Meet the new home design talents

Let’s face it – deep cleaning the washing machine isn’t a sexy chore. Is it even a task that needs to be done, and how do you go about doing it?

When Ange Foong posted an Instagram reel on how she cleans her washing machine, the clip was viewed more than 70,000 times with 541 users clicking the ‘like’ button.

Foong showed how to remove lint from the machine and also included details on the tools she used. While a handful of followers publicly commented on how she inspired them to clean their washers, it is likely that even more were quietly doing the same.

Social media influencers posting about fashion, beauty products, food, fitness regimes and holiday destinations have been the rage in Singapore for years, but in the last two years, the number of houseproud owners showing their homes to strangers have grown.

Foong declines to reveal her previous job, but is now a full-time content creator, documenting life in her 1,206 sq ft resale flat at an undisclosed location, on her @foongfamilyflat account. She lives with her husband, who is with the Singapore Armed Forces.

She started the account in January 2021, and today has garnered 21,800 followers. Her initial posts were mostly of their home renovation process with plenty of before-and-after pictures, personal experiences such as design regrets, a list of shopping places and items worth buying and product reviews. Her more recent posts are on housekeeping hacks.

“I was in my home, waiting for a delivery to arrive when I decided to post some pictures,” says Foong, on what got her started. “It was an exciting time as we finally had a place of our own to style.”

She adds: “Due to lockdown restrictions, it was difficult for friends and family to visit then, so posting on @foongfamilyflat was a good way to show our home. It was purely for fun then.”

A post about the couple’s open kitchen did particularly well, with followers asking how they managed to contain cooking smells. She is happy to share tips because, “it is all about sharing experiences with the community”.

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Documenting the home building journey

Most home design Instagram accounts in Singapore were set up as a way for their owners to document the home renovation process. One of these is @ourslowhouse. 

Ying, who prefers to share only her first name, started the account three years ago, “to document the random snippets of our lives as we navigate adulthood and setting up our first home – which was a huge milestone for us”, she says. She and her husband both have day jobs, but she declines to elaborate.

The couple designed their four-room flat in central Singapore themselves, with plenty of warm wood tones and loose furniture so that they can move things around easily.

“We also wanted a home with character and stories, so we have plenty of open shelving that showcases our knick-knacks from our travels or childhood. Our home is basically a collection of our experiences and things that we like,” says Ying.

These decorative items come in handy as she documents spots around her home. The living room, kitchen and service yard are frequently featured as these areas get the best natural light. 

For Mary, who runs @house_no_6, rebuilding her childhood home was an overwhelming process, but she found solace in a community of like-minded people on Instagram, who identified with her struggles and shared advice, which made her feel less alone. She declined to share her last name.

She also started the account as a way of capturing inspiration and ideas and “trying to make sense of what I wanted and needed in my space,” says Mary, who holds a corporate job. She lives in a good class bungalow in Bukit Timah with her partner, sister and mother.

The house is now complete, but Mary is still keeping up with her posts. “Capturing content has helped me appreciate my home more,” she says. “It went from being something stressful to something that I derive pleasure and satisfaction from.”

One mixed couple, who only want to be known as Daria and Faizal, successfully sold their home, thanks to Instagram. Daria, who works in the events industry started #ourresalehdb because the couple (she’s Italian, while he is Singaporean with Chinese, Malay, Indian and Sinhalese ancestry) faced ethnic quota restrictions when they were selling their resale HDB flat. She hit upon the idea of listing the flat on Instagram to get free publicity, and the flat was sold four months later.

She now runs @ourresalepenthouse, as “I had gotten better at creating content and had amassed a sizeable following that I enjoyed updating with new content”. She posts renovation pictures of their resale penthouse and shots of the home, which she describes as a mix of Mediterranean, modernist and South-east Asian styles.

Will professional designers be out of jobs?

With more homeowners turning to content creators for design inspiration for their homes, how are professional designers taking it?

“Not everyone can afford an interior designer,” says Emma Maxwell, founder of her eponymous interior design firm. “Having more conversations in the world about design can only be a good thing. It empowers everyone to want to create a better living environment around themselves. Design should be egalitarian.”

Interior designer Stacey Leong says design content creators have found their niche on Instagram, sharing beautiful project images and reels on the platform with plenty of real-life tips and advice thrown in. 

“Followers are very savvy and gravitate towards authentic content based on reality especially in the local context,” says Leong, who runs her eponymous firm. Based on her experience, her followers want design ideas, practical guides on where to source, how to navigate contractors, and she feels that there is an information gap which needs filling. 

She is cautious about what she posts and shares. “My priority is always to my clients and much as I love to share more with my Instagram community, there is a clear line I have to draw,” says Leong. Many of her clients prefer to keep their homes offline. “I have a policy not to share what could be considered proprietary advice. It’s an entirely different approach to social media because I have to be careful to share enough but not so much that it chases my clients away.” @ourresalepenthouse’s Daria feels that home design accounts like hers differ from the professional ones, because she is able to share her personal experiences. 

“Interior design firms usually share completed projects with a certain theme, such as Scandinavian or mid-modern. I think my followers come to @ourresalepenthouse for an example of interior design and styling that is not cookie cutter and I like to think they enjoy reading my content where I share our experience as homeowners,” she says.

Her previous home was featured on homeware brand, Scene Shang’s website, which garnered her more local followers. The couple had already been Scene Shang’s customers even before the feature.

Pamela Ting, co-founder of Scene Shang says: “We find that these content creators are going through a process that many new homeowners go through. New homeowners gain more relevant inspiration versus styled shots on Pinterest when they see what these content creators post,” she says. “Content creators help drive the correct audiences to brands like us. They help us style our pieces in a real home, which is an added channel for us to reach potential buyers.” Foong says that there is space for both professional interior designers and content creators like herself. “People like having access to a wealth of knowledge, so it’s nice to hear from both groups.”

Keep it authentic

Home design content creators say keeping things real keeps followers engaged.

Ying, of @ourslowhouse, will never show her home office on social media for privacy reasons, but she will show how dirty her vinyl floor is after three years of living in. “It is gross, but we share honest snippets of life and home making which adds authenticity,” she says. 

She also hosts Q&A sessions periodically, and replies to most DMs and comments. “I do chat with some of our followers on a regular basis, and sometimes we even group buy stuff together,” she says. 

Geraldine Toh of @ochre.home, says that nearly every spot of her resale executive apartment in Tampines has been shown on Instagram – even the bathrooms and storeroom. 

“Some might deem these spots less presentable, but we want to show our audience that it is alright for parts of your home to not look picture-perfect all the time, how the home constantly changes, and that our content always reflects our reality and current state of living,” says Toh. One of @house_no_6’s reels that went viral with over two million views was a time-lapse video of Mary and her partner setting up their living room shortly after moving in. She still doesn’t understand why the reel went viral, but guesses that the best moments are the unplanned and authentic ones. “The ones that are just a reflection of your life, and not overly-curated. I think people respond to that more these days,” she says. 

And when it comes to brand collaborations, being authentic is top priority. Items that these content creators receive are mostly cleaning supplies and home appliances.

Mary doesn’t promise brand reviews or posts unless she’s personally tried the product and found it to be of good quality and useful.

“If I do post, it’s from the perspective of a customer, and not an influencer. I’m not a mouthpiece for the brand; I’m just a customer who’s sharing a product I like,” she says. 

Foong includes pros and cons in her product reviews and is careful about declaring a particular product as the best. “Followers are smart, and they can tell when the content is sponsored. I also owe it to my long-time followers to share only what’s real,” she says.

Beyond posts and reels

Most content creators are doing this as a weekend project, but there are those who are making it a full-time profession.

Almost a year after she started @foongfamilyflat, Foong found herself spending more time on  content creation than on her previous day job. “It was difficult trying to juggle two equally demanding jobs,” says Foong, who decided to go into content creating full-time at the start of this year. 

She feels that because she is one of the few early starters in this genre, she has the first-mover advantage. She declines to disclose figures but says she is landing monthly brand deals. “It has been an incredible and exciting journey. I’m just riding the wave while I can,” says Foong.

Toh and her husband Vincent Lim started @ochre.home three years ago by providing products and services that new homeowners, like themselves, may appreciate. 

“We spent great effort making our house a home and wanted a platform to offload our plethora of home photos excitedly taken, which garnered quite a bit of attention on social media,” says Toh. 

A follower reached out to Toh asking for help styling her home. Soon she started getting more requests for interior styling and art commissions.

She decided to give up her art educator job to become a full-time stylist and artist. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to juggle interior styling while still holding a full-time job,” says Toh, who has given herself a year to be an interior stylist.

Her account now is still filled with pictures of their home, as well as clients’ homes. The couple have also branched out into curating and retailing custom furniture.

Unlike interior designers who handle renovations, Toh says her focus is more on styling and furnishing. Her style is particularly popular with homeowners who like her cosy and lived-in look. 

While her income comes from various sources of services, Toh says, “for those who do solely content creation in interior and design, it is possible to earn enough to make a good living as long as they remain driven and are able to secure well-paying projects consistently”.