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THE DIGEST
Inside Vinterior’s Jamilah Jaffer François’ Calm and Colourful London Home
Jamilah Jaffer-François, Head of Strategic Initiatives at Vinterior, has transformed a once dark, dated house into a calm and characterful home layered with colour, vintage finds and deeply sentimental pieces.
Jamilah Jaffer François, Head of Strategic Initiatives at Vinterior, welcomes us into her southwest London home with an easy warmth. She lives here with her husband James, in a pocket between Wandsworth and Battersea they discovered while house hunting and quickly fell for. The area offers that rare balance of green space and city access, but it was the house itself, despite its flaws, that kept drawing them back.
When they first moved in, it was far from inviting. The rooms were dark, damp and washed in the same yellow beige tone from floor to ceiling. But underneath it all were strong foundations. Instead of stripping everything out, Jamilah and James chose to work with what was already there. Colour became a way to shift the mood. In the living room, a pair of orange sofas Jamilah brought from her previous flat set the direction. Around them, the space has come together gradually, with pieces like a makeshift coffee table formed from a wooden trolley and a slab of marble, found locally and combined on instinct.
That instinct carries through the house. There is a clear pull towards vintage, not just for how it looks but for how it lives. Their dining chairs, sourced through Vinterior, were one of Jamilah’s first purchases and sparked a deeper appreciation for secondhand pieces that feel both practical and individual. In the middle room, soft, worn armchairs create a place to sit and slow down. Elsewhere, small interactive details bring a sense of lightness, like a bell passed down from her grandfather that still gets rung for the simple fun of it.
That instinct carries through the house. There is a clear pull towards vintage, not just for how it looks but for how it lives. Their dining chairs, sourced through Vinterior, were one of Jamilah’s first purchases and sparked a deeper appreciation for secondhand pieces that feel both practical and individual. In the middle room, soft, worn armchairs create a place to sit and slow down. Elsewhere, small interactive details bring a sense of lightness, like a bell passed down from her grandfather that still gets rung for the simple fun of it.
“It’s important to experience the rooms in your house, not just look at them”
Jamilah Jaffer François
That instinct carries through the house. There is a clear pull towards vintage, not just for how it looks but for how it lives. Their dining chairs, sourced through Vinterior, were one of Jamilah’s first purchases and sparked a deeper appreciation for secondhand pieces that feel both practical and individual. In the middle room, soft, worn armchairs create a place to sit and slow down. Elsewhere, small interactive details bring a sense of lightness, like a bell passed down from her grandfather that still gets rung for the simple fun of it.
Whilst it is still a work in progress, the house already feels calm, settled and deeply personal, with each room reflecting a balance of practicality, memory and quiet creativity, and a sense that it will continue to evolve in its own time.
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