The rise of the home-decor influencers

We as a country love our festivities but the Covid-19 pandemic had cast a shadow on our lives, we could neither go out to celebrate with friends and family nor could we travel to our favourite destinations.  

Although we typically find solace in the comfort of our homes, continuous exposure to the same interiors can exacerbate the monotony of working from home. Redecorating your home, on the other hand, can often be an exciting and fulfilling pastime. 

There is a silver lining in every cloud; the pandemic cabin-fever led many creatives to the internet, to consume and generate new genres of pandemic inspired content. 

One such ingenious segment in the social media scene is the upswing of home-decor content creators in Bangladesh. Just scrolling through their feeds might make you realise that luxury is not the only thing you need to transform your home into a sanctuary.

This fresh category of influencers can also provide you with necessary details about home decor and help you shop better. 

The Business Standard reached out to three such creative decor influencers who are there to help you make your home feel cosier, more sophisticated and enrapturing to the eye.

Nazia Naf- Decor Apa on Budget

Nazia Sultana Naf, popularly known as Decor Apa, is a full-time employee in a research organisation. She took the decor influencer path on her birthday on 5 July, 2021. 

From a young age, she has been beautifying her room in the simplest and most budget-friendly ways. 

Earthy compositions like indoor plants, rattan furniture and DIY showpieces are her favourites. For Nazia, returning home after a long tiring day at the office, is happiness. 

"Back when I was suffering from depression, the lockdown enhanced it. But one day the idea to open a page came out of the blue and I decided to channel my passion even more constructively," she said.

"Our neighbouring countries are doing amazing things in this sector and since exquisite decor items are available in our country as well, we can do great as well," added Nazia.

She has been showcasing her interior design videos since last year. Now, she has more than 61,000 followers on Facebook. 

Her theme focuses on Bohemian eclecticism which is very compatible with frugal budgets. Her house does not even have a usual bed. She uses a palette bed, one of the modern approaches to stylise cost-effectively. 

Nazia aims to level up her social media game by exploring different platforms to share her passion for decorating. 

She shared that when she shifted to Esshordi due to her husband's work, their flat had only two rooms and limited furniture. But that empty flat felt like a blank canvas to her and she gave all her effort to decorate it  and turn it from a house into a home. 

"Any architect or interior designer would cost you a fortune. People who have the means should go for it, but what about the middle class? Or small families who want to create a beautiful home in a minimalistic way?" she said, adding, "my content is made to help people realise you do not need to make a dent in your pocket to make your apartment look sublime."

My Home Says- Saraf Fareen

Saraf Fareen is an entrepreneur who owns an online clothing store called 'The Muslin'. The busy mother of a six-year-old daughter shared that she is fond of many facets of design, whether it be clothes or spaces. 

She identifies herself as a home decor enthusiast. Her immaculate use of antique pieces separates her from the other influencers sharing this space.

"After getting married in 2014, I started to buy little things to decorate my home but I would not call myself a home decor enthusiast," she said.

Later in 2018, when she visited Lebanon and Turkey, she fell in love with their culture and that experience inculcated her interest in decorating. 

Travelling is also one of her hobbies and when travelling with her husband, he helps her a lot to find unique things for their home. Till now Saraf has travelled to 12 countries and she wishes to visit more. 

Her creativity got her featured in the September 2020 issue of the Showcase magazine. Saraf started off by sharing small DIY hacks back in 2020 and now she is posting insightful content consistently on her Instagram page:  'My Home Says'.

She said, "I like to influence people through writing thoughtful content about how I manage my decor, the styles I am following, the source of the products and beyond. Seeing my ideas being implemented gives me joy,"

Saraf further said that home decorating is a unique passion that everybody can not do. At present, we see people more engaged with fashion and lifestyle based influencers. However, Saraf foresees this sector to grow immensely over the next two to three years. 

Saraf has acquired 15k followers within the last five months and given that she promotes her page without boosting, it is quite the achievement. She expressed gratitude to her husband for being a great support as well as her friends and family.

She added, "If someone does not have passion and does not have hobbies, they cannot get the perfect outcome that I got after brainstorming designing ideas for a long time," 

She believes just expensive things can not make your home feel warm but having the drive to turn it into a serene space can. Simple decor can make your home look aesthetically pleasing. And this is what she encourages in her followers.

Farhana Shikder- Her Happy Place 

Farhana Shikder Brishty is a final year MBBS student who is passionate about finding beauty in small things. 

Her Instagram feed will remind you of those tranquil K-dramas where we find minimalist decor, which is aesthetically pleasing. Pursuing a medical degree and working as a content creator might sound hectic but Farhana enjoys both.

"When I was young, we used to have lifestyle magazines, which published different home decor ideas spread out over beautiful photographs. I always wanted to recreate those ideas," she said.

"Now, after growing up, I try my best to make those little dreams a reality, but with a digital twist," she added. 

Farhana gathers ideas mostly from Google and Pinterest, but just like Decor Apa, she tries to make her home cost-effectively alluring.

She started showcasing her creativity on Instagram in 2020 and more recently has diversified into a YouTube channel. 

We asked her about the secrets to making her home look eye-soothing and adorable. She replied, "It is difficult to mention one essential element. I use colourful cushion covers, mirrors, candles, lights, and flowers the most to decorate any space." 

She mentioned she always looks for cute items on different online pages, sometimes from local markets. "You can achieve the transformation you want just by using ingenuity and stuff that is available around you," she said. 

Farhana shared some nuggets of wisdom for those who want to pursue this path and said, "My suggestion would be to take inspiration from others but never copy them. Make your own identity, weave your imagination into your work and make them unique."