Essy's Essentials

Home & Living

Bring the season into your own rooms

Interiors, tables and everyday styling - from seasonal moments set in the Essy world to evergreen guides for the home you already have. Not a decorating theme to copy, but a mood and a method to make your own.

The New Home Edit

The decisions, details and slower rituals behind making a new-build house feel like yours - now its own guided hub.

Explore The New Home Edit
Empty new-build living space showing walls, electrical points and the future kitchen area.

The New Home Edit · New-Build Electrics · Electrical Planning

Plan the Life in the Room Before You Plan the Electrics

Warm finished media wall combining wood, taupe cabinetry, a black fireplace, logs and soft lighting.

The New Home Edit · New-Build Design · Warm Interiors

The Small New-Build Decisions That Made Our House Feel Like a Cocoon

New home filled with boxed kitchen components while a painter continues working.

The New Home Edit · Moving House · New-Build Homes

Not Finished, Still Home

Esther's kitchen coffee corner with illuminated wooden shelves, coffee machines, books and a croissant print.

Coffee corner · Kitchen styling · Everyday rituals

How to Create a Coffee Corner You’ll Love Using

A cream sofa with cushions and a knitted blanket beside a reading lamp, a book, coffee and a biscuit.

Reading corner · Small spaces · Home comfort

How to Create a Cosy Reading Spot at Home

A cortado, iced coffee and cinnamon latte beside flaky croissants and a slice of carrot cake on a linen-covered table.

Home café · Coffee at home · Weekend rituals

A Weekend Home Café for Two

Books, a bowl of popcorn, chocolate and a coffee cup on a wooden table beside a sofa and soft blanket.

Reading at home · Comfort books · Little rituals

A Reading Afternoon at Home: My Comfort Books and Little Rituals

Water pouring over coffee grounds in a white filter inside a glass pour-over coffeemaker, with small cups nearby.

Chemex · Weekend coffee · Slow rituals

My Slow Weekend Coffee Ritual with a Chemex

A table set for guests, mid-preparation for a dinner at home.

the preparation is part of the pleasure · something delicious, always · a full three courses when there is time to give

I Like Making a Fuss

A cream ceramic coffee cup on a wooden table in soft window light.

start with something you already enjoy looking at · the woods beside home, in small details · keep one wider view alongside the beautiful close-up

Photograph the Life You’ll Miss One Day

A small table set for two with linen napkins and one lit candle.

the first night is the one I count · one familiar photograph, returned to every year · start with what you already enjoy using

The House Anniversary

Coffee-table books stacked beneath a glass candle and a jar of long matches.

Bas trusts my eye; I trust his sense of humour · two very small residents on a wooden shelf · the disco ball is happily mine

A Home That Looks Like Both of You

A simply wrapped care package with a blanket, a magazine and a drink.

think of the person before the contents · hot chocolate and a blanket, or a magazine and her kind of drink · let the visit suit her too

A Little Something for a Difficult Week

A tall snow-covered Christmas tree with warm lights and gold and brown ornaments beside the fireplace in a high-ceilinged living room, with a few wrapped presents underneath.

first christmas in a new home · decorating a new house for christmas · artificial christmas tree for a new build

Your First Christmas in a New Home

A burgundy armchair, reading lamp and side table in a winter living room beside tall windows.

returning light · a clear corner · useful seating

The Winter Room After Christmas

Finished open-plan dining and living area with table, chairs and soft furnishings.

The New Home Edit · Home Tour · New-Build Case Study

Come Inside: How Our New Build Became Home

Unfinished dusty staircase during work on a new-build home.

The New Home Edit · New-Build Planning · New-Build Checklist

The New-Build Planning Checklist: What to Decide Before Your Home Is Finished

Finished staircase painted in a warm brown shade with matching handrails.

The New Home Edit · New-Build Upgrades · New-Build Planning

New Build Upgrades Worth It: What We’d Pay for Again — and What Can Wait

Ceiling ventilation outlet painted to blend with the surrounding warm neutral ceiling.

The New Home Edit · Smart Home · New-Build Planning

Smart Home Decisions to Make Before Your New Build Is Finished

Hand holding warm material and colour samples against taupe cabinetry and a wood surface.

The New Home Edit · New-Build Mistakes · Buying a New Build

What I Wish I Knew Before Our New Build

Sheer wave-fold curtains beside a corduroy chaise sofa with a faux-fur throw, warm pendant light and a garden view beyond.

The New Home Edit · Warm New-Build Interiors · Cosy Home

How to Make a New Build Feel Warm, Cosy and Like Home

Brushed bronze kitchen sink and pull-out tap set into a wood-look worktop during installation.

The New Home Edit · Kitchen Planning · New-Build Kitchen

How to Plan a New-Build Kitchen Around How You Actually Use It

A warm, quietly layered sitting room with wool, wood and restrained autumn details.

lower light · wool and wood · rain at the window

How to Bring Amberfell Home

A softly layered autumn bed with rumpled linen, a wool throw and a book in warm morning light.

warm linen · fewer, better pillows · a working bedside

The Autumn Bed, Properly Lived In

A glass of ice-cold limoncello beside an open book and a small ceramic bowl of lemons, on a sunlit stone table with dappled olive-tree shade and a linen napkin.

Dolce Far Niente · Slow Living · Italian Style

Dolce Far Niente: The Meaning and the Sweetness of Doing Nothing

Santa Maria Novella Melograno scented terracotta pomegranate styled at home beside a vase, books and warm candlelight.

Beautiful Living · Home · Home Fragrance

The Tiny Luxury: Santa Maria Novella's Terracotta Melograno

A calm, softly lit living room with a few considered objects and enough empty space to breathe.

quiet confidence · considered, not decorated · lived-in warmth

A Home That Feels Considered

A flat lay of warm cream, taupe and walnut-toned fabric and material swatches with a small brass object.

warm neutrals · walnut and brass · quietly European

The Essy’s Essentials Home Palette

A softly lit living room in the evening with a floor lamp, a table lamp and candlelight at different heights.

layered light · warm bulbs · lamps at every height

The Layered Lighting Guide

A console table styled with a lamp, a stack of books, a small bowl and a mirror above.

entryway styling · balanced groupings · useful, not cluttered

How to Style a Console Table

A coffee table styled with a tray, a small stack of books and one sculptural object, with a cup nearby.

styled and lived in · a tray, a stack, one object · restraint over abundance

The Coffee-Table Edit

A single large framed artwork hung above a sofa at eye level, with one wall left deliberately empty nearby.

scale over quantity · eye-level hanging · walls that stay quiet

Art, Mirrors and the Walls Between

A living room mid-reset, with furniture and accessories gathered on the floor before being restyled.

shop your own home first · edit before you buy · a room, reset

The One-Room Styling Reset

A lamp switched on at dusk beside a cup of tea and a folded blanket in a quiet living room.

small repeatable rituals · presence over perfection · the day can soften now

The Art of a Well-Lived Home

A relaxed dinner table mid-gathering, with guests’ hands reaching for shared dishes.

a warm welcome over a perfect table · one strong detail · a host who can also relax

The Art of Easy Hosting

A simple seasonal table setting with one candle, a low centre arrangement and a first drink poured.

a repeatable structure · seven elements · change the season, not the formula

The Essy’s Essentials Gathering Formula

A planning page for a gathering laid open on a table beside a pen and a cup of coffee.

one page, not five · timeline from a week out · for any size of gathering

The Gathering Planner

A relaxed dinner table set with mixed ceramics, low candles and a simple linen runner.

proportion over decoration · mix rather than match · set for the guest, not the photo

The Relaxed Dinner Table

A clear kitchen sink and a folded tea towel beside a made bed, visible through an open doorway.

maintenance over rescue · a comfortable baseline · ease, not perfection

The Art of Quiet Housekeeping

A simple weekly cleaning schedule pinned near the kitchen, with a cloth and spray bottle nearby.

a little each day · rotated monthly detail · consistency over intensity

The Gentle Cleaning Rhythm

Neatly folded bedding and towel sets stacked together on an open shelf.

complete sets, not spare pieces · quantity that matches real life · freshness over volume

The Linen and Towel Edit

A soft cloth resting beside a walnut bowl, a brass candlestick and a folded linen napkin.

care over preservation · let materials age well · attention, not avoidance

The Care Guide for a Beautiful Home

An open cupboard with everyday items stored in clear, labelled sections.

begin with use, not category · primary and secondary storage · the one-motion principle

A Home for Everything

A small balcony with a single chair, a side table and a pot of rosemary in morning light.

begin with the moment · one clear destination · the same design language as indoors

The Art of Outdoor Living

A sunlit Cortelume-inspired room with warm linen, handmade ceramics, elegant glassware, lemons, figs and an open window overlooking terracotta roofs.

warm linen · lived-in ceramics · unusual glassware

How to Bring Cortelume Home

A relaxed late-summer table with warm linen, focaccia, tomatoes, figs, olives and artisan glassware overlooking the harbour of Cortelume at golden hour.

warm linen · a generous breadboard · low candlelight

The Cortelume Table

Rituals for Home & Living

A few of the small rituals that live inside this pillar - from opening the house in the morning to closing the kitchen down at night.

Coffee and croissants beside softly rumpled bedding in the morning light.

My Sunday Reset Routine: A Realistic Checklist for a Calmer Week

The kind of Sunday reset that leaves plenty of room for coffee in bed, croissants, clean sheets and doing absolutely nothing for a while.

Curtains being opened onto morning light in a calm, tidy living room.

The Morning House Opening

A gentle ten-minute ritual for bringing light, air and order into the home at the beginning of the day.

Keys and a bag being placed in a small entryway tray beside a pair of shoes.

The Returning-Home Ritual

A five-minute transition for leaving the outside day at the door and allowing the home to feel like home again.

See all 25 Home & Living rituals →

Explore More