Back in pre-internet times of yore, inspiration for home renovations came from two places: friends’ houses and glossy magazines. These days, there is a near limitless supply of it, so long as you know where to look. Instagram is a treasure-trove of beautiful homes, and these are just some of the squares we’ve been gazing longingly at.

Main image: Rose Uniacke

Rose Uniacke




If you like quiet, spare beauty, then there is no finer grid to follow than that of interior designer, Rose Uniacke. Her showroom on the design mecca that is the Pimlico Road is a paean to restraint, simplicity and the easy marriage of old and new – and it’s a look that has earned her a string of high profile loyal devotees, including Victoria Beckham. Follow her here for inspiration.


Benedict Winter




Who better to follow for home inspiration than Christie’s Decorative Arts specialist? Benedict Winter’s glorious feed tells the stories of some of the very finest houses in the British Isles. Who could resist this tantalisingly ajar door at the Robert Adam-designed Saltam House? Follow him here for inspiration.


Camilla Guinness




Interior designer Camilla Guinness’s grid might very well be our favourite on the internet, chiefly because so many of the houses represent the very finest examples of Tuscan interiors. Need we say more? We feel utterly transported just by looking at them. Immaculately distressed, sumptuous and exuding character, we want to live inside every single picture. Follow her here for inspiration.


Robert Kime




Beloved of Prince Charles, Robert Kime is the ultimate designer of grand country interiors. His schemes are always about the marriage of sumptuous comfort with history, as he fills beautiful rooms with antiques and his own fabrics, intricately layering each until it feels like it must have always been there. A tastemaker among tastemakers. Follow him here for inspiration.


Tat.London




Tat London is the feed of Charlie Porter, former House & Garden stylist. Her grid is wall-to-wall jaw-dropping houses; simply, we could spend all day gawping in admiration. Follow her here for inspiration.


Somewhere I Would Like To Live




We’ve often extolled the sheer joy of scrolling through the wondrous squares belonging to Somewhere I Would Like To Live and we see no reason to leave it off a list such as this. It is, after all, as aptly named as an account could be, since more often than not we find ourselves nodding enthusiastically along in agreement while muttering the words, ‘Yes, I would very much like to live there.’ Some images are extraordinary, many unexpected, a few improbable and all beautiful. Follow the account here for more inspiration.

Retrouvius




Retrouvius in both an architectural salvage warehouse and a design studio. It is, then, a goldmine of inspiration for those who prefer their interiors to be of the reclaimed variety. We like this spare and beautiful example, in which the kitchen cupboards are faced with 18th century marquetry floorboards that were salvaged from a building in Vienna. Genius, no? Follow the account here for more inspiration.


De Gournay




From the minimal to the maximal, De Gournay does the most spectacular line in handpainted decorative wallpaper. Exquisite in large sweeping entrances such as this, it is cosy and beautiful in smaller, darker spaces too. Follow the account here for more inspiration.


Frapln




Francesco Paolini is a dealer in decorative mid-century pieces. His feed is a feast that we could devour daily. Follow him here for inspiration.


Jasper Conran




It must be enshrined in law that if you rejoice in the name of Conran, you must have a house that induces mad house-envy in others and be possessed of a knack for doing everything ten times more stylishly than mere averagely stylish non-Conran mortals. Jasper does not disappoint in this regard. We have loved his early morning garden missives all through lockdown and when we get a rarer glimpse inside, we lap that up too. Follow him here for inspiration.


Susan Deliss




Susan Deliss is a Notting Hill-based textile designer, who also happens to have a home in France. We’re here for all of it, but we especially delight in pictures from her orange, gloriously unfitted French kitchen. Follow her here for inspiration.


Molly Mahon




Molly Mahon is known for her hand-block printed fabrics, which unfailingly cheer up any room they grace. Her feed is awash with joyful interiors, but there is none we like better than this shepherd’s hut at Hawthbush Farm. Cosy. Follow her here for inspiration.


Irene My Life




We never fail to enjoy a peruse through this gorgeous account, which is dedicated to depicting life in a 500-year-old manor house in the Cotswolds. There are roaring fires in winter. There are hens. There are simple stone fireplaces. And there are dimly lit libraries. Simply, we love it. Follow her here for inspiration.


Ben Pentreath Studio




Ben Pentreath heads up an eponymous architecture and design studio, whose unerring talent and taste was part-responsible for the stunning Limewood hotel in the New Forest, as well as countless achingly tasteful homes across the land. Inevitably, then, his Instagram feed is full of exquisite homes that showcase a modern take on classical English design. Follow him here for inspiration.

By Nancy Alsop
August 2021