It’s Valentine’s Day, so in the spirit of sharing the love I’ve rounded up a hotlist of top Brighton and Hove interior influencers to follow now.
Whether seasoned bloggers, Instagram newcomers or fashionistas dipping their toes into interiors: in no particular order, these are the locals living, breathing and loving all things ‘home’.
Between us, whatever your interior style or stage of home renovation or decoration, we have you covered. Read on for a large dose of interior inspiration.
Melanie Boyden / Melanie Jade Design
Happily adopted from the Westcountry, Brighton readily welcomed Mel B with her comedy-filled Instagram captions and recently launched interiors blog. Mel started posting pictures of her home on Instagram little over a year ago and with her natural styling abilites, quickly stole everyone’s hearts. She now has more than 67,000 followers regularly tuning in for daily doses of interior inspiration from her eclectic home.
Hannah Crosskey / A Fashion Fix
Pint-sized Hannah made her debut on Instagram in 2013 and has posted religiously about fashion ever since. More recently she’s begun peppering beautiful interiors shots in among the fashion on her blog and feed. Her minimal, luxe style is reflected in her home and other interiors posts she shares.
Maxine Brady / We Love Home Blog
An Interior Stylist with 20 years experience working across all the main interior magazines, Maxine was one of the UK’s first recognised interior bloggers. Sharing her expert styling tips, as well as behind the scenes on brand and magazine shoots, Maxine’s blog and Instagram is packed with advice for styling, home and life in general. She also has a super cute dog, Teddy.
Fiona Duffy / Fifi McGee
Fi was one of the first Brighton interior bloggers I ever met and has always been so supportive. She stands out for her contemporary country farmhouse style, adapted to urban living. A renovator on a budget, Fi has plenty of tips for keeping down renovation costs and how to budget. She’s even devised a handy renovation budget planner, available via her blog.
Sharon Hornsby / Hornsby Style
Sharon hosted the famous Sassy Kitchen Party last June, which saw 100 interior Instagrammers (myself included!) pile into her beautiful home, drink gin and party until the early hours. Sharon’s home is beautifully decorated and styled, with an Instagram worthy frame in every direction. She also sells a selection of stylish prints via her website.
Hayley Whitehead / Home Is Where The Pack Is
A fellow Victorian home-owner, Hayley has also undertaken a side-return extension to widen her kitchen, creating space for a dining table and kitchen island. Hayley’s home feels very considered, with a grown-up elegance emphasised by muted earthy tones and simple, uncluttered styling. The ‘pack’ refers to the two dogs, Scout and Gin, which I can only presume are extremely well behaved as the walls, floors and woodwork are so pristine! You can find Hayley on Instagram.
Lareese Craig
A genuinely lovely human being, Lareese started out as a fashion and lifestyle blogger. Her Stories and captions have made me laugh out loud on many an occasion and I love how she curates her Instagram feed. Her photos are heavy on rich earthy tones and she loves to play with light and shadow, which I always appreciate. Lareese and her boyfriend recently bought their first home together and are now embarking on her renovation process. I can’t wait to see their progress.
Mary Middleton / Hello Peagreen
If you love design, look no further. Mary is Brighton’s very own design hound, except her tracks lead much further afield. She covers European design expos across Europe for some of the key global interior design trade titles, including Interior Design Magazine, The Business of Home and US title DXV. Mary’s blog is an authority on the latest trends and is a great resource for interior predictions for the year ahead.
Poonam Sharma / Modern Luxe Blog
Nearest to me in terms of home location, Poonam’s stunning Victorian home is a real show stopper. A grand staircase, ridiculously high ceilings and incredibly well-preserved period features, all tick. Poonam and her husband also have a penchant for designer homewares, look out for Ligne Roset chairs, Dorothy Thorpe candle sticks and plenty of Tom Forde fragrance!
River Jade Gibbs
A newby to blogging and Instagram, over the past year River has been working tirelessly to realise her dream of becoming an interior stylist. Alongside working as a maker and styling shoots for Brighton-based interiors brand The Little Deer, River has assisted on shoots for Wallpaper, Oh Comely and Livingetc. Definitely one to watch!
Lucinda Mitra / Nest Twenty Eight
While not technically Brighton, Lucinda’s home is still within East Sussex, so I’m calling her one of our own! A lovely lady with impeccable style in interiors and fashion, Lucinda’s modern, Scandi style has made her home a big hit with over 100K interior lovers worldwide. If you’re a fan of gallery walls, Lucinda has one of the best on the ‘gram. Go check it out.
Kelly / The Interior Warrior
Fusing home interiors and wellbeing, Kelly posts gorgeous, pared back shots of her bright, white, zen family home. Kelly exudes an aura of calm and her posts often contain a daily musing, literary reference or mindful consideration to ponder regarding our homes and lifestyle. It’s through her Instagram that I was introduced to the idea of smudging Sage to cleanse a space of negative energy – I’m yet to try it myself but remain intrigued!
Deborah Simpson-Boston / Diary of an Honest Woman
Debs lives in Southwick so just on the outskirts of Brighton and Hove, but very much one of us. A lover of dark walls and maximalist styling, Debs lives in a characterful period home and is planning a kitchen extension and renovation. A lover of all things fashion, Debs hosts Brighton’s Fashion Reboot and a champion of the British Red Cross.
Charlotte Berry / Flamingo Styling
Charlotte and her husband are serial renovators and recently sold their central Hove house, buying a new pad to renovate in the Southwick area. The living room has already been painted in swoon worthy Setting Plaster and works to the rest of the house are imminent. Co-host of the #myperiodhomestyle hashtag, Charlotte is also a big fan of Kate Moss and uncluttered living.
Sarah / Portslade Do-er Upper
Sarah and her partner have just gone through the upheaval of extending their kitchen over the Christmas period with a three-year-old in tow. Perseverance pays off and the new kitchen is looking fabulous!
Laura Montgomery-Coleman / Renovating Ethelwolf
Expectant mum Laura is best known on Instagram for expertly decorating and styling small spaces. A big fan of natural materials, Laura and her handy hubby upcycled pallet wood to create a beautiful rustic head board in their bedroom and a coffee table for their living room. Laura loves to cook, and her kitchen is practical and beautiful. Expect lots of fairy lights and texture in a home that epitomises ‘hygge’.
Gemma Gear / That’s So Gemma
Interior stylist, set designer and all-round DIY’er, Gemma’s Instagram is a riot of colour while her blog features travel memos, product round ups and crafty how-tos. Gemma often works alongside Maxine at We Love Home Blog, styling shoots for leading interiors titles, as well as having her own home featured in the press.
Liz / 16 Weeks of Mess
Sharing snapshots of her beautiful Victorian home via Instagram, Liz is a lover of both dark and light interiors. Her home features a neutral palette of black, white and all the greys in between, with plenty of potted plants and natural wood. Monochrome done right.
Lauren Lewis / Lauren Luxe Living
I’ve only recently discovered Lauren’s feed, but it had me at hello. Off-white walls with earthy pinks and muted jewel-toned textiles, art and accessories. Many of Lauren’s Instagram posts are arty close ups which I really like as they show off the details missed in wider room shots. Lauren also creates figurative art prints available to buy via Etsy.
Kelly / This Is My Home Style
A mutual fan of Sulking Room Pink, Kelly has transformed her living room in this shade and broke Instagram in the process! Her beautiful Victorian family home is effortlessly stylish with plenty of pinks, greys, griege and green. Kelly is also the founder of kid’s décor brand LaLa Loves Décor.
Elizabeth Danon / EDIT Property Styling
Elizabeth is a property stylist, interior architect and interior therapist. Styling properties to help them sell, she also offers workshops on how to best organise your home for you. As well as posting shots from the properties she’s styled, Elizabeth also shares useful styling tips in her Stories.
Matt / Brighton Terrace
I found one! There are definitely not enough men posting about interiors on their blogs and Instagram. I know loads of guys who love DIY and talking about their homes in real life but hardly any online. Matt is one of the exceptions and I love chatting to him about home renovation and seeing his progress in squares. Matt often shares before and after shots and his bathroom renovation is really inspiring – check out his Instagram highlights to watch the transformation unfold.
Poppy / Dustsheets & Décor
Poppy set up her account in June 2018 so is one of the newest members of the gang but is active daily and regularly posts pictures of her renovation progress. She’s another with a gorgeous navy kitchen and I look forward to seeing more of her home as the year rolls on.
Finally, if you don’t already know, I also love to share pictures of my home on Instagram. We’re currently completing our second extension (this time into the loft) and continually redecorating everywhere else. You can find me @brickdustbaby.
Jas x