Redecorating your home can feel like a daunting task. It’s easy to look around and decide it's time for an update. But figuring out what that update should look like is a different story - it can be hard to know where to even start. But if you’re ready to invest in your home décor, Instagram can be a great place to look for inspiration. From the influencers who have a good eye for home design, to interior brand owners and celebrity living rooms, they’ve got all the inventiveness you’ll need to make your revamp that little bit easier.
When you have a passion for home style, showing it off can be a great hobby and help you find a community online. Keep reading for expert tips on how you can maximise your account.
The Highest Earning Home Décor Accounts
Thanks to the growing number of home influencers showcasing their unique styling abilities, Instagram has become an amazing source of inspiration for anyone looking for new ways to refresh their space. We’ve picked out some of the highest earning accounts and also included some we think will be the next biggest brands to follow. No matter what your personal style, we’re sure you’ll find an account for you. If you’ve got an eye to starting your own, you might even find the perfect spark to get you started.
How To Run A Successful Home Décor Instagram Account
Many businesses rely on social media as a part of their marketing strategy to engage directly with their audiences. In the last few years, Instagram has grown to become one of the biggest social platforms. The Facebook-owned app’s unique scrolling style has become popular with Gen Z (it’s even more popular than TikTok with the current younger generations!).
The result? Instagram has quickly become one of many peoples designated platforms for inspiration on all things interior and DIY. Many interior design brands are now showcasing their work on there as well as private individuals showcasing their design styles through home accounts.
There are so many things that you can do on Instagram that when you begin your influencer journey you may get a little lost. So it is vital to have a clear-cut strategy to make the most of the app. When Instagram is done right, it’s a tool you can use to generate the right audience for your specific niche. This is a process and not something that will happen overnight so take it slow and use these strategies to turn Instagram into the valuable business opportunity it can be.
Know Your Audience
When it comes to getting results with social media, one of the most important considerations is targeting the right audience. Despite the stereotype that Instagram is mainly for Millennials, you can curate content for whoever you want to target. 59% of internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 use Instagram, so it’s possible to find a niche that will appeal to whichever demographic you relate to the most. When you know your audience, it allows you to figure out what content and messages people care about. Once you have an idea of what to say, you know the appropriate tone for your content across the platform.
Follow For Inspiration
Following the accounts that inspire you will help you create the content you want, but only ones that align with the content of your profile. If you’re following people you’re not that interested in, it could slow the growth of your account, so try to only interact with similar accounts to yours to increase the chance of engagement with your channel.
It is also important to interact and communicate with the accounts you follow through comments and mentions. With this you’ll inspire more people to join in and interact too. It lets your followers and potential followers see a personality behind your account. The way that Instagram works is that the more engagement you create, the higher the chance people have of seeing your posts and your account. This is extremely important for the success of your Instagram!
Separate Your Personal Account
While your audience can eventually get to know you, it’s best to start afresh so that your posting can be consistent with the niche you’re looking to carve out. It also means you can begin to curate a “brand” for yourself. The first reason to create a separate Instagram business account is to keep “work” and “play'' separate. This allows your home décor content to stay with your followers and your personal content to stay personal. When you share both home content and personal posts from the same account, it can end up confusing your followers.
Outreach. Outreach. Outreach.
Reach out to other accounts within the home décor world. No matter how big they are, they’ve all been where you are at the beginning of their careers. You’ll be surprised to find out how many of them have advice that can help you achieve your goals!
However, outreach is a numbers game. When you’re reaching out to people who aren’t following you or don’t know you, responses may be minimal but don’t let that discourage you. For this to work, it’s critical that you set a clear goal for how often you’ll be doing outreach—and then stick with it. For example, you may decide to reach out to four or five new accounts each week, with two or three follow up messages from previous weeks.
When you’re engaging with people on social media, they’re going to check out your profile. If you want to be taken seriously, your content needs to be well presented. Once you have your list together don’t start sending DMs asking for things. The first time you contact someone shouldn’t be to ask for something. It’s just like meeting someone in real life. You’d feel odd asking someone you’ve never met before to do you a favour, right? It’s just as weird when you do it online.
Don’t Be Afraid To Share The Real You
Remember that your followers are here for you as well as your home style, so if you’re posting some of your beautiful décor, tell them about your day! You don’t have to give them your address, but let your personality shine through wherever you can. Social media isn’t as serious as you think it is, it’s important to have fun too. Comment and like on other users' photos, follow people you like, and post things that you find entertaining. Your followers will take notice and enjoy your presence even more.
Be sure to use videos, reels, stories and photos to show your personality. Every occasion, do something that you audiences will find fun or interesting - from Valentine’s Day to Christmas, the possibilities are endless.
Tag Everything You Post
Tagging the businesses and brands that you can see in each of your posts will help you boost potential engagement. Especially as people can explore the posts those companies are tagged in, and will come across your account quicker. Whenever you tag someone or a brand on Instagram, they get a notification and are instantly directed to your post. This means that they will be much more likely to like or comment on your picture — thus increasing your engagement. It also gives your account more exposure and might lead to more likes, comments and followers. Tagging other accounts, adding location tags, and using shopping tags will get your content seen by more people on the platform. And combining all of these different types of tags will get you maximum exposure.
Use Hashtags To Grow
Hashtags rule the Instagram world. Instead of just using popular hashtags in your posts, create your own for your brand. You will then be able to monitor how people use this hashtag. Using a hashtag that already has millions of posts will mean your content will be lost immediately.
Although you do not have to be a huge account like Mrs Hinch, you can learn from how she uses hashtags. A quick search of her hashtags on Instagram like #HinchArmy, #MrsHinchMadeMeDoIt and #HinchHaul will show the amount of content that she has inspired. Use these as inspiration to do as much research on which smaller hashtags fit your niche or even use your profile name to create unique hashtags so you can start building your audience.
Examples to use
#MyVintageHome - 323k posts
#MyRetroHome - 15.5k posts
#HyggeStyle - 157k posts
Examples not to use
#MyHome - 13.4 million posts
#HyggeHome - 1.6 million posts
Consistent Feed
Keeping your photos “in sync” when you’re posting is important, as you’re trying to encourage people to check your overall feed. Try and pick three colours that will be seen the most on your feed if possible, especially if your home is in these colours. Instagram looks for and favours consistency.
This means that they prefer accounts that post regularly and look good. You can choose what works best for you, from posting three times a week, once a day, or even more, there’s no limit! But you should develop your own posting schedule and stick to it. When creating a schedule, aim to post on the same days of the week – for example, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday – and post at the same time of day as well.
When you post consistently, the algorithms will work in favour of your posts and more people will see them. Posting regular content also helps your SEO performance. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), is the practice of making your account easier to find on Instagram. You can do this by adding terms like “interiors” to your username (like @JaneSmithInteriors), and adding your specialism to your profile. If your niche is in ‘70s interiors, tell your audience at the top!
Understanding Instagram’s SEO helps you get into the search results pages which helps extend your reach. Therefore, keep in mind that good quality content, posting regularly and having a workable mix, such as publishing Instagram stories, visual content, social media tips, and more, allows a diverse range of traffic for people to engage with your posts.
The Best Instagram Apps To Plan Your Feed
Don’t use a throwaway account to plan whether your posts will look good next to each other. There are apps you can use to help dictate and curate your feed.
Preview - For those who are just getting started and don’t want to commit to any paid plans for their Instagram yet, the Preview app is the perfect solution. It doesn’t even have to connect to your existing account to start working, just start by dragging and dropping imagery!
Planoly - With its useful drag and drop feature and usability on desktop and mobile, Planoly is super helpful to keep your feed looking consistent. It even has a feature to let you plan well ahead with Instagram Stories.
UNUM - UNUM helps you plan your feed with an interactive grid that can hide your current posts so you can see what your feed would look like without them. It can schedule your content, and has plans that give you amazing insights so you can see which posts are working.
Buffer - A free scheduling app that can link to UNUM’s free version. Perfect for planning your weekly posts so you can carry on with creating beautiful imagery and content for your Instagram page.
The Best Instagram Apps For Editing Your Content
A lot of editing goes into keeping an Instagram feed consistent and in the colours and style that will become part of your brand. If you want your posts to look strategic and streamlined, here are some apps that can help you attract and retain followers with a powerful, recognisable look.
VSCO - One of the most popular photo editing apps, VSCO has a free mode with loads of filters and editing tools to help you create that consistent look. You can upgrade to VSCO Pro once you get comfortable with the app's settings or as your Instagram account begins to grow.
Lightroom - Lightroom is a bit more complicated than VSCO, so it’s definitely not for beginners. Once you’re comfortable using it, it’s possible to buy add-ons for Lightroom that allow you to change your images with a preset filter of your own.
Snapseed - A little like having Photoshop on your phone, this free app has plenty of settings that allow you to edit your photos in the palm of your hand. It even has a feature that allows you to expand the background of any photo if you’ve taken it at an unflattering angle!
Try Every Angle
Filling your camera up with lots of angles of the same subject will give you more choice to find the perfect image to use on your feed. It may seem like overkill, but in the long run it means you can add variety to the rooms you post regularly, and even show before and after shots as you evolve your home!
Always Use Stories
60% of users either post or watch Instagram Stories, which means you’re more likely to attract their attention if you’re posting on Stories every single day. Try and come up with regular content that will give your account some familiarity and consistency across your growing brand. Instagram Stories are a fun, free, and effective way to engage with your audience, even if they aren’t seeing your posts in their feed. With over 500 million people watching Instagram Stories every day, you want to get them involved and engaged with your home account! You’ll be surprised at how much engagement you’ll get from those simple little question boxes on the app - Instagram users like to feel like they’re part of something bigger and opening up the floor to answering their questions is a great way to do that. Once you’ve collected all of the questions, don’t forget to hop on your stories to answer them. Each time one of your followers interacts with a sticker, it counts as engagement! So, why not tap on a sticker on your next Instagram story?
We asked some of our favourite influencers for some tips, here’s what they had to say :
@_myinteriorhome
‘I’d say my top 5 tips are:
1. Use hashtags that are relevant to your post/account.
2. Follow and interact with others who inspire you.
3. Regularly post inspiring and useful content.
4. Always reply and be nice.
5. Engage, engage, engage!’
@oh_my_greys_home
‘I have found it’s about being true to your style, whatever that is. There’s no perfect design! No guidance on what is good and what isn’t. It is purely based on opinion. I personally take inspiration from all home accounts. I think interaction with others helps. I feared that my page wouldn’t be as personal without a face to the name, but I stay connected and help and guide whoever seeks ☺️. Including lots of hashtags and sharing others helps. Honesty just “winging it” seems to go a long way!’
@homewiththe.marshalls
1. Be true to your own style, not just Instagram trends
2. Engage with accounts that you love daily
3. Be open and honest on your posts - the good and the bad
4. Always tag companies to get yourself out there
The 10 Best Celebrity Living Rooms For Your Style Inspiration
If there's one thing that the pandemic has made us pay serious attention to over the last two years, it’s definitely our homes. With inspiration all over social media and the rise of home accounts, many of us have become our very own interior designers. For celebrities, it’s often a different story, with a wealth of professionals on hand to make their homes a perfect space.
Real estate is a big business but when celebrities are involved, it gets even more interesting. Celebrities are just like us, except they live in homes that are ten times the size of ours! From Malibu beach houses to New York City penthouses, stars own some of the most beautiful homes in the world.
Virtual tours of celeb homes have exploded in popularity on Instagram, YouTube and blogs online. We can’t stop watching, and stealing style tips too. Whether you’re on the hunt for some design inspiration or just looking to fantasise about your ultimate dream home, there’s no better place to gather ideas than from right here. Here’s our hit list of some of the most epic celebrity mansions around.
Freida Pinto - Designed by Bobby Berk of Queer Eye fame, this living room is dominated by the green, blue and white shades that Pinto grew up around in India. The rattan furniture let's plenty of light through the whole room, and hand-crafted wood sculptures and décor give it lots of life.
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis - Antique rugs, oak wood on the floor and walls. Deep green sofas to complement the wood. An open living/dining area with a beautiful wood table down one end of the room.
Hilary Duff - A 70s-inspired sofa dominates the space, while Kelly Wearstler chairs give the room its pops of retro pink colour. Her Needlegrass rug is inspired by the textures of the Central Californian coastline and adds neutrality to the room.
Will Ferrell - Incorporating the structural quirks of his Manhattan loft apartment into the modern design of his living room. The furnishings are spread out but comfortable-looking, and modern art on the walls gives colour to an otherwise-neutral space.
Naomi Campbell - Campbell's indoor-outdoor villa overlooks the Indian Ocean and features a saltwater pool that extends outdoors from the centre of the living room. There are vaulted ceilings in the living areas and voile-curtains. Pergolas are scattered around the property, making it the perfect space for a tranquil holiday home.
Jason Statham - Statham’s Mid Century Modern living room is minimalist to make sure the clean lines of the overall space are given room to breathe. Low sofas and a vintage 1930s coffee table let the eye line see across the whole room and give it a flow.
Charli XCX - An eclectic mix of colours and shapes give a stark contrast to the dark mock Tudor wooden beams of this 1920s LA home. Each piece of furniture complements the next standalone component of the room with contrasting colours and styles.
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith - Light dominates this neutral space thanks to the open window at the end, letting the Malibu sun in all day. Leather and wooden seats are deliberately placed throughout the room to give each section a purpose and uniqueness thanks to their complementary but individual styles.
Nyjah Huston - The world’s highest paid skater keeps colour to a minimum in his living room. With white on white on white throughout. The pops of colour come from the living décor of his plants, and the minimal prints and pillows on his sofa. In his own words, “there being a lot of big glass windows” attracted him to this home, where he enjoyed some particularly spectacular sunsets.
Diane Keaton - Vintage pottery and historic Californian art and design fill the space with colour and depth. The pieces throughout the room are sizable but never dominant enough to completely take over the space, restrained maximalism.
Discover more décor inspiration here or shop our latest collection of fragrances and décor to help you make every room at home feel inspirational.