s brief, rather than independently measured outcomes. The report does not provide the cost of the stone, cabinetry or labor, or compare the finished renovation with an alternative design. It is not clear how the couple assessed the finished spaces after living in them over time.
No Further Project Update Given
The supplied report does not announce another project milestone, follow-up or planned change to the Balham home. Pun described the living room as an iterative process that could evolve over time, but the article does not give a schedule or identify specific future work.
For now, the reported development is the completed design approach: a four-bedroom family home shaped around a neutral base, with more expressive choices in the kitchen and utility room. Any later changes, additional renovation work or response from the homeowners have not been provided in the source material.
Key Questions
Who is Emily Pun?
Emily Pun is a designer associated with the studio Den. Livingetc reported that the Balham couple contacted her for help with design decisions during their renovation.
What changed in the Balham house?
The original three-bedroom terrace was expanded into a four-bedroom family home through a loft conversion and rear extension. Pun then helped shape its interior finishes and color palette.
How did the couple add color without abandoning neutrals?
The design kept a neutral foundation but used color in selected features, including a red living-room rug, a Bronze Red kitchen island, and lime-green paint and wallpaper in the utility room.
Why did the kitchen use quartzite instead of marble?
According to Pun’s account to Livingetc, the clients were concerned about the upkeep and maintenance of marble. They chose Nacorado quartzite after viewing stone samples together.
What is not known about the renovation?
The supplied report does not state the budget, duration or completion date, nor does it identify the homeowners or describe any follow-up changes after publication.
Source: rss
Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples' Day Picks
long weekend sales
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
