Colour IS IN my soul

USING BOLD COLOURS AND PATTERNS CAN BE TRICKY, BUT ALICIA AND JOHN FRANCIS HAVE ACHIEVED THE PERFECT BALANCE

- JENNY TUCKER, KAREN WILSON

Living room

‘The rug is one of my favourite things in here as I love colour. I’m really happy with the way the rest of the room works around it.’

BUY THE KEY PIECES Walls painted in French Grey Dark absolute emulsion, £48.50, Little Greene. Boho sofa in Pacific Clever Velvet, £2,485, Loaf. Christmas tree, £195, The White Company. Baubles, Raj Tent Club, George Home and Habitat

''One of the FIRST THINGS I decided was that I didn’t want the house to FEEL LIKE a museum “

HOME NOTES

WHO LIVES HERE? Alicia Francis lives here with her husband John, and their children Adam, 16, Abigail, 15, and David, 12, plus the family’s two dogs and a cat.

THE PROPERTY A five-bedroom semi-detached Victorian villa in north London.

After buying an all-white Victorian villa 11 years ago, Alicia and John have transformed every room with bold and cheerful colors.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO REVAMP YOUR HOME?

‘The house had been done up to sell so we didn’t do any work at first, but when the children grew up, the renovation seemed more of an option. We approached Miltiadou Cook Mitzman Architects (mcma.design) to neaten things up and create extra storage, but once we started, it snowballed!