10 Inspiring Interior Design and Lifestyle Bloggers You Should Check Out

Explore the world of interior design and lifestyle blogging and be inspired to start your own projects

Emma Jane Palin (@emmajanepalin) is a multi-award-winning blogger, digital marketing specialist, and interior stylist based in the seaside town of Margate in Kent in the UK. She has worked on interior design and lifestyle campaigns with major international brands such as John Lewis, Aperol Spritz, and Apple.

After graduating with a degree in graphic design and illustration from the University of East London, Emma began interning at a PR agency and launched her blog as a creative outlet that kept her in touch with everything related to design and illustration.

After completing her internship, Emma then joined a design and PR agency specializing in architecture and interior design, which was run by two creatives who had their own design blogs and from whom Emma learned a great deal. She continued to evolve her interest in interior design and fine-tune her blog so that it emanated her personal brand, focusing on interior design for renters.

In 2017, she picked up two prizes at the Interior Design Awards, and since 2018, Emma has been self-employed, continuing to create regular blog content and collaborate with influential brands. She designs the blog and styles, shoots, and writes all of the daily content all by herself, learning the most from trial and error.

In this post, Emma shares a list of bloggers, mainly interior design bloggers but with a few lifestyle blogs thrown in as well, that she considers major sources of inspiration. Check out the list below, but first, get to know a bit more about interior design!

What is Interior Design?

Interior design is a way to shape a person’s experience of a space, impacting both their lifestyle and their mood. It defines a room’s function and can enhance its inhabitant’s well-being by stimulating their creativity or encouraging relaxation.

"The way we inhabit a space has a huge effect on our creativity, happiness, and of course, our wellbeing, so it’s important to call in professional help so that the design is thought-out and tends to all the details–the acoustics, the surroundings, the positioning, and use of color all have to be taken into account for the space to work and feel complete", explains Domestika teacher Patricia bustos (@patriciabustos_studio) in this blog post.

Layout, acoustics, lighting, and color are just some of the elements to be taken into consideration by a professional when carrying out an interior design project. In this video tutorial, architectural lighting designer Mónica Vega (@monica_vega) teaches you how to come up with your own, memorable language of light.

What is Japandi Style?

Throughout history, different movements have emerged around the world, for example, minimalism, in response to or as an extension of cultural and social movements of the times.

These movements have then sprouted branches of their own, bringing about design trends such as Japandi, a minimalist aesthetic mixing Scandinavian coziness with traditional Japanese elegance to create clean, calm, clutter-free, and inviting home environments.

These spaces are characterized by essential, functional elements and a few statement objects that bring the look together with sophisticated simplicity.

The combination of the two styles is a match made in decor heaven, as they complement each other perfectly. The warm, country-like taste of nordic furnishings complements the sleek lines of Japanese design, and the richer Japanese color palette elevates the somewhat aseptic feel of Scandinavian neutral interiors.

Check out the video below and learn more about the history of interior design!

10 Inspiring Lifestyle and Interior Design Bloggers

Today, Emma shares a list of bloggers, mainly interior design bloggers but also some lifestyle blogs, that she considers major sources of inspiration. Read on and be inspired!

Kate Watson Smyth

Mad About The House is the award-winning website of interiors journalist and writer Kate Watson-Smyth. This blog features daily articles covering real homes, inspiration, product edits, and so much more!

In The Frow

Victoria is a luxury fashion and lifestyle blogger–“completely different to me,” Emma points out. “But she is someone who inspires me due to how she has turned her blog into a business opportunity upon a business opportunity,” she adds.

Her most recent posts cover everything from productivity to style and beauty diaries.

Megan Ellaby

Similar to Victoria, Megan has created a fashion line off the back of her blog and now uses it to support her growing fashion business. She describes herself as “a twenty-something Mancunian with a huge love for color and print.” The blog’s design feels a lot more Tumblr-esque and Gen Z.

Since launching her blog, it has won three awards, including the Cosmopolitan Best Fashion Influencer and the InStyle Project 13 Best Fashion Blogger award.

Grillo Designs

Medina is a fellow renter and someone that champions all things DIY on her blog. Her blog is super niche, and this is why it works so well in the industry.

She describes herself as “an IKEA-loving-upcycling-junkie-DIY-Passionate-home-décor-crazy momma and wife.”

Topology Interiors

Topology is an award-winning interior design studio based in London centered around affordability. It is a great example of an interior business that successfully uses a blog to bring in new business.

The blog design and writing style are completely representative of the audience they want to be working with.

What Olivia Did

“Olivia has grown her blog and her following over ten years, continually working and collaborating with brands that match her personality and ethos. Her blog reflects her through and through,” says Emma.

Olivia blogs from her home in London.

Melanie Lissack Interiors

Melanie uses social media to promote her blog and has amounted over 50,000 hits a month, serving as a reminder to make the most of the content you produce.

Melanie writes: “The blog started simply as a documentation of designing my house with DIY and on a budget, but as life has moved on and my love of interiors and knowledge around furnishing my own home has grown and widened, I now focus less on writing about budget interiors and more about what excites me in decor–that could be a £14.99 lamp I picked up in Homesense or a £90 roll of wallpaper.”

French for Pineapple

Bianca Hall, an interiors writer, blogger, DIY’er, and art and design obsessive.

“Bianca’s beautiful styling and photography are what make her stand out from the crowd. I can instantly tell if something has been shot by her,” says Emma.

Ghenet Actually

Ghenet Actually delivers a variety of content, from sharing cake recipes, slow styling tips, or making suggestions of books to curl up with, “it's all about appreciating the little things,” writes Ghenet.

“I love the unique design of Ghenet’s blog, but it’s her newsletter that interests me–it’s one that I always have to read when it lands in my inbox,” advises Emma.

Lisa Dawson

Lisa delivers a lesson on the importance of consistency with her weekly interior blog posts.

It’s even led to her penning her first book alongside a thriving Facebook community.

If you would like to learn to unleash your voice to the world by creating a compelling blog and learning about branding, content, and promotion, sign up for Emma Jane Palin’s course, Blogging 101: Tone, Branding, and Strategy.

You may also like:

- How to Apply Japanese Wabi-Sabi in Interior Design
- What Exactly is Hygge in Nordic Design?
- 10 Essential Online Interior Design Courses for Beginners
- Decorative Furniture Painting, a course by Lucas Rise
- Design and Conceptualization of a Chair, a course by Christian Vivanco