Meet the Collective: Emily Jane Lathan & Her Mallorcan Casa!

You guys! This is what I’ve been waiting for, the chance to introduce you to the lovely people who will be contributing to Collective Gen and sharing their style, homes and lives with you! The Collective if you will.

First up, one of my ultimate girl crushes, and someone I am so pleased to have – Emily Jane Lathan. You may know her from her beautiful IG account where she shares the renovation of her Bungalow in the UK and her Mallorca holiday home, her beautiful accessories brand Rock N Rose or her side side hustle, the Vinyl Wall. She is truly a women of many talents, whose eye for design is matched only by her ability to nab a bargain. And you know what I love the most? Her ability to mix mainstream, high end and antique pieces to create spaces that are truly a pleasure to be in. She’s a woman after my own heart!

Recently on my trip to Mallorca I had the pleasure of spending time with Emily and her family (her sister Jess is the sweetest), and couldn’t have felt more welcomed into their Mallorcan Casa. She gave me a full tour, and we chatted about the various changes she wants to make, as well as sharing with me a few completed rooms. I’m extremely excited to have Emily here as a contributor, to share the secrets to creating a beautiful space, shopping vintage, and how she does it all. Today, a little chat and a look at her beautifully simple Spanish living space.

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Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi, I’m Emily! I founded jewellery and accessories brand Rock N Rose back in 2007. Now I split my time between creatively directing the brand along with renovating a bungalow in the UK, a townhouse in Mallorca, Spain and a couple of other side hustles (record shelves, anyone?!) – all while trying to document everything on the internet.

What inspires the design of your interior spaces?

I love heaps of light, plants, wooden everything and as many different natural textures as possible. I’d say most of my inspiration comes from other people’s spaces on Instagram and Pinterest. Geneva’s is one of those!

You juggle an online accessories business, a million home projects and a beautiful Instagram account. How do you do it all?

Most of the time I feel like I don’t do it all – its tough knowing where to focus your energy when you have so much going on. I think in my case its about concentrating on the things you love and enjoy the most, because I think that always shows in my work. I also have a very helpful and supportive boyfriend who gets stuck into any project I throw his way!

Can you share your morning routine with us?

I don’t set an alarm, which I count as one of the many perks of working for myself! I get up with the dogs, make myself a coffee and head out into the garden to check on whatever we’re growing. Most mornings I head to the gym with Dani (my boyfriend), my dad and my sister, Jess before heading over to the Rock N Rose office to catch up with my emails and a million and one other things that need my attention!

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Decorating the Mallorcan Casa Loungeroom!

What was your theme for this room?

We wanted to make all of the rooms work with the very traditional bare bones of the house which is mostly terracotta tiled floors and super dark wood, so I made certain we kept everything light, white and bright! I love natural textures so we wanted to incorporate wooden pieces, jute and rattan.

Were there any challenges in this room?

A sofa that fit the awkward space, housed at least 6 people and would survive chocolate handprints from my niece and nephew. We chose this Ikea sofa as it has removable covers!

What’s your favourite thing about this room?

The huge basket light fitting! We almost spent €600+ on a very similar one, then found this shade for around €50 in a store called Expo in Manacor. It had no light fitting so we had to fashion one from the insides of an Ikea Sinnerlig light, but its perfect! (And we saved €500!). Also our beautiful coffee table made to order by Con Alma. They’re a local company and use only Mallorcan pine. We’ve used a lot of Ikea pieces in the space due to price point and how easily accessible it is, so I really felt like we needed a beautiful handcrafted piece to elevate the space.

Is there anything that you didn’t expect to work but did?

The dark wood throughout the house. I wanted to sand it all back initially or completely replace it, but now I really feel that would have taken away some of the Mallorcan charm of the property. We’ve since added some Ikea units under the TV (you can take a look on my Instagram!) and styled them with some flea market finds. There’s still a lot of work to do on this space, so stay tuned!