Hi I’m Emily Wheeler,
I am an interiors writer, stylist and blogger, based in East London. I’m passionate about interiors, sustainable living and wellbeing through our homes. Our homes really can make us happier and help to keep us healthier.
I spent several years as an interiors journalist, writing about homes for publications including the Telegraph Magazine, Guardian Weekend, Sunday Times Style, Stella, Red and The Simple Things and my book Creative Living London is published globally by Thames and Hudson.
I started blogging in 2008 and have recently returned from a five year break during which I had a second child, founded a social enterprise and renovated our first family home, to relaunch my blog with a focus on sustainability and wellbeing.
I carefully curate good design that is calming, nurturing and uplifting and my expertise, knowledge and experience in both social work and interiors means I have a unique understanding of the many ways our homes affect our physical and emotional wellbeing.
I was recently named by the Sunday Times Style as one of the top six interiors Instagram accounts to follow in 2020, for my home’s stylish, sustainable interiors. It’s our first family home and we renovated it from top to bottom, turning it from a dingy death trap into a light-filled family home filled with vintage furniture and natural materials.
Wellbeing, biophilic design and sustainability are the key principles I follow when I’m creating interiors, and our home reflects this.
Kindness to ourselves, each other, and the environment, is at the heart of everything I believe in.
I am the founder of a social enterprise called Furnishing Futures, which fully furnishes the homes of families who are experiencing furniture poverty by reusing good quality items that would have gone to landfill, and by partnering with brands to reduce waste.
As a social worker and interior stylist, I am making it my mission to campaign for everyone in society to have a safe and comfortable home and to spread the message that our homes are key to our wellbeing as humans. I am an experienced activist and I hope to create change and raise awareness of this serious issue by working directly with those who need support. Together we can create change by spreading kindness and improving lives.
I’m passionate about wellbeing and how we can create homes that nourish and support us, and I love to share my knowledge about how our homes can help us to feel happier and healthier.
I hope you’ll find something here that helps you create your own special place called home.
I love to hear from readers and am always happy to answer questions and hear what you think so do comment on posts or say hello on Instagram!
If you are a brand and would like to collaborate, I am always up for having a chat, so if you think you might have an idea that would suit me, take a look at my ‘work with me’ page.
– Emily
Furnishing Futures
Furnishing Futures is a social enterprise that I founded in 2019. We are a collective of interiors and community professionals and volunteers who aim to fully furnish the homes of families experiencing furniture poverty. We also support women’s refuges and other organisations that support those who are in need of a safe space.
Furniture poverty is when people do not have basic items that most of us take for granted. This includes beds, chairs and sofas etc but also flooring, curtains and white goods such as a cooker, fridge or washing machine.
Furniture poverty is hidden behind closed doors and is becoming an increasingly widespread problem due to the impact of welfare reforms and austerity. You only need to look at the increase in homelessness and the use of food banks to see how this manifests. If you cannot afford to feed your family, how can you afford to furnish your home?
We reuse good quality items that would have gone to landfill, and partner with brands to reduce waste, to provide families with all the essential items they need to create a home, at no cost to them. We believe that by helping families create a safe and comfortable home, we can give them back their dignity and hope for the future. Having a home with all the basics also helps to disrupt the cycle of poverty and support better mental health and wellbeing, enabling families to lead better lives.
At the moment Furnishing Futures supports vulnerable families living in North East London. We hope to be able to expand soon!
To learn more about what we do please visit our web site and follow us on Instagram.
If you are a brand or interior designer who would like to get involved please email: hello@furnishingfutures.org
