Desert Island Decor - Daisy Emerson

It’s been a while since I’ve run one of my Desert Island Decor features but with everyone starting to gear up for Christmas, I thought now was as good a time as any to throw a curveball in there and feature a lady whose work oozes shiny, happy and sassy sunshine vibes. Daisy Emerson is not only a super cool artist with loads of top end collaborations under her belt (her lettering skills most recently graced a truckload of Aveda hairbrushes), she also has a passion for interiors after doing up her home in East London in her own distinctive style over the last two years. I’d call her style feminine but strong, much like her work. Lots of monochrome and clean, graphic lines, all softened with a hefty dose of blush pink. Now with a baby on the way, Daisy, her husband and their adorable pug Winnie-Woo are about to make the big move out of London and take on another renovation project. So we can see this as a taste of what’s to come. Call me crazy but I’m predicting pink.

If you’re new to the blog, I should explain that this feature is about chatting to some of my favourite inspiring and stylish people about the interiors items they really couldn't live without. I want to hear about the stories behind the rooms and the pieces which mean the most, because it's those things which really bring a room to life, right? One of my favourite things about Desert Island Decor is that it gives me a chance to find out more about the people who I love to follow, and who inspire me…but are not part of the usual interiors crowd. Not that there’s anything wrong with them…I’m in that gang after all. But we already know lots about their houses and this feature was designed to look outside of that box. Previous Desert Island castaways have been Erica Davies and Lisa Mehydene of Edit 58 if you want to check them out.

So with all that said, here are the six home decor items Daisy couldn't live without, and why one person’s #deskgoals is another person’s Room of Doom.

1 - Fresh Flowers

I have to have fresh flowers in the house. They can instantly lift your mood, as well as making a room look really done. It’s always really pleasing to walk into a room and see a bunch of beautifully arranged flowers. It does feel like a bit of a luxury though so I try to keep costs down by buying most of my flowers from Columbia Road Flower Market on a Sunday morning. I can pick up a good few big bunches of really good quality blooms for about £20-25, which is a lot less than you’d pay for a bouquet most places in London. My favourites are Hydrangeas when in season and also Lily’s for a bolder statement in a big vase.

2 - Marble

I really love marble as a material (Snap!) There’s a few marble accents and pieces running throughout our house and it’s also a material I often use in my work. A recent piece I’ve done is HERO, which is lettering enamel and 22ct gold leaf on black Marquina marble and I’m working on doing some more marble pieces at the moment (scroll down to see the brand new and exclusive print that Daisy is launching today!)

We had white Carrara marble worktops fitted in our kitchen when we were doing our new kitchen design. It was a brave choice and everyone tried to talk me out of it due to how porous it is and how it’s totally impractical for a kitchen worktop! We went with it anyway because if it can look great in a hotel bar situation then why can’t we have it in our kitchen!? I was definitely really uptight about the marble and keeping it clean when we first got it, but over time I think I’ve become more relaxed about the marks, there’s loads now and it kind of gives it character!

We also have a beautiful black Nero marble coffee table in our front room which I love, I’m really drawn to black marble at the moment. Another little piece I’m quite fond of is a little black shelf I had cut and DIY’d with some lovely old cast iron brackets I found on eBay, which keeps the soap and hand cream in our downstairs bathroom. I think marble is such a luxurious material and it’s always totally unique which adds to how special it is.

3) Scented candles

I’m obsessed with scented candles! I have loads of them candles dotted all over the house. Firstly they look great, and secondly I love to walk into a room and be greeted with a beautiful scent. I particularly love Diptyque, which is one of my favourite brands for both packaging and scents. I really like Le Labo too and I recently discovered a brand called Overose which is just perfect - the branding, the scent and the packaging is all so dreamy…I bought myself one but I don’t think I can bring myself to burn it as it’s just so perfect looking!

4) Art

Obviously being an artist myself, I love art and think it can make a room come to life.  Sometimes you can have a print up on a wall and that will dictate how you decorate the rest of the room purely from the colours. I’m mostly drawn to lettering as that’s what I do and love, but I’m slowly adding to my collection of prints. There’s still lots of artwork I would love to own but I can’t have it all at once! I’ve added a few little personal touches in terms of sign writing in our house, mostly on the doors. I have painted our bathroom door a candy pink and painted ‘Bathroom’ in a simple black script, this proved to be really popular on Instagram when I posted it and I’ve had a few requests from people to do the same for them. There’s also two darker doors which I’ve painted in Farrow & Ball’s Railings and finished off with a nice white block font with W.C. and UTILITY.

There are still lots of little touches I would love to add to the house, but we are moving so I will have to take these ideas with me to the next house. I’ve got a cool idea for a telephone sign in my head, which I’ve been meaning to do for about a year!

5 - Pink Sofa

When we moved into our first new home, one of the most important and exciting purchases was the new sofa! I always wanted a blush pink velvet one and so I was surprised and delighted when my husband agreed to it! I searched for ages for the perfect one and we settled on one from Love Your Home. We customised the size and the fabric. As it was made to measure, we made it deeper than usual so we can really sink into it, as well as choosing a really lovely blush pink velvet fabric - it’s the comfiest sofa ever. It’s not the most practical and it’s definitely got a few marks on it which we need to have cleaned off but it’s worth it as I feel very content every time I walk into the house and sprawl out onto it!  

And the one thing in your house you’d love to throw into Room 101?

If I had to send something to Room 101 it would be my home studio. I’ve been working out of a studio space at home since I went fully freelance and I have been outgrowing the space ever since I started! It’s never been the right time for me to get my own studio space until now, but we are moving house so it will have to be put on hold for a bit longer. I really hate the clutter I seem to accumulate, I use a lot of materials and have a lot of paint and other necessary bits and bobs which I feel seems to always look untidy! If I could, I would banish it all and just have a really tidy, minimal home office space.  Having a separate studio space where I can make a mess and paint is a must for me moving forward, especially for me to create work in a larger more practical space. That is hopefully the plan for next year!

I can’t wait to see what Daisy does with her new home, but in the meantime she’s not exactly resting up whilst she waits for this bubba to arrive. Instead, today she’s launching this beaut new screen print Forever. It’s hand finished with 22 carat Italian gold leaf and they are not going to stick around forever (sorry). There is a limited edition run of just 25 pieces, all signed and numbered. Head here to find out more and how to get your hands on one.