The truth behind popular home Instagram accounts

If looking at homes and decor is one of your obsessions, then there’s no doubt your Instagram feed is full of picture-perfect properties; where rooms are stunningly decorated, beds are blissfully made, cushions are perfectly positioned, surfaces are spick and span, and carpets are always toy-free.

All of this serves up some wonderful inspiration, of course, but at the same time it’s important to remember not to overthink these idyllic little squares.

Presenting some behind-the-scenes intel, here are some confessions from the people behind the popular Instagram accounts – reminding us that beyond these fanciful feeds, there’s often a bigger (and messier) picture.

Listen to episode two of Somewhere Else: 

Bed sheets that double as curtains

Rental life can be hard, particularly for those who live and breathe interior design. So when interior stylist Tara Wokulski, of @coco.camellia_‘s landlord wouldn’t let her hang sheer curtains, she was forced to get creative, all for the sake of her Instagram feed. 

“One of my most asked questions is, ‘Where are your sheer curtains from?’, to which I reply, ‘They’re not sheers, they are linen bed sheets’,” says Wokulski. “Yes, you read that right, the ‘sheers’ you’re seeing in my home are bed sheets hung over the top of my hideous blockout blinds, hiding my renter’s unkempt/non-landscaped garden – all to create the perfect photo op of filtered light and wishful thinking.”

Blu Tack to the rescue

Who doesn’t like to swoon at a carefully curated shelf, one that’s styled to perfection? This is something that Wokulski has become known for, however, as she reveals, there’s a trick or two in perfecting this.

“Those magical items that just seem to be sitting ever so well balanced all on their own, well, they’re really not,” she says. “You can thank trusty old Blu Tack for the helping hand in keeping that clock standing upright, stopping it from rolling over to the other side of the desk. In fact, I also use Blu Tack to keep empty frames up straight, so they’re not leaning against a wall, and also in between upstanding books stacked next to one another – this is all to ensure that there’s no gaps for photos.”

The imaginary home office

The home office has emerged as one of the most important spaces in the home, thanks to an upswing in both self-employment and flexible working trends. This has resulted in the popular hashtag #homeoffice, where millions of people go on to share their idyllic home office spaces. One of these is interior stylist Cassandra Milne, of @thewhitecottage_, spilling the beans on some interesting behind-the-scenes tricks.

“Here’s a shot of my ‘perfect’ home office space when, in fact, this space is a figment of the imagination,” says Milne. “I moved all the furniture to this corner purely for the photo op, as I just love the way it looks and the light in this corner of our home is just magic. Once I’ve taken the shot, I then sadly move all the furniture back to its original place.”

The real, but vacant home office

It appears that even the home offices of the non-fictional variety still have some of their own confessions to tell. Such is the case for stylist Catherine Heraghty, of @the_stables_, who proves that just because a home office looks the part doesn’t mean it’s technically the place where the magic happens.

“This is a shot of my perfectly styled home office, not a pen or paperclip out of place. However, the reality is I do so much work at the dining table instead, that way I can spread out and get better internet service,” says Heraghty.

“If I’m not working at the dining table, I am working in bed of an evening. There’s also a million cords tucked away under the desk that I always need to hide before I take any photos, and all of my current work sits in a pile on my chair, hidden from plain view.”

Disappearing act of pots and pans

With home trends like Scandinavian style and coastal chic continuing to show their dominance within the interior world, it’s only natural that beautiful white-washed homes would go on to appear on our feeds. But photographer and creative stylist Sara Dheays, of @coastalbysarah, reminds us that things are not always as they seem.

“My kitchen doesn’t look this clean everyday, and what you don’t see in this photo are the pots and pans that I already cooked with, hidden on the floor behind the kitchen bench, as well as the piles of dishes in the sink and the clutter I moved away in order to take this perfect photo,” says Dheays.

The ‘look, but don’t touch’ living area

It’s rather obvious that rooms are meant to be lived in, sofas are meant to be sat on, and candles are meant to be lit – but for the sake of Instagram-worthy photos, according to Dheays, some sacrifices often need to be made.

“My living area is strictly a no-kid zone, and I barely sit in there myself – I just love looking at the white lounge,” she says. “No one sits on the stools either, they are completely there for show, and most of my coffee table books have the laminate covers still on them. As for the rest of the house, all bets are off and what you don’t see in my photos are the endless piles of laundry, the shoes left for me to pick up, and my dog Lola’s food scattered everywhere.”