LuxDeco

A compendium for luxury living
How To Instagram Like A Designer
INSPIRATION

How To Instagram Like A Designer

Create the well-curated Instagram feed of your dreams

Carina Bartle
By Carina Bartle, VP Sales & Partnerships

Instagram’s never-ending, stimulating and completely envy-inducing flow of interior design inspiration is one of the great redeeming qualities of the social media giant. Every day, new and exciting ideas to incorporate into your home or inspire your next project are presented by the 800 million users. But not all Instagram accounts are made equal. Some are so impossibly well-curated, stylish and captivating that we can’t help but hang on their every post.

Interior designer and micro-influencer Charlotte Hamilton’s Instagram feed is one of those rare examples. A varied collection inspired by the designer’s London upbringing and design school training, it is comprised of leather tassels, pearlised wallpaper, bronzed sculptures and luxury fabrics (amongst many other beautiful things) and anchored by a gentle palette of cool neutrals and blues. You couldn’t be blamed for getting lost scrolling its depths.

Hoping to tidy up your Instagram feed (a New Year’s resolution, perhaps?) or looking to start one which will really impress, follow Charlotte’s top tips on how to Instagram like a designer.

How To Instagram Like A Designer by Charlotte Hamilton – LuxDeco.com Style Guide

How To Instagram – Tip 1: Aesthetic

“Simplicity is elegance.” My personal style has become my trademark. A cohesive designed feed of strategically polished images. Most often than not, people will follow an Instagram page because it boasts a certain aesthetic they like or can relate to, hence why it is extremely important to find / create your own unique style from the very beginning. My own style consists of mixing juxtaposing materials with an underlying neutral base palette, because it is an art form in itself which creates a subconscious sense of harmony that is the most timeless, classic creation of elegance and subtlety.

It is how you then begin to layer your schemes or images with colours that compliment these. I particularly love a contrasting midnight navy with accents of polished metals for a masculine scheme and softer pastel hues of dusty blues and greens for a tranquil feminine environment. Your feed should naturally develop from palette to palette, be pleasing on the eye and allow people to engage in each piece you have selected.

How To Instagram – Tip 2: Scale

Another crucial element when creating a fantastic Instagram feed is scale. I alternate between detail shots, lighting/furniture and entire room photographs. This contrast allows your feed to be pleasing to your user’s eye, and organically create a sense of bespoke detail when people visit your page for inspiration. It is also true to when I am designing an interior design scheme for a client – proportions are so important from the colourways, base-build materials, and FF&E [furniture, fixtures & equipment] you select. Everything should work cohesively and not fight one another within one setting.

How To Instagram Like A Designer – Charlotte Hamilton, Interior Designer – LuxDeco.com Style Guide

How To Instagram – Tip 3: Editing

As with design presentations, you may have a fantastic design or idea, but unless the content is delivered well, it will not be well-received. The same applies for your Instagram feed. Ensure you develop a system that aesthetically catches your user’s eye, not only with an image you post but when they visit your page – that should read cohesively. As a rule of thumb, I tend to design my page utilising the current template of the three boxes rule. I will upload three images a week and ensure that the following three images flow well as you begin to build your collage. I also like to mix it up with using my own personal concept designs, and fabric schemes so that the content is always evolving and unique. Use Adobe software packages such as PhotoShop and InDesign to add your own unique style and enhance your images.

How To Instagram – Tip 4: Inspiration

As a designer, you should always be receiving inspiration from everything around you – from architecture, nature, travel and online resources – in order to curate your individual style. Design exhibitions are another great way to maintain this so that you are always up-to-date with the latest innovative designs, as it is constantly evolving! This year’s Maison & Objet, Chelsea Harbour Design Centre Focus 17 and Decorex design events, were spectacular and I was able to source fantastic content for my page that I was able to edit and tailor to my style and immediately share with my followers.

How To Instagram Like A Designer – Instagram Inspirations – LuxDeco.com Style Guide

How To Instagram – Tip 5: Schedule

There is a lot of work that goes into a post – getting to know your brand or individual style, taking a perfectly stylised photo, editing, scheduling, cross-posting and engagement. To achieve consistency, post at least once a day, or several times, separated by a few hours, so not to saturate your audience. To start to grow your following will depend on your industry, audience and personality. It is important to note that as a micro-influencer, people will not follow you JUST because you were featured on a prominent brand page, they will follow you because you have awesome content! Do take the time to curate a well thought out slogan that you attach before posting each image, whether this be a top design tip or a description of your location, it always goes a long way and invites your audience to engage, share and respond to you.

Follow Charlotte Hamilton (@charlottejhamilton) and LuxDeco (@luxdeco) for unending design inspirations.

Get Charlotte’s Instagram Look

Melange Sconce
More options available
Kelly Wearstler
Melange Sconce
From £690
How-To-Instagram-Like-A-Designer-2

The LuxDeco Instagram Collection

-40%
York Sofa
More options available
Eichholtz
York Sofa
From £2,025
;