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Designer Emily Pun worked with a couple renovating a London terrace in Balham to bring their project back into line and make confident design choices. The finished home pairs a neutral foundation with stronger color in the kitchen, utility room and living spaces.
Designer Emily Pun helped a couple renovating a four-bedroom terrace in Balham, south London, regain direction on their project and move beyond their preference for creamy, natural colors. In a report by Livingetc, Pun describes how she used a neutral base, considered color choices and practical changes to make the renovated family home feel more personal.
The couple contacted Pun, of design studio Den, while work was already under way. They were expecting a baby and expanding their original three-bedroom home with a loft conversion and rear extension. According to Pun, the clients felt out of their depth as the build advanced and sought help getting the project organized and resolving design decisions.
Pun said the initial aim was to restore clarity to the process. The couple had collected Pinterest images and had a design aspiration, she told Livingetc, but the challenge was translating those references into a home that felt like them rather than a copy of an online mood board. She also said the schedule left limited time for the client to test colors in place, so some decisions required trust in her reading of the brief.
The design retains a calm, neutral foundation while using color and pattern in selected areas. Pun recommended Farrow & Ball’s Lime White for the walls, describing it as neither too yellow nor too white. In the living room, changes included new windows and cabinetry, alongside the reinstatement of architectural details such as cornices and a dado rail. A red rug adds a smaller, reversible color accent.
The kitchen became the main source of the home’s richer palette. Pun and the clients selected a slab of Nacorado quartzite after visiting a stone yard; its warm, rusty-red tones informed the island’s Bronze Red paint, from Little Greene. The clients had considered a jade-green slab, Pun said, but decided that green was already appearing enough elsewhere in the house. Livingetc’s report says the clients did not want marble because of the maintenance involved.
In the utility room, Pun encouraged a bolder approach, using glossy cabinetry and wallpaper with lime-green paint. The room also includes custom storage for laundry and household equipment, including space for a stacked washer and dryer, an ironing board and a vacuum. Pun described the project as using a high-low approach: the wallpaper and paint were lower-cost choices, while the joinery was a more substantial investment.
Color Choices Shape the Family Home
The project offers a specific example of how design guidance can help clients move from saved inspiration images to decisions that suit their own home and daily routines. For this couple, the challenge was not simply choosing a brighter paint color: it was making decisions during an active renovation, with a growing family and a build schedule that left little room for indecision.
The choices also show that adding color does not require every room to become vivid. Pun kept the broad palette restrained, then concentrated stronger tones in features such as the kitchen island and utility room. Pairing those choices with practical storage and selected architectural details links the visual scheme to the needs of a family home. The report does not provide a project budget or measure the effect of the redesign, so its account is best read as a description of the design process rather than an assessment of cost or performance.
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A Renovation Already Under Way
The terrace began as a three-bedroom home and was expanded to four bedrooms through a loft conversion and rear extension, according to Livingetc. Pun’s involvement focused on bringing structure to the design decisions and shaping the interior after the major building work was in place. The source does not name the clients or provide the property’s address beyond Balham.
The couple had already gathered reference images before asking for help, but they struggled to picture how paint samples and color choices would work at full scale. Pun’s account emphasizes that the schedule was moving quickly and that the clients needed support making choices while the build continued. The project therefore combined design direction with practical coordination and communication, rather than starting with a blank slate.
“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 Costs and Final Choices
Livingetc’s account does not state the renovation’s total cost, how long the work took, or whether the project stayed within its original budget. It also does not provide the couple’s own direct comments, details about the builder or the full specification of the renovation. Pun’s description supplies the design team’s perspective, but the report does not independently assess how the project was managed or how the finished home performs over time.
The living room, in particular, may continue to change: Pun described it as an iterative space that would evolve. The source does not say whether the clients made further changes after the report, or whether every design element discussed was complete at publication.
How the Rooms May Evolve
No future renovation milestone or follow-up date is given in the Livingetc report. Pun said the living room would likely evolve over time, leaving room for the couple to adjust the space as they settle into family life. The kitchen and utility room choices described in the report are presented as part of the completed design, but further changes have not been confirmed.
For now, the reported outcome is a home that combines neutral walls and warm materials with concentrated color, patterned finishes and practical storage. Whether the couple adds further color or revises the living room remains unknown.
Key Questions
Who is Emily Pun?
Emily Pun is a designer at Den. She worked with the Balham couple on organizing design decisions and shaping the interior of their renovated home, according to Livingetc.
What changes were made to the London terrace?
The original three-bedroom terrace was expanded into a four-bedroom family home with a loft conversion and rear extension. Interior work included new living-room windows and cabinetry, restored architectural details, a colored kitchen island and a redesigned utility room.
How did the design introduce color?
Pun retained a neutral foundation and added stronger color in selected areas, including a red living-room rug, a Bronze Red kitchen island and lime-green paint in the utility room. Warm tones in the Nacorado quartzite also helped shape the kitchen palette.
Why did the clients ask Pun for help?
The couple contacted Pun while the build was under way because they felt overwhelmed by the project and struggled to make design decisions, particularly about color. They wanted clearer direction and help turning their reference images into a home that felt personal.
Is the full renovation budget known?
No. The Livingetc report does not provide a total project cost or confirm whether the renovation stayed within budget. It also does not give a complete breakdown of spending on materials, labor or design services.
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