Life Unstyled

Life Unstyled Interiors and styling content from interior stylist and author Emily Henson

Emily Henson is an interior stylist, set designer and interiors author known for her creative and approachable style. She works in photography and film styling sets for a variety of brands - from interiors, fashion, food, tech and more. Emily has written four interiors books: Modern Rustic, Bohemian Modern, Life Unstyled and Be Bold. She also publishes a self-paced online course for the aspiring l

ifestyle author where she shares her knowledge and experience to help others publish a lifestyle book.

14/03/2026

Transforming old brown wood furniture - often solidly made but heavily varnished - is one of my favourite thrifty home updates for the DIY-averse and I wrote about in my March column for .

I finally found a cabinet for my bathroom, a place to store (and hide) all those unsightly cosmetics, hair products etc in one place behind closed doors.

Bought for £15 at charity shop, I sanded it first, hoping that would be enough to reveal the lighter wood beneath, but it wasn’t there yet so I slathered on some paint stripper that had been congealing in the garage, hoping it was still good (it was), scraped that off, wiped it clean with some white spirits, sanded it again and finally oiled it with come clear wax.

I repurposed a pair of vintage curtains already hanging in the bathroom, altered them a bit and hung them inside the cabinet doors with net wire.

Hanging the cabinet on my own would’ve been challenging seeing as it’s quite big…so I enlisted the help of .m.k_creative who used the age old tapping method to find the wall studs and added some spacers behind the cabinet because there was a raised strip of wood on the back that stopped it laying flush against the wall.

We intentionally hung it upside down because the bottom had damage that I didn’t want to see when I was laying in the bath looking up at it.

Years ago I would’ve painted this cabinet, but these days I prefer a natural wood finish and I love how it turned out. More than that, I’m so happy to consolidate all the bathroom products in one place instead of them looking messy on window sills or piled into boxes in the linen cupboard. More than THAT I love that it cost next to nothing and looks bloody gorgeous.

Choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. Well then. I love rummaging, rearranging/reorganising ro...
12/02/2026

Choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.

Well then. I love rummaging, rearranging/reorganising rooms, making stuff, writing, designing spaces, house snooping, fixing up, buying, selling, styling…

Some of it I get paid for in £££, some in satisfaction and happiness. Not exactly what the high school careers counsellor suggested, but it rarely feels like work.

As my boyfriend rightly said when I tagged along with him to an old plastics factory that was shutting down and selling off all their stuff: while digging through piles of ‘junk’ I was like a pig in s**t.

As more jobs - creative and others - are being made redundant by AI, leaning into what is ACTUALLY real and tangible IRL feels like the only way forward.

Creativity, connection, community.

Create spaces where people want to linger, make objects and art people will cherish, write words with soul that humans want to read, be moved by music composed by people with emotions, rummage for and reuse things made by people, so that their effort doesn’t go to waste. Keep on creating. It sounds naive and I’m not in denial, but I’m not willing to give it up so easily, all these things I love.

24/01/2026

Five years on and I’m still tinkering away at the bungalow.

This year I didn’t cross a single thing off my ‘2025 goals and intentions’ list written on December 29th 2024, something...
01/01/2026

This year I didn’t cross a single thing off my ‘2025 goals and intentions’ list written on December 29th 2024, something I discovered when I sat down to write another list for 2026, coincidentally on the same day of the year.

For a few hours I was deeply disappointed in myself. I’ve always been an intention setter, loving the process of planning and working to make dreams come true. But last year I set the bar way too high - there are big dreams and then there are unrealistic expectations (especially in a year of grieving).

Then I realised 2025 was always meant to be about relationships and reflection, not career goals, and in that respect I nailed it!

I (re)connected with friends/family, I wrote, I ran, I painted walls, I cut hedges (constantly), I loved my kids and my family hard, I sang, I drew, I designed, I took care of my health, I completed my first jigsaw puzzle (with a lot of help), I did shoots for fun with a great friend, I turned 50.

And not pictured here because there are way too many, I cherished old and new friendships with incredible women and men.

It’s not a great time to be a writer or a creative of any sort, but the only thing I know about this year is that writing is where I feel most myself and that’s what I’ll continue to do. To the readers out there who manage to make it to the end of a piece when the world wants you to speed up and swipe fast, I say thank you ❤️

That time I turned 50 and made everyone wear name tags ❤️ This year I became obsessed with friendship. Old ones and new ...
11/12/2025

That time I turned 50 and made everyone wear name tags ❤️

This year I became obsessed with friendship. Old ones and new ones and bringing the two together. To see many of my friends gathered in one perfect space (! 🍝) meeting each other or reuniting was such a joy.

I made a little speech. FYI it’s less daunting speaking to an auditorium of strangers about interiors than to a room of 25 close friends and family about how much I love them. I fumbled through, squinting at the notes on my phone, cringing a bit from my own cheesiness.

I don’t share much really personal stuff on here anymore like I did a decade ago (see Substack for that), but a few snippets seem fitting:

The friend who’s known me since primary school and can make me laugh-cry with one arched eyebrow and a wry look.

The friend who was once my boss and is now one of my closest confidantes, who sends cards in the post just to say she’s thinking of me.

The friend who knew me from the school run in Los Angeles when our kids were in love, aged 3.

People I met through work/my books and are now dear friends.

Choir friends who became friend friends.

Old friends from our school days in Margate, when we (mainly me) smoked ci******es and drunk cider in the alley before the school disco.

Friends who became neighbours and neighbours who became friends.

Some who’ve only met me recently - not at my finest - and have seen past the mess and uncertainty.

My beautiful little sister and friend who I turn to when I want honesty, wisdom and kindness.

My kids who are my best friends who graciously include me in their grown up lives, sending me songs they think I’d like, pictures of what they made for dinner, asking me for advice, giving me advice.

Simona and Harry and their wonderful staff, not pictured because they were too busy serving the most perfect food and wine

The world is harsh, hold on tight to your friends and family/chosen family.

(And on the birthday itself? Breakfast in bed, lunch at , dinner at , drinks at . Exhausted but happy)

I don’t like winter but November wasn’t bad.The light at home makes it impossible to be grumpy 💫 Planning my 50th birthd...
30/11/2025

I don’t like winter but November wasn’t bad.

The light at home makes it impossible to be grumpy 💫

Planning my 50th birthday with an invitation I used for my 18th

Trying my hand at pottery again after 30+ years

Indulging in Italian-American deliciousness

Finally adding layers to the bedroom with art

Accepting that it’s sock weather for the next five months

New book inspiration?

Sunday roasts with friends and unexpected guests

A year without my mum, spending time in a place she loved with people I love

Rainy day antique rummaging

The ‘Inquisitive Cat’ jigsaw that took months to complete because apparently you need to spend more than ten minutes a week on them

19/11/2025

I’m rarely more content than when I’ve got a power tool in my hand and an idea in my head. Beautiful new print from by is now hanging in the main bedroom .

I don’t trust command strips for anything hanging over my sleeping head so a proper fixing was the only way. Tape measure, pencil, masonry drill bit, screw/wall plug and you’re good to go.

(The first hole I drilled was too high but fortunately I can’t really mess up these beautifully raw walls…)

Almost all of my favourite things are secondhand and are worth so much more to me than the pennies/pounds I paid for the...
16/11/2025

Almost all of my favourite things are secondhand and are worth so much more to me than the pennies/pounds I paid for them. I LOVE that shopping secondhand has become so mainstream now. I’m not opposed to spending money on things I love but it’s so much more satisfying when you bag a bargain.

My mum had a vintage clothing shop in London and then Ramsgate when we moved to Kent in the mid eighties so I spent my youth trying on old things that you didn’t see in the ‘proper’ shops. That feeling of excitement and discovery when I enter a musty smelling secondhand shop has never left me, whether it’s a j***y charity shop (the more chaotic the better imo) or a more curated antique market. Sometimes you come out empty handed, other times you find the thing you’ll treasure forever. And that’s what makes it fun.

Don’t let the frenzy and pressure and advertising of Christmas make you think you need to buy new at this time of year. And if you do buy new, try to buy from independent shops and makers, so many of whom are struggling to stay in business right now.

When I decorated the bungalow I found myself trading in the colour and pattern of my former homes for subtle texture and...
13/11/2025

When I decorated the bungalow I found myself trading in the colour and pattern of my former homes for subtle texture and natural warmth. I’m more maximalist than minimalist but for me that doesn’t mean bold colour and pattern (but you do you, my colour drenching friends. I enjoy it as a concept, it’s just not for me). My bungalow is a living, breathing, constantly evolving space. Part studio, part home, part laboratory where I experiment and make mistakes and discoveries in equal measure. Some days I love it, other days I want to start over again.

I was influenced in part by a loft I saw in a French magazine. I immediately pinned the page to my mood board where it’s stayed ever since. My furniture isn’t as fabulous as in the chic home in image 4 and in fact my home doesn’t look much like it at all (especially the last shot where colour has crept in). But being inspired by a space doesn’t mean copying. Often it’s the essence of an image I’m trying to capture, not a facsimile. It’s one of a handful of images that have been my North Star for personal style in recent years. When I feel myself being swayed by passing trends, I come back to it to remind myself of what I love.

Are there images you return to for inspiration year after year? I’d say that’s your signature style 🤎

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