Emma Chamberlain featuring the Brea Side Table

My name is Emma Chamberlain and I would say I'm an internet entertainer. I make YouTube videos, I have a podcast called Anything Goes, I post on Instagram, and I'm also the founder of Chamberlain Coffee, which is my coffee company.

I live in a house in Los Angeles. I bought it in 2021 and I renovated it for almost two years so I’ve been really living here since 2023. The renovation process went way longer than expected, but that is just sort of how renovation tends to go, it seems.

I have two cats, one orange tabby male named Declan and one little white with orange ears girl named Frankie and those are my two kitties.

My parents in general, me being an only child, have been the most influential people in all categories of life, design and interiors included.

My mom has always loved interior design – the way our house was decorated growing up very much reflects my taste today. My bedroom as a kid was filled with antiques and it was so cute, although at the time I didn’t really appreciate it. A lot of vintage, eclectic vintage from various eras, all put together to make something that felt unique to her and my dad.

My house is very eclectic in that way. There's a lot of different references, different decades, different aesthetics all present in this home, but in a cohesive way through my taste and what I like. Her current taste is different from mine. She grew into something else, but I love what she loved when I was a kid.

My parents have very unique tastes, they don’t necessarily like the same things, but they are both very creative. My dad is an oil painter and he makes music, so I grew up with art in the house. I think that just made me appreciate all forms of art from a very young age.

I know everyone says this but Europe is so grand, so special. Going to Paris, I don’t know, it was magical for me. I went for the first time maybe four years ago. I remember being so wowed by the way design is used in that city and how much beauty there is. I also like the quaint, simple spaces you can find there. A lot of Paris is very dramatic and extravagant but some parts are more simple. Those sorts of spaces are fun and equally inspiring.

To be honest, I don’t have an answer. A lot of my design preferences are not coming from a design book or a specific designer. My taste has developed from very normal circumstances, whether it’s my childhood home, my grandparent’s home or just random Pinterest boards, skimming through a magazine. It’s different for me when it comes to fashion. I’m very aware of brands and designers, that’s something I am tapped into. I’d love to dig in and hopefully one day I’ll have an answer.

I have a Rebecca by Alfred Hitchcock movie poster that was in my childhood home growing up. My dad gave it to me because he replaced it with another piece of art. When my mom was pregnant with me, my dad set up a movie marathon of Hitchcock movies. I think they got the movie poster because they liked it, or maybe they had the poster first. I’d need to ask. But yeah, very cute, kind of full circle. I still haven’t seen Rebecca by Alfred Hitchcock. I need to watch that. I think that’s long overdue.

My dad’s paintings are the only things that have truly remained consistent when it comes to what I like. Not only are his paintings timeless in style, but also they’re my dad’s so I, of course, adore them.

There’s one painting in particular, it’s a breakfast scene on a beautiful blue and white patterned tablecloth, there’s eggs and hot sauce on the table. My dad and I, whenever we travel together, it’s always mandatory that we fit in breakfast before whatever activities we have for the day. If I’m doing a photo shoot or going to a fashion show, it doesn’t matter, we will wake up early so we can go get breakfast together. That painting has developed meaning as my dad and I have traveled and had many hotel breakfasts together. It’s very special and I always keep it by the kitchen.

I lived in apartments for many years when I first moved to Los Angeles. A lot of the modern, newer apartments are very plain, very sterile, you know, white walls and gray countertops. Listen, I get it, it’s versatile. With an apartment, we want it to appeal to everybody.

I see it becoming a trend across the board. It bleeds into homes here in Los Angeles, this trend of simplicity, white walls, gray countertops. I don’t love it. I wish that home builders were taking a bit more of a risk. I think a lot of people would love it, you know what I mean? But I also understand the risk in business.

My home was built in the 50s and I kept a lot of the original materials. I loved the rich orangey wood, the wood paneling on the ceiling. I love the character and I wanted to honor the character by adding warm colors and interesting shapes into the space. So my kitchen is green and the fireplace in my bedroom is sculptural and kind of weird. I think it’s fun to have some intriguing details in a home. I feel like a lot of character has been lost in recent years and it’s sad to see. Maybe it will become a trend soon to add some character and some warmth back.

I was really into making things out of clay for a bit as a kid. I’d make little characters, my dad and I called them wedgies. They were these little triangles, imagine a 3D triangle, right? With a little eye and a little smile on it. I used to make those out of clay all the time because it was easy but it was also charming. Now I have a wedgie tattooed onto my arm and a painting that I made, actually two paintings, of wedgies on my wall.

I’ve been making these little watercolor and pen cartoons. I started making them this summer when I was on a trip in Cannes with my dad. He was painting these beautiful watercolors of what was around us, painting the beach and stuff. I was like, I don’t know how to do that. I can’t paint from life, you know? So I was like, I’ll just make a cartoon so I can participate in this activity with him, but do it in my own way. And I fell in love with making these cartoons. Now I make them whenever I have a spare moment.

I really loved, number one, the overall shape of it. It has beautiful rounded corners. It feels soft and inviting, which matches my bedroom really well. My bed frame is rounded and bulbous, if you will. I felt that the nightstands complemented it beautifully. It continued this feeling of softness in the room, of roundness and coziness.

From a technical standpoint, the nightstand is very useful. It’s the perfect design for me. It has a compartment in the bottom for storing things that I don’t want to be seen, like ugly remotes. There’s a layer above it for putting, say, books or something like that. And then there’s a top layer where I can put a drink or my phone or whatever. It felt like a really smart design, which I’m all about when it comes to interior design. Something can look good, but if it isn’t actually useful, I don’t want it.

The Brea gives me the vibe of a really sweet, wholesome mother, but not your own mom. The Brea’s like your friend’s mom who almost becomes your second mom. I don’t know how to explain it.

When I look at the Brea, I think of an 80s or 90s movie and the mom who’s always cooking and making snacks for all the friends. She has a sweet face, voluptuous hair and is just a queen, you know? That's what I think of when I look at this nightstand for some reason. I had a friend growing up and her mom had that vibe and her name was Lisa. So maybe I’d rename it Lisa.

The inside of the drawer is lined with the same leather that’s on the outside. It’s so beautiful, it’s such a luxurious detail. And the soft close drawers. I use it every day and I experience it intimately every day so those details really make the experience even more magical.

Lisa, your friend’s mom. There’s something really inviting but also chic about it. Warm, inviting, and comforting but also chic. It feels like the cool aunt or the cool mom in your friend group. There’s an element of maturity to it. I’m 23 and I look at this nightstand and I find it very mature.

I would be a weird, large statement art piece that someone found at a flea market and got a really good deal on but it means so much to them. You know what though? I might also be a really cozy bed frame. A big, dramatic bed frame, almost like mine. I’m one or the other, two vastly different answers.