A grand Chelsea townhouse magicked into a charming home by Emma Ainscough
It’s not often that a designer gets hired solely for their talents at decorating children's bedrooms, but it does happen. And in Emma Ainscough’s case, that’s exactly what occurred when she was approached by a young American family at the tail end of 2024. ‘They were moving to the UK that year and had seen a project I did in Clapham for another young family. I had gone to town in the kids’ bedrooms,' says Emma. 'They loved the whole house, but were particularly engaged with the wallpapered, British sensibility in those rooms.’
With the children due to start their new schools in September, Emma worked to a hard deadline of August to have the house ready by. ‘It was a very fast turn-around from signing on to the project to completion and we wanted to ensure the clients had a seamless transition from the US to the UK. Whilst we didn’t move any walls, a lot of the flooring was looking very tired and the whole house needed rewiring. There were also aesthetic changes we wanted to make, like switching out the 30 plus spotlights in every room.’
With her clients still in the US, Emma embarked upon an unfamiliar but exciting new way of working, meeting her clients on Zoom to present her schemes. ‘I am used to having the luxury of physical moodboards so the client can see the layering process and really buy into how something adds or subtracts from a room, but with this project I couldn’t do that.’ Thankfully, Emma and her clients were on the same wavelength and they were brilliant at making decisions online. As she puts it, ‘It definitely helped that they were so engaged with the project.’ There was also the question of the fantastic collection of art the clients were bringing over, all of which needed to be displayed to its full potential. Emma and her clients waited until the installation process to decide where each piece would live, working together to hang everything in its right place. ‘You really do need the context of a room when it comes to placing art,’ Emma explains.
As is always a thrill for an interior designer, Emma was given carte blanche when it came to sourcing and selecting furniture. ‘It was another novel experience for me and I was able to go fully bespoke for a lot of the items which was amazing,’ Emma says. One of the clients’ dreams was a deep comfortable sofa for TV watching and two welcoming armchairs in the primary bedroom, but meeting those needs without the benefit of in-person shopping with her client meant Emma needed to figure out a work around. ‘How do you show someone what something feels like to sit on?’ Emma laughs. Cue an amusing series of photographs sent to the client from Tallboy Home in Yorkshire, who were crafting the bespoke seats for the family. ‘The entire team got involved in trying to demonstrate how cosy the furniture was,’ Emma recalls. ‘It was a very unusual way of working.’
One of the trickiest pieces to get right was the sofa for the snug, an awkwardly shaped room tucked away in the back of the house. ‘The house has a lot of long interconnected rooms and we decided that putting a TV in them would feel really intrusive,’ explains Emma. ‘So we decided to transform the anomalous small room into a really cosy space with a large four-person sofa and a television.’ Putting pen to paper, Emma designed the sofa to sit neatly in the bay window, articulated at just the right angle, with curved ends to ensure it relaxed into the space. Once the sofa shape was set in stone, it was time to think about colour. ‘I went for a much darker, bolder wall than I would in a space that isn't a bedroom because the client was enthused about the idea of creating a cocoon-like, colour drenched pocket of saturated boldness.’ However, not everyone immediately understood the vision. ‘The company making the sofa rang me about three times to check that the fabrics were right. They couldn't believe I had sent this combination of material.’ says Emma with a smile. ‘But once the sofa was completed, they messaged me again to admit, “You are really good with colour.”’
When it came to the children’s bedrooms, Emma went straight to the source and started the process by chatting to the two girls about their favourite colours. ‘One of them loves purple and I was pretty inexperienced at using that colour in my schemes so I was looking forward to figuring out ways to layer it in.’ Mixing the purple in with soft pinks and gentle greens, Emma kept the scheme muted and papered the walls in a whimsical design. ‘I really recommend collaborating with six-year-olds. She was totally right about the purple.’
The finished space is a perfect balance of serene rooms and playful ones, and a house that feels lived in and layered: certainly not the easiest feat to achieve mostly over Zoom, but an experience that Emma reveled in. As she summarises, ‘I had a lot of fun working on this beautiful home and maintaining that relationship across the pond.’
Dean Hearne1/20Farrow & Ball’s ‘Slipper Satin’ provides a perfect background for Emma to layer on. The sofa was designed bespoke by Emma and is upholstered in Rose Uniacke’s ‘Heavyweight Linen Ticking in Banana’. The coffee table is an antique 20th Century French Willy Rizzo two tier coffee table in glass, chrome & copper, sourced from Lorfords. Above it hangs Soho Home's ‘Aldwin Pendant’.
The armchairs are made up of one antique 20th-century chair from Claire Langley, the other was made bespoke to match by Tallboy Home. They have both been upholstered in Yarn Collective / Sister by Studio Ashby’s ‘Marci Mohair col Festuca’. The stools in the bay are a pair of ‘Alaior’ stools by Dorian Caffot de Fawes, covered in Namay Samay’s ‘Coromandel’ fabric.
Dean Hearne2/20The rug is from Tate & Darby. It's is their ‘Classic Jute Rug’ in a bespoke size. The small side table is an antique sourced from Sauce LDN. The wall lights above the fireplace are ‘ Clarke Wall Lights’ from Soho Home. The sideboard is a 19th-Century Italian walnut commode, sourced from Lorfords. The table lamp base is by Penny Morrison, the shade is by Issy Granger.
Dean Hearne3/20In the more formal dining space, a Nordic Knots rug adds a dash of colour to the otherwise calm palette. The walls are papered in ‘Cypress Wallpaper’ in Skye by Howe. The woodwork has been painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Slipper Satin’.
Dean Hearne4/20The dining table is Rose Uniacke's ‘Drapers Table’ and the vintage chairs are Danish, found on 1st Dibs. They have been reupholstered in a GP&J Baker velvet. The pendant lights above the table are Huey Lights' ‘Jean’ pendants with porcelain shades and silk bows. The round table in the bay window is an antique 19th-century Gueridon table with a marble top. It was sourced from Lorfords. A 19th-century English housekeepers cupboard sourced from Adam Lloyd stands tall in the corner.
Dean Hearne5/20A mid-century Italian brass overmantel mirror from On Reflection acts as the room's focal point. It is flanked by the ‘Viola Wall Lights’ from Soho Home. The console to the right of the fireplace is the ‘Wilmington Console Table’ by Alfred Newall. On top of it is Soho Home's ‘Camille Table Lamp’ and a ceramic candlestick from Issy Granger.
Dean Hearne6/20In the downstairs loo, the walls and ceiling are papered in ‘Scrolling Acanthus Frond’ by Soane and the woodwork is in ‘Damp Leaf No. 14’ from Beata Heuman's collection for Mylands. The vanity unit is Neptune's ‘Edinburgh’ style, with taps from Cast Iron Bath Co. They are the ‘Linton’ deck mounted taps in nickel with white lever.
Dean Hearne7/20In the snug, the walls are colour drenched in Edward Bulmer's ‘Pompadour’. The sofa was made bespoke to fit within the bay window. The seat and back cushions have been upholstered in ‘Teddy Mohair’ from Pierre Frey and the frame is in Studio Humbug's ‘New Stripe’ in cherry. The ottoman is bespoke and has been covered in Pierre Frey's cognac ‘Montressor’. It sits on a Nordic Knots rug called ‘Loops’. The table lamp is the ‘Traviata’ lamp from Sézane in sage green.
Dean Hearne8/20The cosy armchair is the ‘Milo’ sheep wool armchair by Tallboy Home. It is paired with an antique 19th-century Howard & Sons style chair sourced from Desired Effects, which has been reupholstered in a bordeaux mohair from Zoffany. It sits just out of the frame.
Dean Hearne9/20The bedroom needed to be a ‘moment of peace,’ Emma says, and Farrow & Ball's ‘White Tie’ is the perfect paint for the job. The rug is Pelican House's ‘Clover Design’ in a bespoke size.
The ottoman is also bespoke, designed by Emma and upholstered in ‘Marly in Bleu’ by Colony Fabrics. ‘I positioned the pendant (Pinch's Soren Globe Light 700) above the ottoman to anchor the whole zone,’ says Emma.
Dean Hearne10/20The bed was made bespoke and designed by Emma. It has been upholstered in Pierre Frey ‘Fine’ in celadon. The wall lights above the bed are Pinch ‘Pium’ in medium and the table lamps are Legato Studio ‘Dido’. Either side of the bed are vintage 1960s Danish modern oak dressers in style of Kjaernulf, sourced from 1st Dibs.
Dean Hearne11/20The bench at the end of the bed has been upholstered in ‘Humbug Ticking’ by Howe. The mirror was sourced from Lorfords and the wall lights are the ‘Maeve Sconces’ from Huey Lighting.
Dean Hearne12/20Heavy linen curtains in ‘Banana’ from Rose Uniacke frame the bay window and pair perfectly with Tallboy Interiors' ‘Rathmell’ armchairs in Beata Heuman's ‘Buttermilk’ linen. The antique burr walnut commode was sourced from Phoenix Antiques. On top is the ‘Ysolde’ table lamp by Dorian Caffot de Fawes with a silk frill shade in black grape by Imogen Pope.
Dean Hearne13/20In one of the two children's bedrooms the walls have been papered in ‘Secret Garden’ in delft by Tess Newall. The bed and headboard are bespoke, upholstered in Rose Uniacke's ‘Sky’ cotton velvet. The canopy fabric is Designers Guild ‘Brera Lino’ in Lapis, with Cloth & Clover's ‘Cleeve’ on the inside. The bedspread is The White Company.
The artwork is ‘Outer Town’ by Elynor Smithwick and was sourced from Sister by Studio Ashby. The blind fabric is ‘Noor’ by Lisa Fine.
Dean Hearne14/20By the bed, the two wall lights have fittings by Corston and shades by Mrs Alice. The bedside tables are Alfred Newall. The freestanding wardrobe was sourced, restored and repainted by Henry Shinner of Priory Antiques.
Dean Hearne15/20A little desk provides the perfect spot to do homework. The desk is the ‘Berkeley’ from The Cotswold Company. Emma painted it and changed the hardware to a Matilda Goad ‘Clover’ handle. The chair is OKA, recovered in Cloth & Clover ‘The Littletons’. A lamp from John Lewis sits beneath a pinboard in a ticking stripe from Ian Mankin and above a Matilda Goad bin.
Dean Hearne16/20In the playroom, the walls have been covered in Sanderson's ‘Victoria’ paper in colourful. The joinery is Edward Bulmer's ‘Vert de Mer’. The large photograph is by Tom Allport. The craft table, which is from Tikamoon, sits in the centre of Hastshilp's ‘Heart Rattan’ chairs with Projektityyny cushions.
Dean Hearne17/20The window nook seat cushion has been covered in Namay Samay ‘Gisi’. The wall lights are Jim Lawrence with shades by Rosie de Ruig. The joinery handles are from Matilda Goad.
Dean Hearne18/20The sofa is from Sofas & Stuff. It is the Walberswick design and has been covered in ‘Canoa YO15011’ from Designs of the Time. The side table is the ‘Huxley’ from Oka and the table lamp is Vaughan with an Alice Palmer shade.
Dean Hearne19/20The walls and ceiling have been covered in Cole & Son ‘Sweet Pea’. It provides a lovely backdrop for a bespoke bed upholstered in Ian Mankin's ‘Lilac Ticking Stripe 01’. The wall lights are Corston, with Matilda Goad shades. The bedside table is Alfred Newall's ‘Bobbin What-Not-Table’ and the bed linen is from Sukun.
Dean Hearne20/20The desk has been painted in Farrow & Ball's ‘Whirlybird’, the desk chair is OKA, recovered in Bennison ‘Daisy Stripe’. Above the desk hangs a painting sourced from Sister by Studio Ashby, ‘On Dirait le Sud’ by Bonnie Colin, and a blind in Ian Mankin's ‘Ticking Stripe’. The table lamp is Sézane's ‘Traviata’ in pink and the wardrobe is another restored piece from Henry Shinner at Priory Antiques.
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