As the founder of The Small Home, a lifestyle enterprise of artisan-made, thoughtful goods for home and living, Ayshea McCormack has a curatorial eye and favours an understated aesthetic. It’s a sensibility that naturally extends to her Victorian terrace house in Balham, south west London, which she shares with her husband, Ben, and their two daughters. But, while her space doubles as the backdrop for her brand, it’s no show home: Ayshea has a thing for wabi-sabi and deliberately handpicked materials that will show signs of age with time. Here, she tells us about the joy of imperfections, embracing a small garden and falling in love with her neighbourhood.

Ayshea: “I worked as a buyer for several high street fashion brands for 20 years before starting The Small Home. While I enjoyed the process, I found it quite soulless. After having my two daughters, I decided to take some time out and risk doing my own thing.

“My idea was to source unique, handmade items that caught my eye, and it took off immediately. Our traditional sheepskin slippers have been phenomenal and funded the growth of the business. They proved so popular that we took the production in-house; four artisan families in Poland hand make them throughout the year using offcuts from Rolls Royce car interiors and embroider them with British rare breed organic yarns.

“This house serves as a backdrop to the photography for The Small Home but I never want it to feel like a show home; the girls play netball in the kitchen, Ben works from here and I have staff coming and going, so it’s in heavy use.

“We’ve lived in this house for 15 years. I was living in Brook Green and my husband, Ben, was in Clapham when we decided to buy a house together. I was desperately hunting in west London for a family home but there was very little we could get for our money. Balham was the natural progression when going from a flat in Clapham to a house.

“I wasn’t hugely drawn to Balham initially, but I fell in love with this house and, when we had children, the area suddenly came alive for me. It has so much to offer, especially for families. We live between three commons – Wandsworth, Clapham and Tooting – and Northcote Road is full of independent shops and cafes. That village feel works perfectly for our life now.

“What appealed to me about this house is that all the original Victorian features – the windows, cornicing and fireplaces – were intact. It hadn’t been modernised and we lived here for six years before we embarked on any renovations. That proved useful because it meant we knew exactly what we needed from the house.

“I’m really drawn to the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi and embracing the natural imperfections that come with certain materials. That’s why we selected hard-wearing components that will patinate over time, like concrete for the kitchen floor and stainless steel worktops for preparing food. I don’t want anything to feel too precious.

“My desire is for each room to feel warm and lived in, never too minimal and clean. I love scouring French markets for old paintings and slightly rusty old trinkets to add depth. I layer with sheepskin rugs and cushions, and I love decorating with house plants.

“For the kitchen extension, the brief to our architects, Mustard Architects, was that there needed to be a strong connection to the garden. The outside space was small, so we embraced it by paving the ground and walling the perimeter.

“As a relatively new practice they were brilliant, full of fresh ideas and they really listened to what we wanted. What we have is something that I absolutely love; five years on, I wouldn’t change anything. In the summer it now feels like one big space, especially with the windows thrown open. We built a pergola and have grown trailing wisteria so now we get the most beautiful dappled light.

“Having an architect gave us the confidence to really push our builders on the finer details. The kitchen ceiling was low, but rather than dig down we decided to expose the floor joists from the room above to gain height. It was time-consuming and messy, and our builder couldn’t understand the point, but the architects made it happen.

“The kitchen cabinetry is actually an IKEA carcass which carpenter Barnaby Reynolds painstakingly created bespoke doors for. He really understood what we wanted and sprayed it all himself. It needed to serve practically as well as being aesthetically right – we don’t have a fulfilment centre for The Small Home, so ample storage was crucial.

“This house isn’t huge so creating distinct zones was really important. The kitchen table is great for socialising – we always gravitate towards the island when we’re hosting friends. The tiny seating area next to the shelves is only big enough for one person but it’s a real sun trap; I love having my morning coffee there. We had the loft converted with the intention of it serving as a workspace, hence why there are windows overlooking the landing – it’s probably not something you’d have when designing a bedroom.

“My latest project has been redecorating the living room, which is north-facing and naturally quite dark. I wanted to make it as airy and as calm as possible, so we took the floor back to its natural pine then lime-washed it and oiled it. It was so laborious, but the results are incredible. It’s a technique they do a lot in Scandinavian homes, but it works really well in Victorian houses too.

“It’s been repainted in a beautiful white by Atelier Ellis, whose paints are wonderful. They are a small husband-and-wife team and their palettes are unlike any other paint brand. Not all shades of white are made equal and theirs is a colour I’ve used a lot here because it’s great to shoot against.

“My ambition for The Small Home was always about running a creative business from home around my children and I feel like we’ve achieved that. My desire is to grow it, but it has to remain authentic – I’m not interested in mass production. I love travelling and discovering beautiful things – I look forward to being able to source more unique products and work with small makers around the world.”

Ayshea, how do you define modern living?

“It’s a new approach to the way we live – mixing different influences in unusual ways, shifting one’s perspective and making considered and interesting choices. For me, modern living at this time is about living sustainably and making ethical choices. It’s about creating calm space in a hectic world, both physically and mentally, and living in a more considered way – recycling, upcycling and attempting to live as waste-free as possible.”

Is there a home for sale on our website that has caught your eye?

“At the moment we are very drawn to the idea of replacing our urban life with country living and Woolland House in Dorset would do very nicely! I love all of the architectural details and the grounds are beautiful. I can imagine propagating plants in the impressive greenhouse, and I could run The Small Home from the stables and outhouses.”