Tidy in 10 minutes: how one designer more than doubled the size of her Fulham family home with six bedrooms and clever built in storage

Recalling the dilapidated state of her Fulham home when she first saw it in late 2013, Emilie Mauran admits: "This was not the kind of house you fall in love with." But, as the director of project management and architectural design company EMR Home Design in Fulham, Mauran saw immediately the scope for improvement and expansion.

"I wanted to create a friendly, family house with lots of space to entertain, and to make a design that was different to the typical Victorian and Edwardian homes in this part of London," she says.

Now, with six bedrooms and three bathrooms, it is spacious enough to accommodate herself, her husband, François and their children, Arthur, 10, Alice, eight, Lucie, six, and two-year-old Juliette. Thanks to clever storage, it's quick and easy to tidy, too.

Mauran more than doubled the size of the house by digging down to create a basement level, extending the ground and first floors, and converting the loft into two bedrooms and a bathroom. "The house was 130sq m when we saw it and now it's 285sq m," she says. Work began in May 2014 and was completed in April 2015. When it came to visualising the interior, Mauran simply planned rooms that felt welcoming. "I just wanted my house to feel cosy, and to suit life with the kids, but also be good for entertaining friends, which we do a lot."

Storage is essential for keeping a busy family home looking ordered, and Mauran made sure she worked it in on every floor. "I have eight massive, built-in, floor-to-ceiling cupboards on the ground floor," she says. These contain everything from coats and shoes to paperwork. "They are beautiful and so practical. I can tidy my home in 10 minutes now."

'NO TO 50 SHADES OF GREY'

The living room sits at the front of the house, on the ground floor. "We read in here, play card games with the kids, or have aperitifs when friends come over," says Mauran. "As we decided to go for blue and yellow coffee tables, when I saw the yellow pendant lights, I thought they would be perfect."

A deep indigo runs below the dado rail in the living area. "I wanted colours that were a bit different from the 50 shades of grey I see a lot these days. Indigo is one of my favourite colours.

"My brother, Vincent, and I designed all the furniture in the house," explains Mauran. "He lives and works in India and shipped a container of 18 pieces over to London for me. We're both inspired by Fifties design." Mauran designed and installed an internal window between the kitchen and dining area on the ground floor. "Before we even bought this place, I knew I wanted to integrate this atelier concept into my house," she says. "It's very French."

She often designs basements for clients and creating light, beautiful spaces has become one of her specialities. Here, in her own home, the huge basement floor is accessed by stairs in the centre of the property.

Typically, stairs go down from the entrance. "It means you have all the stairs stacked above each other," she says. "I don't like this arrangement. I wanted my basement to feel part of the rest of the house and to get as much light as possible. So the access is from the middle of the ground floor." The basement needs no artificial light until after dark. "That's quite rare in a basement," says Mauran. "The skylights, glass balustrades and open steps were all crucial in making the basement feel so bright." There are three rooflights in total over the ground-floor rooms: two above the kitchen and the one above the stairs.

A BAR FOR PARTY NIGHTS

Mauran also designed a sunken sofa for the basement, which regularly becomes a cinema space for family film watching. "We have a projector attached to the ceiling and we can all cosily sit around the space to watch movies," she says.

The basement stairs softly divide the sunken sofa pit from a space in which to sit and read. There's also a bar here. Installing a bar was a great way to give purpose and identity to the large, open-plan basement. "My dad and one of my other brothers make Cognac in France," says Mauran. "I always knew a bar area was necessary. We use it when we have parties with friends, which always end up with dancing." She designed the kitchen and had it made by her builders. The floor tiles have the look of old cement designs, but are actually porcelain.

The kitchen features a table, used for everyday family meals, and a space-efficient bench that Mauran designed and had covered in practical fake leather. "I wanted to put a family table in the kitchen, but it's quite narrow there," she says. "You need around 90 centimetres behind a chair, to allow space to pull it out or move around, but we didn't have that space. So I designed a bench instead."

EMILIE MAURAN'S BLACK BOOK