There's no doubt that social media is the perfect place to while away a few hours. Who hasn’t found themselves on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest into the wee hours, wondering where the time has gone?

But instead of posting cat videos, commenting on photos of old school friends’ kids or accidentally liking an ex-boyfriend’s profile picture, design buffs are turning to these channels to inspire and be inspired.

A simple hashtag search for interiors or interior design turns up literally hundreds of thousands of results — ranging from professional stylists showcasing their latest work to brands promoting looks and products to design amateurs just doing their thing.

We asked three design professionals how they use social media and get their tips for the best places to look for inspiration on your phone, laptop or tablet.

The designer: Lisa T, Lisa T for Target, iamlisat.com

“I’m a social media addict (if you know of a rehab for people like me, inbox me). Can you believe, I actually set my alarm 40 minutes earlier than I need to because I have to check Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest every morning? Waking up to comments and regrams on my Lisa T for Target account makes my morning, and scrolling through my feed inspires me for the day.

Lisa T's Instagram page

“In terms of the types of things I post, I love to make people smile, feel good, be inspired and be part of something. My posts are a combination of product, sayings, fashion and lifestyle. It shows who I am and what inspires my designs.

“I am inspired daily by how many people style my products and the time they take to post their shots. Our whole team gets such a kick out of reading the comments and seeing the #shelfies.

“Tips …. leave yourself time. Pinterest is excellent for organising ideas into folders sorted by themes. I like to file by topics but many pinners file by colour. I have to confess I’m not the most organised person, so Pinterest is an excellent tool to file inspiration.

“Besides my kids’ and friends’ Instagram, I have no particular loyalty to any pages but there are some Insta accounts that I find myself continuously “liking”: @targetaus; @dotandpop; @bigshots; @interiorsaddict: @weinspirelux; @lisamessenger; @theinteriorqueen; @thecoolhunter; @thegoodquote; @Iquitsugar, and; @beautaplin is my latest crush — incredible poetry about life and love.

“One of the other tools I love is Polyvore.com, which is excellent for mood boards. Each item is linked to a site where you can buy it. It also allows you to see other people’s mood boards, making for inspired choices in colour combinations and finishes.”

The blogger: Jen Bishop, Interiors Addict, theinteriorsaddict.com

“I use all the major social media channels but I have the most followers and engagement on Instagram and it’s my favourite to spend time on. My social media strategy is two fold: to drive traffic to my blog, and to create and maintain a conversation with my followers and readers so they get to know me. I also hope my posts inspire people to create a stylish home on any budget which is personal and meaningful to them.

“I think the more visual channels such as Instagram and Pinterest are the best for interiors inspiration. The great thing about Pinterest is that it’s pretty self explanatory and easy to use. Be careful though, you can end up losing hours and days to it.

“If you’re looking for inspiring accounts to follow, a great cheat is to go to accounts you already love following and see who they follow. It’s likely they’ll be into the same stuff you are.

“Also, see if your favourite brands have social media accounts. you can usually find them linked to from their websites.

“On Instagram, some of my readers are my favourite accounts to follow.

“Check out our #7vignettes on Instagram for some stunning examples of amateur stylists and photographers producing incredible work.”

The brand: Temple and Webster, Victoria Baker, Editor, templeandwebster.com.au

“We use Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube but the content we post is slightly different for each of them because they all have different audiences.

“We have the highest number of followers on Facebook but there is more reach and engagement on Instagram and I think that’s because it’s a really visual tool. We’re in a very visual business so sites like Instagram and Pinterest work particularly well for us.



“As we don’t have a bricks and mortar store to meet our customers, tell them about our products and get their feedback, our social media conversation is really important. For us it’s about inspiration and telling a story. Social media is a really powerful way to get people to engage with our brand.“ I think the best social media tools for finding inspiration are definitely Instagram and Pinterest — you can lose hours on either one. Delve as deep as you can by looking at who you’re following and then looking who they follow, and who those people follow and so on. You can uncover some really cool accounts that way that you might not have seen ordinarily.

“On Instagram, I follow local stylists such as Megan Morton (@megan_morton), Sibella Court (@sibellacourt) and Kara Rosenlund (@kararosenlund). I also follow plenty of international bloggers such as Emily Henerson (@em_henderson), Design Sponge (@designsponge), Apartment Therapy (@apartmenttherapy), and Claire Lloyd on Pinterest (pinterest.com/clairelloyd58/).”

The rise of the shelfie

Too shy for a selfie but have an impressive shelf at home that shows off your styling prowess? Why not try a shelfie instead?



Urban Dictionary defines the shelfie as “a picture or portrait of your bookshelf — showcasing literature in all its glory”.

But design afficiandos have taken things one step further, using the shelfie hashtag to display vignettes of co-ordinated shelves of all shapes and sizes.

A quick search on Instagram and Pinterest using the shelfie hashtag brings up thousands of photos — Instagram alone has more than 210,000 images.

“Creating something beautiful is compelling ... it’s meditation of sorts,” says interior stylist Hilary Robertson.

“Even if nothing else in your room pleases you, you can transform one surface to your own satisfaction.”

First published Home, The Daily Telegraph 8 August 2015