Emily Henderson's home is filled with salvaged pieces – here she shares her favorite pieces and how she made even the trickiest of finds work

Of course, we are aware that new furniture can be easier to shop and sometimes more affordable, but nothing beats a good old thrifted find that will add character and personality to your home.

Decorating with vintage is guaranteed to make a home feel personal and designers are increasingly turning to salvaged pieces to give homes more depth and interest. Emily Henderson is one such designer, who loves using vintage and antique pieces in her own home.

Emily took to Instagram to show us all her ingenious creations and favourite pieces she has found second hand or repurposed to give a new lease of life.

1. The kitchen island

The first piece Emily loves is the impressive antique table she's transformed into a kitchen island. She explains on her blog, Style by Emily Henderson, 'Probably my favorite salvage was and is the kitchen island.'

Emily struck gold with this find. Despite being vintage, the piece was still in great condition, meaning only a few minor tweaks were necessary. It works so well as a practical kitchen piece as it's sturdy and has plenty of storage.

'It has a ton of function (those drawers, while heavy totally work)', says Emily. She added extra surface space to ensure enough room for seating, saying 'We gave it the overhang we wanted so we could eat at it (which we do, a ton).'

She's placed the table right at the center of the kitchen, setting the tone of the space as a welcoming and homely communal room. It's definitely created a vintage vibe that has made a sometimes clinical space feel super cozy. Showcasing how to mix different wood tones, Emily hasn't been afraid to bring warm wood to contrast with the white wood paneling.

2. Vintage doors

Salvaging definitely isn't for the faint-hearted. It takes a lot of patience to find the right pieces and fix them up, but the results are definitely worth it. Emily's proven this with the many vintage doors she's repurposed and placed throughout her home.

Pictured above is a set of old doors she's fixed onto the frame of her laundry room closet. She's painted them in a chic pale blue, added new door handles, and fitted some frosted glass window panels. Proving how to style antique furniture, Emily has undoubtedly been clever with her use of materials, considering the (not so aesthetic) contents of the room by fitting the glass windows.

Emily has considered the subtle age that old pieces can bring. 'Sure, it takes more time to find and likely more money than just buying 10 matching doors, but boy does it add so much character and charm to any home.' Doors can sometimes be overlooked yet they make a big difference to a home as they can signify how old a property is.

3. Vanities

Thrifting two pieces of furniture, Emily gave an old table and dresser entirely new meaning by transforming them into two stylish vanity units.

Her powder room (pictured above) features one of the salvaged vanities. Emily says that she cut a hole for the sink to go in and 'we took off the back legs and secured it to the wall around the wall-hung sink.'

We can't help but admire the stylish results. The vanity is small and quaint and perfect for a guest bathroom. The dark wood feels super cozy, paired with the old apothecary bottles, it's a vintage nook that's so picturesque. Emily has considered it all and has also fitted a curtain along the bottom of the unit to hide clutter.

While Emily is right at home at salvage yards, don't be put off if they aren't your thing, there are plenty of places to buy vintage furniture online.

4. Windows

Although she remodeled her home, Emily held onto some of the original features and reused them for later projects.

She says, 'We LOVED the original double Dutch diamond windows, but we wanted to open up that wall to the backyard. So we actually kept them all and used them in three other places in the house. We took the two that matched and installed them vertically as windows into the pantry. I could not love these more, honestly.'

She adds, 'From the inside, I love looking out into the kitchen, too. We also found an additional vintage window that had some of the same diamond motifs and installed it into the pantry to add some natural light in there (it’s non-operable).'

We are amazed at Emily's creativity and clear vision. She's given life and soul to unloved pieces, seamlessly blending them into her home's architecture.