Emily Scott
We visited with our friend Emily Scott in her beautiful South Bay home she recently built from the ground up. Each detail intertwined with her visionary design sensibilities and impeccable eye for vintage and second-hand finds. We caught up over coffee to tour her home and learn how she created a dream space for her family. We first met Emily in the early days of Marigold. She is the genius behind the lens of our Sister Series and our zine, along with many other creative collaborations throughout the years. Among her long list of skills, she’s a photographer, designer, vintage seller, dedicated mom, and devoted friend.
Tell us a bit about yourself and background.
I grew up the oldest of two to a single dad, my mom died when I was two. It’s not the kind of thing that comes up often in casual conversation but it informs everything that I do and a lot of who I am. We grew up in Torrance, about a mile from the pacific ocean. Water has always been an important part of my life - family trips to the lake as a kid, roller skating at the beach in high school. Beach culture definitely shaped my fashion sensibilities as well, even though I love a flamboyant vintage piece I still have to find a way to make it casual to feel like me.
I went to UCLA and met my match there, a skater boi studying biochemistry. We bonded over our shared love of music over a fateful trip to Coachella and the rest is history. We’ve been growing up together ever since getting married at 23 and we had to learn to support each other through a lot of life and I think that makes us even better versions of ourselves on our good days, even though on our bad days we want to kill each other. He’s truly my best friend and now we have three crazy kids that are a wild mix of our opposite personalities so our house is loud and creative and fun. I am grateful for it all.
You recently moved into your new home after a major renovation. How did you tackle the design process? Anything you would do differently?
My partner Aaron is a data scientist, and I am an artist, so our house is a true blend of my desire for beauty and his need for functionality in everything. The best decision we made was to hire a really experienced team to help us achieve our vision.
Before we even bought our property I knew I wanted Nash Design Group’s interior design expertise - we were lucky enough to live down the street from Kendra (the founder) and I had been able to see her teams amazing work all over our neighborhood. And having been friends I felt really good knowing that she understood exactly what I was looking for. Looking back I am so grateful we had Amalia and Kendra and the whole team at Nash Design Group coordinate our interior design, so many times I needed their expertise and guidance, it was such a team effort and so many details they handled along with our architect, our contractor, furniture deliveries - we would have really been lost without them. They made the process so much more bearable because it was such a long one with a lot of unforeseen challenges both personally and globally.
We looked for a house for over a year, and there were a lot of 20s/30s style homes in our area that I adored but the functionality wasn’t there for our lifestyle, so we eventually knew we needed to build from scratch. Nash Design Group helped us find our architect Ari Gessler - who was pivotal in making the flow of our house work with the design we loved. I don’t think we would do anything differently today, even though the process was about two years longer than we had hoped because of Covid shutdowns, which was really (really) painful at the time, but maybe that’s why we appreciate it all more now.
“I think the reason I always come back to vintage things for inspiration is because of the craftsmanship. I am truly inspired by the women of the past who created everything with their hands. They made everything beautiful and it was also functional.”
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I think the reason I always come back to vintage things for inspiration is because of the craftsmanship. I am truly inspired by the women of the past who created everything with their hands. They made everything beautiful and it was also functional. I am incredibly inspired by the quilt-makers of Gee’s Bend - the Black women who pioneered quilting as we know it in America. Their history is heartbreaking and beautiful and I wish more people knew their story. I am inspired by Ruth Asawa and her iconic woven sculptures. I also draw a lot of inspiration from children’s books and reading my friend Taylors newsletter Moonbow about reading children’s books as adults and how much we can learn from that artform. I am inspired by my friend Meg who started watercolor again after many years away and how she practices daily while also homeschooling her children and maintaining her photography business. I am inspired by friend Ash who recently picked up handmade ceramics and is producing absolutely beautiful pieces of art. I am always inspired by a trip to Marigold and seeing how the shop is laid out, how the flowers compliment the space, how the light comes in through the windows and how it’s such an extension of love in physical form.
Your home is a perfect mix of vintage and new, can you share any tips on how you blend the two styles so effortlessly?
I naturally gravitate towards colors and finding different things that match each other in some way. I see everything in our home like a puzzle I am trying to put together. I see things compositionally almost like I am taking a photograph, finding the balance between negative space and color and shapes. But I am always searching at the thrift store or estate sales and when I see something that excites me I usually buy it without knowing where it is going to go, which drives my husband mad.
What do you love about your home?
Everyday the natural light, the tile floors, and the arches make me very happy and inspire me. It truly feels like living in a dream. Also the air conditioning.
What future projects do you dream about?
I dream about renovating a lake house but I am still trying to get my partner on board for that dream. I grew up going to my grandparents lake house in Canada and it was such a special place for me.
I dream about making ceramics (I haven’t started yet)
I dream about photographing more women for a photography book.
I dream about opening up my own vintage shop and a space for mothers who need a creative outlet and community.
What was your favorite best secondhand score?
It’s always changing, and sometimes it’s not even something that’s “worth a lot” - a large shell from a garage sale I found recently comes to mind. Although most recently I did find a Gucci tennis skirt at my local thrift store in my size so that might be it. I don’t usually find designer items in my size, much less something in my style that I would want to wear, but this one is pretty cute so that’s my best score recently.
