SPOTLIGHT SUNDAY// EMILY CANHAM
This week we caught up with Emily Canham, The YouTube and Social Media sensation who has just started her journey of renovating her dream house.
Emily started her journey on YouTube eight years ago, talking about all things beauty, fashion and lifestyle. Now she has been fortunate enough to grow her online presence into a full time job. Emily has recently embarked on a new chapter and her biggest project to date, a house renovation, where she is turning her empty fixer-upper house into the home of her dreams.
Emily is very family driven and includes her family in many of her videos and across her social media platforms. Emily has a close bond with her sister Sophie and surprised her with a special trip to Disneyland Paris for her 10th birthday back in 2018 which ended up being one of Emily's most popular videos on YouTube reaching a staggering 4.2M views.
Last year Emily bought her dream house and invited us to join her through her journey over on her new page 'Welcome Home' which includes the renovation project of her new house, interiors, house tours and everything property related. Emily’s Welcome Home page crosses over many platforms from TikTok’s to an informational Podcast, incorporating the perfect combo for not only interior and house inspiration but also creating a hub of knowledge for first-time buyers.
So let’s dive in and find out what life is like as an influencer, what inspires Emily, and her renovation journey…
'Tell us a little bit about yourself'
I grew up in Northamptonshire, but have always loved spending my time in London and have been between living there and Northamptonshire for the last few years. Eight years ago, I decided to start my own YouTube channel, talking all things beauty, fashion and lifestyle related content, those are still my main passions and I’m not sure that will ever change. Now, eight years on, I’ve been fortunate enough to grow my online presence into being my full time job. I absolutely LOVE what I do, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some amazing brands, such as Dior Beauty, Samsung, Farfetch, L’Oreal and more. I still feel like this is just the start for me though! There’s so many other things I want to do and brands I’d love to work with in future. The purchase of my house recently, inspired me to start my latest venture ‘Welcome Home’ which is a really exciting project that allows me to explore a new area I’ve not covered before now. I’m visiting some amazing properties through it, presenting house tours and constantly being inspired in the world of property, which of course is a huge help whilst I’m currently designing and renovating my own home.
What inspired you to first start your YouTube channel?
The idea of building a community online always sounded awesome to me. When I started, it was all about making new friends who loved the same things as me. I loved sharing my favourite products or items when it came to fashion or beauty and also places to visit. At the start, I felt like there wasn’t many places online you could share with others things such as this that I was interested in, and it just grew from there!
Tell us a little about your current renovation project
WOW! My current renovation is such a new challenge for me to explore and I’m loving it. I’ve learned so much about houses and all of the steps involved in a renovation, it’s definitely not as easy as it looks online! But, I’m loving the process of making a house, REALLY my own. Choosing everything from the tiles I’m going to have, the flooring and even light switches means I know I am just going to love my house so much more, because everything will be just as I want it. Right now, the house is totally back to brick, so there’s still a long way to go, but it means I have a completely blank canvas to turn this house into what I really dream it can become!
What have you found to be the best and the worst part of renovating?
The best part is definitely knowing I can personalise this house to be exactly how I would like it to be. There’s definitely no ‘easy’ route when it comes to renovating, there’s always a few issues that get thrown up along the way, so dealing with those can sometimes be a challenge.
Where have you drawn inspiration from for the interior of your new home?
I love older interiors with a more traditional, classic vibe, but also those which are a little bit quirky. But, I also love modern interiors just as much, so I’m looking to create a combination of the two which are in harmony with each other. Textures and colours are really important and I’ve often been inspired by places like luxurious hotels or restaurant bathrooms, I’ll take a photo and use this to inspire my own for my house.
What was the last item you bought for the new house and where was it from?
This is super boring, but it was actually a fridge! I’m trying to source as many items as possible second hand so when they come up I grab them and they’re all sat in a storage unit.
What's the best piece of advice you were ever given as a first-time buyer?
That’s tricky because there is so much, but probably to remember to account for the hidden costs. I recently had such a helpful and insightful chat with a really knowledgeable mortgage advisor for my Welcome Home Podcast and I feel like it’s a very obvious piece of advice - but, fees pop up here and there whilst purchasing a house that you probably wouldn’t expect when it’s your first home. Future ‘you’ will be thankful later on!
What advice do you have for any first-time buyers who are looking for a renovation project?
Definitely get a reliable and trustworthy team of builders or an architect, if you need one, working alongside you. If you are prepared to do most of the work yourselves, that’s AMAZING. Especially if it’s nothing too major like structural changes etc or you already have the trade skills yourself. But, if you don’t have those skills, time or knowledge, you want to know that the people you’re relying on to make your house exactly how you’d like it, especially because renovating can still cost a lot of money, you want everything to go as smoothly as possible and not run into future problems due to low standard building work that hasn’t been done correctly.
If you could learn anything new, what would it be?
There’s so much that I still want to learn, right now it’s all around property and renovation. I guess, you could say I’m learning it on the job at the moment!!
Do you have any specific goals you want to achieve this year?
To get my house finished! I can’t wait to get the building stage done, so I can begin really working on the decorating side and making my house a home, that I can finally move into. It’s been a long wait, but I’m confident this year I’ll finally be living in there, which is so exciting!
What does your ideal long weekend away look like? (where would you go/stay/do)
Norfolk, of course. I love to arrive on a Friday night and end the week with a gastropub dinner! My current preference is The Ostrich Inn at South Creake. Early mornings are my favourite, so it would be up early on Saturday grabbing a coffee from Gurneys in Brancaster, (they serve Monmouth Coffee Company coffee which is the BEST in the area!), en route to a beach walk on either Brancaster or Thornham Beach. Afternoons in Norfolk are for relaxing, so that’s where you’ll find me until late afternoon, perhaps reading a book. In nicer weather, I love to end my day on the beach with an Eric’s Pizza from Drove Orchards. Finishing off the weekend with a roast. I’m still yet to find my perfect roast in North Norfolk, but my favourite in recent months has been The Duck Inn at Stanhoe.
Favourite product you’ve bought for your new home
My Wolf range.
Favourite independent interior store
Favourite clothing boutique
Favourite place to meet friends
At a Café for Coffee
Favourite Podcast
The Diary of a CEO
Which are your top 3 products from our Norfolking Around store?
1. All The Love Black Pomegranate Candle.This smells amazing and I really love how comforting and warming this scent is when I have it burning. I feel like it’s such a relaxing scent, no matter what time of day I have it burning.
2. The kitchenware! I can’t pick.. there’s so many lovely products, especially in terms of bowls and storage jars, I think one of my favourites has to be the glass storage jars. They look so much nicer than having tons of packets sat around in your kitchen to display and keep food fresh.
3. Finally, the gemstone diffuser. What an amazing idea! I’d never come across a diffuser that used gemstones to add oil to before, it’s SO unique, looks lovely in your home and the rose quartz one is my particular favourite. I feel like everyone should know about this!
Leave a comment