How To Create An Instagrammable House

Creating an Instagrammable house seems to be a hot, trending topic at the moment, especially when the majority of us are spending more time at home. From working in our stylish home office, to redesigning our bedroom to create happiness at home, interior design can help boost our mental health, productivity and gratitude.

Psychologically, the rooms that we enter make us feel a certain type of way.For example, how do you feel when you enter your bedroom? Is it cozy, warm, inviting and secure or does it make you feel trapped, confined and like you’re stuck in your own mess. The way that we decorate our rooms have a big impact on the way that we feel and can help us assess what we need to do to create an instagrammable house.

You also need to bear in mind that each room should convey a different emotion; bedrooms should feel comforting, relaxing and tranquil, kitchens should feel happy, airy and bright and bathrooms should feel energizing yet calm, all safe spaces where you can feel free to be yourself. When you feel at home, your guests or the people you live with, will feel at ease too. But how can we create a home that makes us happy?

It should come as little surprise that the colours that we use when redesigning our homes, can completely change up the mood and the emotions of your house. Lighter colours like baby pinks, blues and yellows will make a room feel lighter, while darker colours can have a negative impact on your mood.

This isn’t always the case but those who love vibrant colours like myself, will be aware that colours that are warm, light or rich and bold can help a frown turn upside down.You should also be aware that re-designing your home is about you, and what you want. Don’t worry too much about what other people think.

Create a dream home that speaks to you. For example let’s say you are a mermaid-unicorn loving chica like me. An ideal home would be centered around the colour ‘pink and blue’ as contrasting colours, with quirky accent unicorn lights, themed wall art bookshelves and bedding to match. While to others it might sound like overkill, this is your personal space and you should design it how you see fit. After all, haters are gonna hate.

Whether you make a drastic change like a new colour scheme to showcase your personality, are scrolling Pinterest for interior design tips or are moving into your first home and are in need of a good ol’ clutter, here are 5 incredible ways to create an Instagrammable house during lockdown.

Choose A Colour Scheme That Showcases Your Personality 

Whether you live in a charming whimsical cottage, small and intimate flat or a dream house, putting personality into your interior design will help give your home personality. After all, a home without personalization is a blank canvas that does not tell a story. Think about it this way, what do you want your home to say? Do you want your home to be ultra-feminine and girly or minimalist and neutral.

If you want an Instagrammable home that is bright, vibrant and reminds you of Ginny Lemon’s wardrobe, then primary colours like lemon, pillarbox red and oranges will help brighten up your home. Yellow symbolizes optimism, joy and friendship, orange exudes warmth, expression and change and red denotes love, passion and desire. These colours are not only great to look at but mood boosting too!

If you prefer a minimalist home, that is sophisticated and instagrammable, then a mixture of monochrome and earth tones work best. You could pair ‘black and white’ together for a classic, neutral home that exudes luxury, while earth tones like brown, beige and burnt oranges can bring a touch of nature into your home.

Both these ‘colour schemes’ can help you create an aesthetically pleasing sanctuary that will make you feel at ease at home. After all, now more than ever is the time to create our dream home that reflects our wants, needs and interests. You can also create ‘colour schemes’ that are centered around a theme as opposed to a block colour. For example, let’s say that you want to create a Barbie esque Instagrammable house.

Your Barbie themed house is not just centered around your favourite colour pink, but also has Barbie attributes that is grown up, yet feminine and girly. You could go back to the 50’s with a retro Barbie themed kitchen or turn your bedroom into a pink 80’s style wonderland. Make your fun Barbie fantasy come to life.

The key to making the Barbie theme work, is to figure out what kind of house you would like to create. Perhaps you want to incorporate elements of Barbie in your home through a simple blush pink colour scheme, with fuschia pink accents. Or maybe you want to make gradual changes, with a few Barbie-style decorations such as lamps, bookshelves or even vases. If you want to be extra AF you could go the whole hog.

You could turn your entire house into a home that Barbie would live in, making guests feel like they have wandered into a museum in the best possible way. Other colour schemes include contrasting colours like pinks and blues, creating a theme like shipwrecked at sea, Gatsby riches and the rockin’ 80’s.

Get out of your comfort zone and play around with different materials like wood, velvet, faux silk and cotton. For example eco-conscious designers might opt for a colour scheme that is centered around a material like bamboo, 80’s fanatics will break up colour schemes with bold wall art and a Gatsby theme will use gold, silver and cream. As for a shipwrecked fantasy, crochet, shells and driftwood will be your port of call.

Less Is More So Keep Your Home Clean And Declutter 

If you are moving into your first home, you might be tempted to throw caution to the wind and fill your home with all your memories, souviners and most treasured trinkets. However, quite often, your first home will be small, petite and charming, meaning that all your fabulous goodies that you have collected over the years, will have no place to go. Which is where Now Storage self storage in Newbury comes in handy.

With creative solutions that’ll save you space and time, Now Storage can be used for both personal and business use, helping you change up your home. Your house will feel lighter, clearer and more visually appealing to look at. After all, I don’t know about you, but my head always feels clearer when I am working in an environment where I don’t have junk and clutter everywhere.

So kickstart your ‘spring clean’ and go through your belongings to see what you do and don’t need in your home. Create a list of ‘must-have items’, alongside items that have barely been used or worn, and work out what can be given to charity, and what you might like to use at a later date. For example, if you haven’t worn something and its been in your wardrobe for three years, it might be worth putting in storage.

If you have furniture that is collecting dust, a disused room that someone has moved out of or want to start afresh and make new memories in your home, creating a ‘less is more aesthetic’ will help you keep your home clean. Not only is a minimal home visually appealing, but de-cluttering your home also helps you de-clutter your mind, giving you a mind, body and soul refresh.

Removing clutter is more than just improving your mindset, but it can also help you from a professional, as well as personal point of view. After all an Instagrammable home is rarely seen with mass amounts of clutter, unless you are going for an Alice in Wonderland junk shop vibe in which case good for you. It really depends on your aesthetic, but for me to feel comfortable, a clean space helps me think.

From a professional perspective, if you are working from home like I am, the last thing you want to do is feel frustrated that you have too many things and it has become a distraction. You never want to feel like your home is making you feel less productive, especially when the majority of us are working from our computers. Instead, focus on what brings you joy. Remove anything that does not make you feel good.

Not only does decluttering boost your self-esteem, but it also has been proven to decrease anxiety and stress levels, creating a positive feedback loop. After all, life is stressful enough and the last thing we want is to add more stress to our lives because of the home that we live in. You might be worried that are pressed for time, which I get, but even if you take 15 minutes out of your day, this will help in the long run.

There are many different ways that you can de-clutter to achieve your dream home. From viewing your home as a first time visitor, to see how they would see your home, to taking before and after photos of your de-cluttering sessions, you will feel good knowing that you have made a postive change in your life. A decluttered room will be brighter, sunnier and even increase the quality of your air flow.

Look To Pinterest For Instagrammable Interior Design Tips 

Thanks to Pinterest, keeping up with interior design trends have never been easier. You can create your own Interior design boards, centered around how you want your home to look, pin relevant pins that are a mirror or what your dream home should look like, and even ask users for advice, by searching for tips, tutorials and blog posts. For example let’s say that you want to create a pretty in pink bedroom.

You could search for general key terms like pink bedroom ideas, pink bedroom ideas for women, pink bedroom decor and pink bedroom aesthetic. This will give you inspiration for how you would like your pink bedroom as a whole to look. You can then start narrowing down components of your room that you would like to revamp. You can ‘shop’ by category including bedding and blankets, bed frames, paintings and prints, rugs and more, that’ll turn your bedroom into a pink paradise. You can also choose a ‘pink theme’.

For example you can browse pink bedrooms that are inspired by Parisian chic, Ballerinas, Unicorns, Boho Chic and Scandi couture. Let’s say you want to create a Parisian chic pink bedroom. Feel free to think outside the box, by drawing from different French influences. You could have a Cubist moment with avante-garde art in your home, juxtaposed with modern art prints, antiques and furnishings.

If a vintage French fancy is more your cup of coffee, then choose ‘vintage’ and aged relics that’ll help you appreciate history in your bedroom. You could find a gilted gold rusted mirror, and upcycle it with pink paint, careful to ensure that it still has the vintage French feel. Go for colours like blush, ceramic pink and muted peach. If modernism is more your style, choose edgy streamlined furniture that will juxtapose the period vintage pieces that you have in your room already. Remember, glamour and art is a huge part of French design.

If you are creating a pink bedroom inspired by ballerinas, again look to Pinterest for inspiration, as it will have exciting DIY projects that you can try to make your home feel complete. Let’s say that you are looking to make handmade art pieces that mimic and replicate the feel of an actual ballerina’s bedroom. You could create a ballerina wind up music box, create floral wall art, a music mobile and even a dressing table.

A great idea would be to find a simple round table, and dress it up with a glorious tutu skirt or replace dresser knobs with ballerina themed alternatives for a subtle nod to the theme. You can also use Pinterest to determine what materials you would like to bring your pink bedroom to life. For example for DIY projects, do you want to use pom poms, paper or wire? Do you want a crafty or luxury aesthetic?

You can evaulate each key area of your bedroom that you would like to change and bring your ideas to life. For bedding textures and fabrics like cotton, velvet and vegan silk work really well, while photos would look great in sturdy wooden frames. Your desk can also be made from wood, and dressed up according to the pink theme that you are going for. As for chairs, go for faux leather for a change up in textures used.

Shop Around For Quirky Accessories That Make Your Home Stand Out 

I highlighted earlier that a home that has personality is key and here is why. Not only does a personality led house help you feel creative, free and happy but it also mirrors your life. It shows visitors your accomplishments, your memories, ideals and  beliefs. In short your home says a lot about you, so don’t be afraid to put your personality out there. Your home should be an extension of your personality.

For example, anyone visiting my bedroom would immediately have an insight into my personality. They would say that I am colourful, bold, flamboyant, with a love for hats, headbands and books. They would see that I am not the tidiest of people but I am a lot of fun, and have something for everyone to enjoy. From games, to clothes, to a mini office, work and play takes place in my room.

First of all, figure out whether you want to mismatch accessories , or have matching, highly accented accessories. If you are like me, then you will love all things matchy matchy. After all, a quirky home is not for the faint hearted, but those who dare to dream and step outside of the norm. To get your quirkiness across, you should think about the design, colour and material used that will match the quirky theme that you had in mind. For example are you into florals, pinks and silks? Or are you into blue and white, macrame and crochet?

Let’s say that you want to create a ‘pink house’ that has floral or plant accents. A great store to shop from that has quirkiness at its heart is Sass & Belle, who celebrate the power in greenery. From small plant accents like mini planters, plant misters and vases, to embracing the floral theme with decorative vintage suitcases, storage jars and photo frames, you really are spoilt for choice.

If you would prefer a ‘pink theme’ that is simpler but still quirky, you’ll love their gorgeous ‘plaster and clay collection, bringing together a brick and blush hue combination. If you have a lot of jewellery, their abstract trinket dishes are a beautiful way of having your jewellery on display in the quirkiest way. If like me you have plants in your room to create a ‘happy vibe’ then you’ll adore their range of ‘face vases’.

Etsy is also another great marketplace to help accessorize your Instagrammable house. Let’s say that you are as obssessed with Ru Paul’s Drag Race as I am, and want to bring a touch of legendary genius into your home. You could create a dedicated RPDR wall, with a range of different prints featuring your favourite queens, memorable quotes and merchandise if you’ve been to a Dragcon or two.

Figure out what you like about Ru Paul’s Drag Race, how it makes you feel and then distill that into a shopping list for quirky accesories. So for me I love that the Queens have a platform to be unapologetically themselves, is a show where creativity, love and friendship triumph and above all has a heartwarming message that no matter who you are, you are loved and accepted. So think about how you can use this message to find accessories that will make you laugh, cry, feel humbled and feel like you have a safe space to call your own.

You can go as big or small as you like with quirky accessories. Perhaps you want to create a mini ‘drag pin board’ to make you smile when you are feeling low, a Trixie Mattel print to give you all the warm and fuzzy feels and a greeting card that you sent to yourself, with the boss ass babe that is Shea Coulee. After all, you didn’t come to play, you came to slay. Good news, shantay you stay!

Follow Feng Shi Principles To Bring Happiness Into Your Home 

Last but certainly not least, is following Feng Shi rules to bring happiness and joy into your home. Now that we are spending more time at home, its imperative that we don’t just look after our physical health but also our mental health too. After all, to be happy is a beautiful feeling and one that can often be hard to come by. So why not boost your mental health with a home that prioritizes your self care?

Feng Shui principles state that mimicking the outdoors in your home, is a great first step to improving your happiness. This is because integrating natural elements within the psychology of interior design will help to reduce physical, emotional and mental stress. The art of arranging life to achieve harmony and balance, Feng Shui works by unblocking obstacles so that life can flow freely.

By bringing ‘positive chi’ into your home, you can restore balance and invite ‘good energy’ into your home, which will increase your workflow, boost your mood and make you feel comfortable at home. But how do you go about following Feng Shui rules? First of all, we need to bring the outdoors into our Instagrammable home which you can do in two ways: natural light and using plants.

The first is maximizing natural light or mimicking it, while matching the light of the earth’s rotation. Feng Shu is all about energy and light is the strongest manifestation of ‘good energy’. Light is after all our number one nutrient and helps us feel happier, more energetic and productive. You bring more light into your home by opening your windows and letting the sunlight in to get your daily dose of vitamin D.

You could also use ‘full spectrum lights’, which have the ability to produce the full range of the colour spectrum. Because of this, full spectrum bulbs offer the closest alternative to natural daylight which boosts your health and wellbeing even when at home. Plants are also a great way of bringing good energy into your home because it improves the air flow quality and helps you feel relaxed, inspired and focused.

Plants air-purifying abilities should not be overlooked, as they promote good oxygenation levels, helping you to breathe better and with clarity. After all, breathing mindfully is an important skill to master, and plants can help us do that. Green plants that are renowned for great Feng Shui, but its important that you choose the right ones. Good plants include Jade and Bonsai trees, Areca Palm and Boston Fern. These houseplants are good for nourishing and healing your energy, helping you feel calmer when things go wrong.

As I mentioned earlier, clutter reduces mental clarity, so its important to keep your house clean and organized. This is because in Feng Shui clutter is said to take up valuable space that new incoming energy needs. Efficiency is everything in Feng Shui so it’s important to move obstacles that are blocking your path, to make this an Instagrammable house that radiates positive energy, light and warmth.

What Are Your Tips For Creating An Instagrammable House?

*Disclaimer

Please note this is a collaborative post but all thoughts are my own and are not affected by monetary compensation.