I was talking to my colleague the other day, who just so happens to work in social media, and the topic of Instagram inevitably came up. It’s no secret that the success of this app lies largely in nosiness. We love to see inside the lives of others, don’t we? The rise of ‘interior instagrammers’ has been a hot topic lately too. Every day, I seem to be discovering more and more beautiful home accounts, both here and abroad.
Accounts that are documenting their renovation journey, their every day family life, life in the country or tips on upcycling furniture. We are seeing ‘before and now’s’ of large open-plan kitchens, nursery’s, garden landscaping and entire home make-overs. A platform, much like Pinterest, bursting with bundles of inspiration, it’s the perfect source for a first-time buyer like myself. Having lived in rented accommodation where little could be decorated, it’s refreshing – and exciting – to be able to implement all the interiors inspiration I’d be saving.
Like everything, it’s difficult not to get carried away. Not to be whisked away with those little squares and the lives of those we don’t know. It’s difficult not to want to paint and redecorate every room when we see our favourite accounts moving onto their next project or onto the next room when the previous one was completed only the week before. Or those who purchase run-down Georgian properties and turn it into something beautiful within the year. It’s important to remember that everyone is in a different situation – financial or otherwise.
When we moved in just before Christmas, we said we would wait. We would follow the advice of Kirstie Allsopp and take our time with the decorating, live with the largely primary-coloured rooms for at least six months and do it properly. While it’s inevitable to want to decorate and furnish every room, I’m desperate to enjoy the journey and the process too. To take pictures at every stage, to simply enjoy the rooms which may not yet be decorated to our taste but get excited for their transformation. To enjoy those trips to B&Q and revel in evenings spent on Pinterest, discussing how we’d like the kitchen to look. To make the most of weekends painting furniture or collecting yet another Gumtree find.
The truth is, we want to savour it all, to feel grateful and to take our time so we can look back on this time with fondness. Sometimes it seems we’re all in such a hurry to have everything just so, that we forget the journey – the planning and the decorating – can actually be the best bit.