British stylist and interior designer Emily Rickard has lived all over the world, from Devon to Sydney to Brooklyn to now back to the UK. Her aesthetics certainly draw inspirations from her time in different countries and her love of travels, to Paris, Morocco, New York, and beyond. Having decided to settle in Bristol, Emily is now a proud owner of a beautiful Victorian home.

From the moment you arrive at her house, her style comes through. “I wanted to create the sense of old, but not in a traditional Victorian way. A more contemporary spin I suppose, but still using old elements,” Emily explains. “I found reclaimed Spanish tiles from Bert & May, but finding the paint color I wanted proved to be the search for the impossible neutral! I wanted the hallway to evoke feelings of old Spain or Italy… the old stone walls of a medieval town at dusk.” Having looked at countless of paint samples, Emily eventually came across a new paint company, Pickleson Paint, and together they selected a new perfect neutral together. Emily named the color Le Nozze Stone, inspired by the wedding stone in Italian, which was where she and her husband got married. 

Having bought a house and moved during a pandemic, Emily has big ideas on how she wants to renovate her home but she also wants to live in it first and do it slowly. A good example for this is the kitchen. “Using only paint and a pendant to transform the feel of the kitchen until we renovate. It’s smart, cost effective, and great on the planet. A testament to not ‘rushing’,” Emily says. As a stylist and interior designer, Emily also runs an online course, pimpyourrental.com, which is aimed at homeowners on a budget and renters who want to reimagine their space.

My Style: Modern Bohemian

Inspiration: Travel. Paris, Morocco, New York and beyond. 

Favorite Element:  All of it! The fact it’s ours after being a renter for what seems like… ever!  And the hallway. It’s just amazing. After renting for so many years and having such a narrow hallway in Brooklyn, this was high up on my list. 

Biggest Challenge: The lack of storage.

What Friends Say:  They can’t believe some of the room makeovers we have done on a budget, and to keep us going until we can properly finish all of it. And also that my house looks like it’s in a magazine.

Proudest DIY: A complete makeover on the family bathroom for under £200. All it took was a new shower rail, a Divine Savages shower curtain, some tile stickers, a can of LICK paint and some plants. My ethos is to work with what you have — instead of ripping out in a rush, see if you can transform a room with just a few elements. 

Biggest Indulgence: The downstairs shower room.  House of Hackney wallpaper, Mandarin Stone Tiles, and a Kast Concrete basin. 

Best Advice: Take your time with design, live in a home twelve months before you do anything major. This is my mantra. 

Dream Sources: Inigo, Pinterest, Instagram. And any hotels and restaurants I get to travel to. 

• Hallway — Picklseon – Le Nozze Stone
• Hallway and Kitchen woodwork — Farrow & Ball “Dead Salmon”
• Kitchen backsplash — Farrow & Ball “Setting Plaster”
• Walls kitchen —  Farrow & Ball “Skimming Stone”
• Living Room  — Farrow & Ball “Schoolhouse White”
• Bathroom Walls — Lick “Blue 06”
• Main Bedroom Woodwork — Farrow & Ball “Railings”
• Main BedroomWalls — Farrow & Ball “Ammonite”

• Averio Reclaimed Floor Tiles — Bert & May
• “I have Slow Punched You In My Dreams” print — Rachel McCully
• Skipper ceiling pendant  — Tom Raffield
• Traditional Victorian 3 Column Cast Iron Radiator — Cast Iron Radiator Centre –
• Roman Blind — de Le Cuona – Artist Canvas made by Aurea, Bristol 
• Cupboard knobs — Dowsing & Reynolds – Hardware
• Sideboard — Vintage painted in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

• Soderhamn Sofa — IKEA
• Sofa Covers — BEMZ
• Leather folding chair — Zara 
• Vintage cabinet — Lovely & Co.
• Curtains — Casamance Alaska Poudre 
• Rug — Rug Vista 
• Antiqued Mirror — Aurea 
• Wooden Chandelier — Aurea   

• Vintage Dresser — eBay
• Chairs — Restoration Hardware 
• Rug — Zara 
• Vintage Trolley — ABC Carpet & Home 
• Pendant — Mi Abode 
• Table — ABC Carpet & Home

• Bed — Loaf
• Chest of Drawers — Vintage 
• Blinds — De Le Cuona Linen 
• Mirror — Louisa Grace Interiors
• Lamp — West Elm 
• Ladder and Chair — Vintage
• Bedside Light — Pooky

• Basin — KAST CONCRETE BASINS 
• Wallpaper — House of Hackney 
• Taps — Cast IronBath Co. 

Thanks Emily!

This house tour’s responses were edited for length and clarity.

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