Back in November, I felt inspired to share some Instagram accounts that are doing it all right, but still haven’t reached that magical number of 10,000 followers--and since, most all of those accounts have hit 10K or are really close! A few are almost at 50K! It’s not infrequent that I see a post pop up in my feed about top instagrammers to follow–and they generally highlight accounts that already have a healthy following, for good reason–those accounts, and the people behind them, are amazing, have vision and work hard at it! I always appreciate it when people introduce @chrislovesjulia to their friends! There's no greater compliment.
But what about the smaller accounts that are doing amazing things, too? Here are 14 more accounts, with less than 10K followers that I'm loving following right now, and I think you will, too.
1. @lightanddwell | Oregon | current following: 8,936
Aymee and Molly are two friends who started an interior design business out of a love of relationships, design, hospitality, and making a house a home.
2. @jamiestephens917 | current following: 2,171
Jamie Stephens is a mom, avid thrifter, DIYer and interior designer. I love the way she captures life in her pretty home.
3. @raveinteriordesign | current following: 4,767
Melanie is an interior designer navigating through life and sharing the cutest photos of her home and tiny girl crew. (yes to moms of all girls!!)
4. @collective.studio | Toronto | current following: 1,433
Toronto based interior design firm of Jordy Fagan and Alana Firestone. Impeccable work that leaves me inspired every day.
5. @gracious_living_ | Brooklyn Park, Minnesota | current following: 2,429
Garrison Groustra definitely has an eye for design. I mean, look at this dreamy entryway.
6. @house_1924 | Milford, Delaware | current following: 1,509
Leigh and her husband Ben are preserving the historic charm of their 1924 colonial on a real life budget. It's beautiful and inspiring and I want to move in.
7. @houseofhaveman | current following: 1,429
Heather Haveman's love of design, style and making all things beautiful intersects with daily life as a wife and homeschool mom...and she has the prettiest red hair.
8. @thismainehouse | Maine | current following: 2,372
Sarah and Wes Day are a husband and wife team who are working on making their 1729 house a home in a really fresh meets old way.
9. @alma_rchavz | Southern California | current following: 4,204
Alma Chavz is a design loving, treasure hunting-thrifter.
10. @briannamichelledesign | Winter Park, Florida | current following: 2,787
Brianna Michelle Design is a full-service interior design firm whose work couldn't be more timeless. Her design motto is "visually powerful, intellectually elegant and above all timeless." I want to be her.
11. @lisafogt | Toronto, ON | current following: 2,189
Lisa Fogt's sharing her clean, modern, 1969 home renovation. I study her photos because the rooms are so and minimal.
12. @natashalevak | Australia | 2,946
Natasha Levak is a contemporary designer who brings interiors together. She was also responsible for this bathroom I shared and drooled all over.
13. @wendymaurodesign | Charleston | current following: 1,170
Wendy Mauro is a design consultant who brings a lot of real life renovations to instagram.
14. @5girlsoneboy | Seattle | current following: 1,435
Greenbank Development is a family-run business focussed on building and designing homes in residential communities with high-end finishes.
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I think it's so awesome that you did this Julia! ❤️
Great list! Wish there was more diversity with some of these picks though.
How so?
I love this post so much! Great to find new, fresh ideas!
Random question: Can you tell me the size of your stump photograph in your living room (the one on the blue planked wall)? I'm so bad at scale and would love to know. Thank you! I'm obsessed with you guys and your home!!
It's the very largest one Minted offered. They don't offer a frame in that size (I don't think) but we got it framed locally.
Thanks for continuing to share inspiration no matter how big or small! <3
Ugh, thank you for posting these accounts! It so hard to find accounts that are serious about what they are sharing but haven't yet reached a point of saturation where you feel your comment gets lost in sea of hundreds and you can make some real connection and grow together. I have a small instagram account documenting our home renovation and I want to connect to others doing the same thing, and I have found it pretty hard to find my fellows out there!
Love these posts! Thanks for taking the time to do them.
Love this idea! If you ever do it again would love you to look at my Instragram jkmdesignstudios and perhaps I can inspire you!
Molly and Aymee are so talented!!! <3 fellow Oregonian
Thank you so much for including me in this! I picked up my phone today and it literally blew up.. I was shocked to see my name on your page! lol! I told my husband (who is very aware of who you and Chris are after I forced him to listen to podcast after podcast on our vacation travels last year hahaha) that I couldn't believe that I was listed among such great accounts! In a world of competitiveness, you my friend are a breath of fresh air. Never lose that spirit or your realness! I think it's one of the MANY reasons we all love to follow you! Again.. thank you! <3
So appreciate your heart in featuring folks under 10k... and LOVE discovering new, inspiring accounts to follow. Thanks!
I could have kept scrolling forever! These are such gorgeous accounts. Thank you for sharing and giving a shout-out to the people who inspire you. I love seeing fresh accounts to follow. The light fixture from @briannamichelledesign is soo pretty!
Love when you do these posts! I'm actually not on Instagram though, but I really love to follow design blogs like yours and others with similar aesthetic. If you did another post like this in the future, would you considering adding their blogs too if they have them?! Love every one of these pictures! So inspiring, thank you for sharing!
What a fun idea!
I love these posts and look forward to them. I already follow several of these accounts and was so excited to see some of my favorites featured. And was super excited to see a local Delaware account!!
Thank you for taking the time for features like this!
I love when you post these!
Thank you
Love these posts because I love finding new designers and supporting interior designers (and wannabe interior designers and design enthusiasts like myself). I hope you keep doing it!
Thank you so much for the highlight! I have been following you for a couple years now and have been bingeing on the podcasts...you have given me so much insight and great advice. Thank you for being so supportive of this community and encouraging creativity in a non-competitive way.
I love this! I am always looking for someone new to follow for fresh inspiration and direction and you've done all the work! I have been following @house_1924 and am adding the rest to follow. Thanks????
Hey, Julia
If you do this type of post again it might be interesting to look for accounts that don’t all have the same aesthetic. For instance, almost every single picture up there has white walls, and the others are a very light neutral. They are all beautiful but a lot of those pictures could all be of different rooms in the same house, if you know what I mean? White walls, dark accents, natural wood, most color comes from greenery and maybe a colorful rug? Again, it’s a beautiful style I’d be happy to have in my home but different kinds of inspiration are nice too!
I’m sure these posts are a lot of work to put together, so thank you!
One reason I do this is to inspire others to share accounts. I encourage you to share as many different accounts and spaces that inspire you, no matter how large or small your platform is.
Here's a pair of maximalists in St. Louis: https://www.instagram.com/homescontent/ with only 133 followers. Nothing like CLJ aesthetic, but I love it! Lots of color, prints, patterns, happy wallpaper, and vintage.
Thank you for sharing this!
Julia, I started following CLJ years ago because I love all things home. I continue to follow you because of your heart. The way you lift others up is truly something to aspire to. Thank you for being such a good human:)