Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Have you noticed this about 'house influencers'

30 replies

BodegaSushi · 30/08/2023 22:25

Random musing of the day: I don't know if that's the right term, but you know people whose Instagram is all about renovating/redecorating their house?

I've followed a few because I love having a nose into what other people are doing with their homes.

There was an account I started following ages ago, they were doing up a new build bit by bit. This is just one account, but several follow this pattern. And I wondered what would happen when it was all done.

And they just redo it all again! And again! So it's 'when we first redid the kitchen, I really didn't like this style/colour, so I'm doing it the way I REALLY want it!' Then by next year it needs another update. Same with every other room in the house.

Some of them even then take on another project, like a holiday let, to do up.

And I think to myself, is that not exhausting? It took me 3 years to finally turn my bed around and slightly rearrange my room, and I'm done.

Also how do they have such an excessive flow of funds? Are they really able to redo it all with sponsorships/paid ads? The accounts don't even have 100k followers, surely advertising can't be that lucrative?

I'm tired just watching the 10th remake of the house, can't imagine how tiring it must be to always stay relevant, and I wonder how the children of that house feel living in constant change

OP posts:
QueSyrahSyrah · 30/08/2023 22:29

Not influencers but I have a friend who buys nice but old fashioned (in internal style and decor) houses, rips them out, remodels them, then sells up and moves to another. I'm sure they're making fortunes on each house in the area we live but I really don't know how they can be arsed with kids and full times jobs, I'd rather just a smaller but more up to date house that I could move into and unpack.

BodegaSushi · 30/08/2023 23:05

QueSyrahSyrah · 30/08/2023 22:29

Not influencers but I have a friend who buys nice but old fashioned (in internal style and decor) houses, rips them out, remodels them, then sells up and moves to another. I'm sure they're making fortunes on each house in the area we live but I really don't know how they can be arsed with kids and full times jobs, I'd rather just a smaller but more up to date house that I could move into and unpack.

Ooh yes I know of people who do that as well. I guess they’re making good money off of it, but there’s nothing I hate more than moving so it’s not the lifestyle for me!

But with these influencers they’re literally just changing the rooms up to keep their accounts active and engagement up. I’m fascinated by it.

OP posts:
justasking111 · 30/08/2023 23:10

100k followers the companies are chasing them to take stuff. I have a family member who has had film crews in to stage the furniture. They've worked with the biggest brands, been in Vogue. It's hard work and time consuming if you do it properly.

BodegaSushi · 30/08/2023 23:24

justasking111 · 30/08/2023 23:10

100k followers the companies are chasing them to take stuff. I have a family member who has had film crews in to stage the furniture. They've worked with the biggest brands, been in Vogue. It's hard work and time consuming if you do it properly.

Ok, thanks for this insight. So that potentially answers my question about where they get the funds to keep re-imagining their house.

It is definitely time-consuming! I guess I'm quite sentimental, I get quite attached to the way things look, so once I'd updated to my 'dream' kitchen, that would be it for 20 years!

OP posts:
ReeseWitherfork · 30/08/2023 23:28

I follow a few of those accounts but haven’t particularly noticed that, so it must be a nuance in a sub genre. However… most of the accounts I follow seem to paint a wall green one month and pink the next and yellow the next and so on. Or I find the accounts get very repetitive so don’t end up following them for that long.

PammieDooveOrangeJoof · 30/08/2023 23:29

It is autumn/Halloween/Christmas/Easter etc that gets me, when they all film themselves putting up basically the same decorations and then they all film themselves taking them down again. Plus cleaning and hoovering.
its boring doing that all myself let alone watching them all do it too 😂

justasking111 · 30/08/2023 23:30

The interesting ones are the upcyclers. Charity shop finds etc that are reinvented

covetingthepreciousthings · 30/08/2023 23:31

I think it must be ads / sponsorships, I follow a few like that and can only imagine that it's through that they can keep redecorating so much.

It must be exhausting not to ever be finally finished with each room though and just keep re-doing it.

AJ09 · 30/08/2023 23:36

What I've noticed about home accounts is there is no personal photos or items out at all.

Houses are just for show.

I love family photos around the house but when you see reels of these perfect homes it could be anyone's.

I've seen it on 100's of videos/reels and wonder where they are kept

justasking111 · 30/08/2023 23:49

You're advised to remove them especially if you have children and be vague about the location. They get the odd trolls too.

BodegaSushi · 31/08/2023 07:21

PammieDooveOrangeJoof · 30/08/2023 23:29

It is autumn/Halloween/Christmas/Easter etc that gets me, when they all film themselves putting up basically the same decorations and then they all film themselves taking them down again. Plus cleaning and hoovering.
its boring doing that all myself let alone watching them all do it too 😂

Oh gosh yes, Mrs H is famous for that. Overdone glittery stuff.

OP posts:
BodegaSushi · 31/08/2023 07:26

ReeseWitherfork · 30/08/2023 23:28

I follow a few of those accounts but haven’t particularly noticed that, so it must be a nuance in a sub genre. However… most of the accounts I follow seem to paint a wall green one month and pink the next and yellow the next and so on. Or I find the accounts get very repetitive so don’t end up following them for that long.

Yes that's how I feel about the constant redecoration, it's quite repetitive. And what's the obsession with pink? So many times they have a beautiful room and then they redo it aaaaaaand...it's pink. Pink walls, pink sofas, pink rugs, pink knick-knacks. So boring.

OP posts:
Instahome2 · 31/08/2023 07:43

I love instagram home accounts. I have a reno one at the moment, I love the community of people living with the mess and dust and thousands of renovation decisions. Then (at the top tier) there are the accounts with show homes and swimming pools. I'm not overly fussed with the cleaning accounts, I hate cleaning my own loo or hoovering, I don't really want to watch someone else do it.

I do know once this house is finished, I won't be going back to do it over again 😵. It's been traumatic and expensive enough first time round.

justasking111 · 31/08/2023 08:20

BodegaSushi · 31/08/2023 07:21

Oh gosh yes, Mrs H is famous for that. Overdone glittery stuff.

That's either laziness or the influencer is just not getting the goods. They can if they are talented make fantastic displays with stuff from inexpensive places.

BodegaSushi · 31/08/2023 10:37

Instahome2 · 31/08/2023 07:43

I love instagram home accounts. I have a reno one at the moment, I love the community of people living with the mess and dust and thousands of renovation decisions. Then (at the top tier) there are the accounts with show homes and swimming pools. I'm not overly fussed with the cleaning accounts, I hate cleaning my own loo or hoovering, I don't really want to watch someone else do it.

I do know once this house is finished, I won't be going back to do it over again 😵. It's been traumatic and expensive enough first time round.

I also love a renovation, and live though other people's accounts. I especially love mid-century ones where they start from scratch at decorate within the era of the house. I follow a few of those and they tend to stay put with their work!

I guess it's the difference between recording your journey to share with those who enjoy it, rather than to generate sponsorship and become an influencer

OP posts:
Peony654 · 31/08/2023 10:42

I just thinks it’s irresponsible they promote this as it’s so wasteful and the awful impact on the environment. We’ve just moved in to a house and specially chose to keep the existing kitchen and bathroom as they are in excellent condition, not what I’d chose, but it seems such a waste to replace when the units etc are fine.

stealthninjamum · 31/08/2023 10:51

I follow an influencer like this - because she lived down my road. She used to live in a beautiful two bed period end of terrace house that was quite small yet she managed to do hundreds of posts, I couldn’t believe that she would always do something differently, even sometimes it would be a lovely - impractical - table arrangement. I used to wonder if her loft was a tardis to keep all the decorative bits she had bought and then discarded.

She then bought a bigger, detached house and seemed to do it up in record time. I remember she had the most beautiful kitchen and she replaced it with one that I didn’t like, and seemed to paint all beautiful white walls sage green. Anyway she has started to do more posts about her child so I imagine she’s run out of ideas. She’s got less than 100k followers so isn’t one of the really big instagrammers.

Princessconsuelabananahammock9 · 02/09/2023 06:08

I love interior design. They get paid for changing things up. I am someone who decorates for the holidays and seasons. I love it. It's part of my passion.

Lourdes12 · 02/09/2023 07:04

Check out Paige Wassel- she goes against all this and has great long lasting taste

CaramelMac · 02/09/2023 07:35

A friend of mine has one of those accounts, I was surprised just how much free stuff she gets offered, her husband has a good job which pays for some of it but even though she only has about 10k followers she’s had free furniture, flooring, paint and all sorts. She just sells the stuff on market place every time she changes a room.

ToussaintTheChef · 02/09/2023 07:56

I haven’t noticed that but I have unfollowed a few recently. One because she posts the same crap daily: her coffee for breakfast, her coffee table with magazines on etc. The other because all she does is go shopping and share her hauls. She just spend an absolute fortune! I got bored of seeing her ‘styling her kitchen’ and ‘styling her stairs’ with a different accessory she bought that day in B&M. Bore off.

grass321 · 02/09/2023 08:09

I though you were talking about Mrs Hinch until the stairs.

My issue with house influencers is that they're sales people masquerading as a community of friends. They're not your friends, they're just flogging whatever crap they're paid to advertise.

But some of their followers don't seem to understand that and, given the majority seem to be from a low-income demographic, I fear they're buying things they can't afford.

They're also strangely loyal to a random stranger. Any justified criticism is either met with you're jealous (erm, no) or be kind (which sends me into a rage). You choose to monetise your family life on a public platform. That's fine but you can't expect everyone will like you.

So yes, the blatant consumerism and encouraging their followers to buy 'seasonal' tat which goes straight to landfill after one use does set my teeth on edge.

Reallybadidea · 02/09/2023 08:22

The ones that have started to irritate me are those that follow the formula of the camera filming them from behind while they woodenly walk over to place a beautiful vase/throw/cushion. They're always barefoot, usually with long, carefully-styled waved hair. So irritating for some reason.

Fair play to the very successful ones, it's a talent to be an 'influencer' and one that I don't have!

Zodfa · 02/09/2023 09:42

I guess if you enjoy this sort of thing and can afford it, then why not? Interior design can be a lot of fun. I used to do a lot of it on The Sims.

On the other hand one suspects some Instagram types have become a little too addicted to the attention ...

ToussaintTheChef · 02/09/2023 10:10

@grass321 no - floralie home! Gorgeous house which is why I initially followed as I liked her style but every day is another shopping trip and it’s maddening.