Last year, Internet personality Emma Chamberlain made waves after Architectural Digest released a tour of her luxurious LA home. As a result, Chamberlain, who is mostly known for her cooking videos and fashion hauls, instantly became a source of inspiration for those wanting to give their home a new look. Suddenly, everyone wanted to know where she got the cork tiles lining her bathroom and the vintage rug in her walk-in closet. Most of her followers have seen her when she was just starting out as a teenager. Now that she’s 21, it seems like Chamberlain’s followers are looking beyond what she’s wearing and are now taking cues from her to design their homes.
She’s not the only influencer who has inadvertently shifted her fans’ focus though. Others have done the same, and some influencers have even started working with home design brands to launch new products. Here’s how beauty and fashion vloggers are evolving into home design influencers.
A Maturing Audience
As influencers mature in age, so do their followers. Priorities and tastes start changing, and eventually, an influencer’s content and subsequent product launches and business partnerships will reflect these changes. One example is Kourtney Kardashian. Along with her sisters, the reality star started out as a fashion and beauty influencer when she was in her early 20s. But in 2019, fans began speculating that she may be coming out with a home decor/interior design company when she announced the debut of her new lifestyle brand, Poosh. The mother of three confirmed that the brand carries beauty products, but it also offers things like tea sets, towels, and other interior design items.
Her sister, Kim, has also recently launched a 5-piece bathroom accessory collection that’s in line with her minimalist aesthetic. There’s also one of the original influencers, Lauren Conrad, who has moved on from her fashion roots. She recently collaborated with Kohls to launch a range of home products which include nursery pillows, crib sheets, and other decorative items.
Putting the Focus on One’s Home
During the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, most influencers were forced to create content from home. While this seemed like a setback at first glance, it became an opportunity to showcase products in a lifestyle setting, and people were receptive to this design content. As more individuals started to look for interior design content, this prompted aspiring influencers to focus on their homes and show off their interiors on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. This led to the inevitable rise of home decor influencers and real estate influencers.
Today’s home design and real estate content mostly focus on decorating and gardening. However, we can expect that as this trend continues to grow, more influencers will be doling out helpful advice, such as how landlords can make rental properties accessible. We can also expect to see content on how to sell homes fast and how to design commercial properties.
Home Design Influencers to Follow
The popularity of design content on social media resulted in the organic growth of interior design influencers across multiple platforms. Some of the top home decor influencers today include Joanna Gaines, Justina Blakely, Nicole Gibbons, Becki Owens, and Orlando Soria. These influencers are now inspiring people to personalize their spaces with their blog tips, ideas, and product recommendations. Some of them also have their own furniture and home decor lines so anyone can easily replicate the look of their interiors.
Some of the first home design influencers started out as beauty and fashion gurus on the Internet. Now that more people are aspiring to have beautiful homes, we can expect to see more home influencers on YouTube and Instagram.
Freelance contribution especially written for Find Your Influence by Karoline Gore.