Ellen Finch

Ellen is deputy editor of Livingetc magazine, a job she thinks might just be the best in journalism – after all, what’s better than compiling pages of the best ideas and most beautiful homes from around the world every month? After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English literature, she spent a year working at a true life media agency before starting her career in interiors journalism in 2017, where she joined Real Homes magazine as features editor. There she coordinated shoots, sought expert advice from designers and architects, and interviewed homeowners and renters about their passion projects – and kickstarted a love for design that’s driven her career ever since. She became deputy editor at the title in 2020 before moving to Livingetc two years later, thrilled to be able to write across architecture, design and travel with an eye on what’s going on in the fashion and food worlds, too. In her current role Ellen works with our talented art and production teams to publish the monthly print magazine, which features pages and pages of the most inspiring homes around the globe, interviews with leading interior designers and tastemakers, reporting on the hottest trends, and shopping edits of the best new pieces to refresh your space. From time to time she writes for other titles across Future, including Homes & Gardens and Gardeningetc.

Of course, being surrounded by so much inspiration makes it tricky to decide what to do first in her own home – not exactly the worst issue to have. She bought her flat in a converted Victorian house in the Midlands (UK) in 2023, and has since set about investing in timeless furniture pieces (her best purchase: the widest, deepest, butter yellow sofa she could find), finding new ways to display her growing ceramics collection and establishing a tiny but much-loved balcony garden. When budget allows, she’s excited to renovate her bathroom and update her kitchen – her moodboard right now is all rich wood cabinets, glossy zellige tiles and plenty of open shelving for her considerable hoard of recipe books (it’s a bit of a problem). She’s obsessed with the work of Laura Gonzalez, YSG Studio and Rodolphe Parente, but finds inspiration everywhere – from Toronto stylist Katie Merchant’s Substack to the art of Alice Neel or the oh-so-cozy library at the Ibiza Gran Hotel.

In her spare time, Ellen can be found pottering around watering (and, ahem, talking to) her plants, reading her way through her overstacked bookshelf (favorite book: Olivia Laing’s Crudo) or planning her next holiday. She’s a semi-regular member of two local book clubs and enjoys volunteering as a mentor for young women from disadvantaged communities. She’s a big foodie and enjoys researching vibey new restaurants like it’s her second job, but she’s just as happy trying out new recipes in her tiny kitchen, preferably with glass of wine in hand and a good podcast playing in the background.