Brick-a-brac: How to use 'found art' in your home

Emily Chalmers admits: "I'm really particular about a lot of things, and incredibly particular about where I live." The interiors stylist continues, "I'd rather be in our old Citroë*van or camping out in a tent than in a flat that I didn't like." After meeting at the Glastonbury Festival some years ago, Emily and her husband-to-be Chris moved in together in a flat in Hackney, east London. Their landlord told them about another property they might be interested in: a ground-floor space in a vast old warehouse that had been used as a mini-cab office, close to Spitalfields Market.

Emily had only seen the mini-cab office from the outside, and because she was out of the country on a work trip, had to trust Chris's opinion on the interior before they moved in. Emily and Chris decided to take a chance on the open-plan space, and moved into the building in April 2002, one month before they got married. The warehouse only had a tiny kitchen, a fairly basic bathroom and no heating, but it was exactly what they had been looking for: a blank canvas on which to make their mark. It was also just around the corner from where Chris rented studio space for his work as a video director.

Chris and Emily have possibly the easiest daily commute imaginable, as they can just stroll around the corner together to Shoreditch and Spitalfields Market. Despite living in the centre of London, there is a great neighbourhood community here, as most of the creatives working in Shoreditch also tend to live locally. The couple love the juxtaposition of the homey neighbourhood and markets, built up in the shadow of the skyline of the City of London.

With its huge double doors, the warehouse is the perfect place for Emily to store sofas, chairs and tables for shoots. There are no storage cupboards, as Emily thought it would ruin the space's proportions,  and she prefers to store her props and belongings on shelves. When friends came round to visit, they often thought it looked a bit like a shop because f everything was on view. The windows' deep ledges are used to display books, lamps and vases, and Emily is reluctant to put up blinds or curtains as she doesn't mind waking up with the sun. She hadn't originally intended to have a shop, but living in this space and collecting vintage furniture and objects inspired her to open her own interiors store, called Caravan, in 2005.

Dividing up a vast warehouse building into living areas relies on finding key pieces of bold furniture to make a big impact. Chris found a 1970s bed with a velour headrest and sides that would have overwhelmed any other bedroom, but which could make a statement here. Emily further defined the space by hanging green tropical-print drapes from the ceiling to create a modern fourposter. When Chris and Emily went to stay with her brother in Amsterdam, they found an old hunting table that was narrow and lightweight, and decided to ship it back to London. It arrived just in time for Christmas, and Emily managed to buy some wooden chairs from a café on Brick Lane and ran up a pile of brightly printed cushion covers to make the room look more colourful. With everything in place, the couple were able to invite 14 people round for Christmas lunch.

Alongside the dining table is an antique wooden roll-top desk, which used to belong to Chris, but has since been appropriated by Emily to use as her workspace. It is now surrounded with flowers, feathers and fabric, displayed on the walls or neatly folded away.

Two large sofas break up the living area: a Guy Rogers sofa that Emily picked up in Brixton Market, south London, for £20 and an old Chesterfield that was originally bought for Caravan, but which she realised was nicer than anything she had at home and decided to keep. The wooden side-table with a circular opening holds all of Emily's hand-made sketchbooks from art college, and placed on top is one of Emily's favourite pieces: a sculptural lamp with a tall triangular shade.

On the far wall Emily has hung a big round mirror, also found in Brixton, which she feels really helps to open out the space. And to make the whole area feel more cosy, Emily placed a cowhide rug on the floor, along with two gold-leather bean bags. Separated from the main living space by a 1960s beaded curtain is a compact kitchen. In its mini-cab-office days, the kitchen had been very minimally furnished, but Emily found that she now needed lots of storage space for all of the bits and pieces that she uses for shoots. "I've used every inch of space," she explains, "with hanging baskets from the ceiling, and things stored on top of the cupboards."

'New London Style' by Chloe Grimshaw with photographs by Ingrid Rasmussen, is published by Thames & Hudson, £19.95. To order a copy at a special price, including p&p, call Independent Books Direct on 08700 798 897 or visit independentbooksdirect.co.uk