Here we find ourselves in another lockdown situation - BUT IT IS, WHAT IT IS!

We have all heard that this time could be an opportunity to reflect and reset our lives finding whatever positives we can muster up in this gloomy situation. 

 It is not an easy time for most, whether its health worries, financial pressure or homeschooling and multi-tasking, trying to juggle life without any of the usual rewards.

Before this pandemic hit, I was on a mission to try and make better use of my time – time in work, home, and in leisure.  My main reason was to try and slow down my hectic pace of life but not in a way that would reduce my productivity or prevent me from doing what I enjoy – I wanted to live and work smarter.  So if I am honest, these lockdowns have helped me to work on this aspect of my everyday life, which is a positive that I am grateful for!

We all have the same 24 hours in a day, so how do your use yours?   

For starters, we could all probably do with less screen time, which should free us up to do other things that sparks joy!  But what if our enjoyment comes from what we see on our screen time?  Other than spending far too much time on the RTE news app, INSTAGRAM is defo my favourite!

I LOVE that you can simply refine and streamline exactly who you want to follow.  You don’t have to trawl through reams of negativity or random posts before magically find something vaguely of interest. You can pick and choose who or what you want to spend time with, and tailor your platform to include what you enjoy, benefit from and whom you want to engage with.

If only it was this easy to do this across all other aspects of our lives - sure we would have buckets loads of time!!

One of my lockdown guilty pleasures is a latte and treat curled up in our snug to watch a few webinars or episodes of Dream Home Makeover… …..yes I am a Dream Home Makeover addict – who else is with me?

Stalking @StudioMcGee on Instagram has become a daily habit because I simply crave everything about it.  These people live on the other side of the world and although they are incredibly successful and wealthy, they are seem very honest, humbled and down-to-earth and I think this is what resonates with me and creates that strong connection – apart from the fact that I adore everything about Shea’s style!

This brings me back to last year, when I wrote a blog piece about some of our very own homegrown insta interior influencers  https://www.placelift.ie/blog/irish-interior-influencers. This blog was very well-read as it seems many of us are flocking to Instagram these days to have a look at other home interiors to get some inspiration for our own houses – sure it’s in our nature.

With that, we have decided to bring back our 2021 list of some more homegrown influencers that are raising the stakes when it comes to home interiors.

During these crazy times, we need more than ever to make connections, to laugh out loud, to enjoy what we love doing the most.  We are social creatures and we love seeing how others live their lives, and Insta brings us that little bit closer! Of course, there can be a fair bit of crap and falseness out there, but it is up to us to separate the weeds from the flowers.

While our favourite “flowers” are not interior designers, they do have a significant following and cover home interiors in their content that has GRABBED our attention.  

1.    @denisekennybyrne  Denise owns The Head Plan journal and launched the #cornerbycorner last year after her husband fell ill and they were housebound (pre covid). Thankfully her husband is in recovery and Denise has created some stunning corners in our home, which are so chique, bright and cosy. A highlight on her Instagram to start with is Project Home, and at the time of writing, she is talking about all things rug related on her stories so we can't wait to see her next reveal. What we love about Denise is that she takes home improvements a step at a time. Re-decorating your home can be intense and overwhelming with so many decisions to make. We like how she breaks it down and doesn't move on until that corner is finished. She is very Studio McGee in her style :-) – just saying…

2.    @superstylesabbey Sabrina owns a salon in Cork but is always covering her home improvement projects and has them saved down in her highlights under the different rooms/areas she has decorated recently, for example, En-Suite. What we love about Sabrina’s content and style is that it is bold but also incredibly cosy. She also goes into great detail on her stories about the decision making process that she goes through behind her design choices; she is also a complete ray of sunshine during this time with her real talk and music blaring in the kitchen with all the doors open! Sabrina is a breath of fresh air and will keep you coming back for more!

3.    @rustiqdenise Denise owns two salons in Kilkenny and Carlow called Rustiq and co-owns business of hair with Sabrina above aka her hair wife. Denise lives in a stunning home with her husband, kids and animals in the Kilkenny countryside. We love  Denise's style because it is traditional with a modern twist to suit her home setting. Like Sabrina, she is always talking through her purchases and latest design tasks over on story which she drags her husband into which more often than not results in the most hilarious reels and TikTok videos that will have you laughing aloud while noting the design tips. Like many of these influencers, Denise collaborates with local home brands which are great to give us ideas on what we can get ourselves. Most recently, she did a beautiful collab with Arboretum and created heart-warming video content of herself decorating the house with their products for Christmas… I was straight online.

4.    @tara_makeup Mum of two, Tara Anderson has her hands full as a makeup artist, influencer, mum, and interior style enthusiast. In early 2020, she moved into her forever home, an old Georgian house located close to the city centre that she completely gutted with her husband and renovated to make it their own. We love Tara's style because of her ability to go bold with colours, textures and shapes whilst maintaining the traditional house's integrity. If you don't follow her, we recommend that you make her kitchen highlight your first stop.

5.    @marissacarter Owner of Coco Brown Tan and Carter Beauty, Marissa Carter is always sharing gorgeous tips on making ourselves look and feel great. Still, since she completed her own home renovation project last year, she is also taking her with us as she adds the finishing touches to her beautiful open plan home. Marissa has created such a calming palette in her home whilst adding character with gorgeous accessories that she has bought and created herself. You will get lost in following her demonstrations on making centrepieces and flower arrangements for around the house as well as sharing the reality of her home design dilemmas.