Interior insider: Gina Ciancio on starting Style Curator and her best decorating tips

What do you call a person who has her finger on so many pulses that just one title wouldn’t do? Let’s call that person Gina Ciancio.

Ciancio is the creator and editor of Style Curator, an inspiring blog/website/entire digital world of home and design advice. She’s also an interior stylist, content creator, writer, mum and perhaps three to four more titles. For the sake of brevity, we’ll dive straight into Style Curator and how it all began.

“I wanted to start my own ‘thing’ for a long time, but I had no idea what that ‘thing’ should be,” Ciancio says.

“Then finally one night it hit me. I’ve always had a passion for interiors. I saw an opportunity to blog my home renovation and decided to create a hub for interiors inspiration.”

Peruse Style Curator for yourself and you’ll be inundated with DIY projects to try, luscious home tours, interviews with other artists and makers, and speckled all over by Ciancio’s words of wisdom.

Looking for an Australian artwork to tie your room together? She’s collated a bunch. Have you ever thought that bedroom design could influence how you sleep? Ciancio has and she’ll show you how.

I asked Ciancio if she ever feels like she’s giving all her trade secrets away for free.

“That’s the whole idea,” she says excitedly.

“I want to inspire and equip people to create a home that reflects their style and brings them happiness.”

Style Curator was created five years ago when the idea was just starting to take off and Ciancio, in part, attributes Canberra’s welcoming and encouraging environment to its success.

“The local community is incredibly supportive and has so much talent to unearth like furniture designer Tom Skeehan and artist Luke Chiswell,” Ciancio says.

“It’s also handy being between Melbourne and Sydney where I often need to travel for work.”

After Style Curator hit the ground running, the demand for Ciancio’s talents only increased. Now she has delved into the world of interior styling.

That means sourcing beautiful homewares, crafting alluring colour palettes, arranging spaces and shooting it all to create sumptuous imagery. You may have even seen her work on The Today Show or in the pages of Inside Out.

“Becoming an interior stylist was a natural progression, though I never expected it when I started Style Curator,” Ciancio admits.

“I began sharing photos or articles about what I was doing in my own home and people really connected with these relatable ideas – it evolved organically.”

For the most part, Ciancio works alongside brands collaborating with photographers and videographers to produce content, but you can still steal her away for private home styling if you’re in need of an eye for exceptional detail.

So, what’s the hottest interior decorating tip? Ciancio says one design rule to never overlook is “take your time”.

“Good design never happens overnight,” Ciancio says.

“Whether you’re restyling one room or renovating a whole house, I suggest sitting with and reviewing your ideas so you can look for pockets of opportunities to improve and refine.

“Oh, and create a mood board!”

And, what about Ciancio’s own home? At the moment she’s loving bolder colours and earthy tones and textures that create a warmer, more inviting space.

“My favourite piece of furniture would have to be the Smith Chair from Barnaby Lane. It’s handmade out of beautiful timber and leather,” Ciancio says.

But even with that gorgeous piece of furniture, she’s lusting after an upholstered bedhead proving that design, style and inspiration is an ever-evolving practice. And sometimes we all need a little spark to get the creative juices flowing.

Pop over to her blog for more interior insight.