2021: The Best Instagram Accounts to Follow

beautiful, inspiring interior design Instagram accounts

Instagram: you can either love it or hate it. With ebbs and flows in algorithms, social change, advertising practices – and what often seems to be a playground for unhappy people fighting to be heard- it can be more of a headache than what it’s worth. But, it’s also an amazing platform that provides us access to endless amounts of helpful and inspiring content, allowing for the cultivating of friendship and new business opportunities. If engaged with thoughtfully, Instagram really can be a fruitful addition to our everyday lives.

As an interior design account, the main complaint I hear against Instagram is it can “clog up with what the algorithm ‘wants’ us to see”, creating a homogenous feed that doesn’t inspire, pigeonholing users into using the same white paint and buying the same Target items to furnish their homes. The eventually gives the impression that we all have the same “idea” of what our personal interior design style is. Instagram is a responsive platform, learning your habits and what you tend to like and engage with most often. If we are only engaging with the “same” posts everyday then that is what the app will continue to feed us. It takes some work to break the habits of the algorithm, but it can be done!

There is a wealth of inspiring content out there often hidden beneath the lesser quality posts that are favored by algorithms & the masses — and if you’re willing to do the digging, I promise you can be endlessly inspired when you pull up the app to scroll. There are many accounts that inspire me daily and my saved folder is jam packed with their images that I consistently refer back to, studying every detail in each square. There are lots of accounts out there with large-following content with a small follower base (which, I think, is also a good reminder that Instagram does not measure overall success!).

“resetting” the algorithm

First, clean up the lineup of accounts you currently follow. Unfollow any accounts that no longer inspire you, that you do not engage with or consistently swipe past. Make room for accounts and content that you want to see daily.

Second, follow the accounts I’ve listed below! These are my favorite, save-almost-every-post accounts that I am constantly inspired by. Some are very successful designers, others are just getting started, and some are mainly sharing their own home. This list is full of my long-time favorites that I’ve followed for years with a few recent new-to-me accounts sprinkled in. There are many others I could share, but these accounts always end up at the top of my feed.

Next, head to your explore tab. Scroll through and only engage with content that you want a closer look at. Click on the photo or Reel and leave a comment or save the post if it’s particularly inspiring to you. Head to a few profiles that you don’t follow, scroll through their feed and give them a follow if you’re drawn to their posts.

Here are a few of my recent favorite follows who share designs that feel fresh and interesting to me, along with a long list of the accounts I engage with daily. Happy scrolling!