Blog Interview With the Talented Inspire Me Home Decor

      I'm excited to share a blog interview with Farah, the talented designer behind Inspire Me Home Decor.  I have always been inspired by her Instagram page and all the stunning photos she shares with us. I was also curious to know the face behind this beautiful account, who is Inspire Me Home Decor and how did this great page come about? So, I am getting a little up close and personal to give you an insight of one of the most popular interior design accounts followed on Instagram.  

     Over the coarse of a few months, it has been a pleasure working and getting to know Farah, she is very sweet! Farah gave a thorough answer to each of my questions and I truly enjoyed reading her comments. In this interview, Farah not only shares a glimpse of her flair for interior design, but how Inspire Me Home Decor was created.  For those of you who wants to start doing what you're really passionate about but don't know how or where to start; this interview might just help give you that inspiration. You really don't know how far your passion will take you unless you try :)

 Hope you enjoy the interview!  

Designs By Laila ~

* Hello Farah, thanks for joining me on this blog interview. First off, I like to congratulate you on your new website, you must be excited! How do you feel about Inspire Me Home Decor being the number one interior design page followed on Instagram?

Inspire Me Home Decor ~

Hi Laila, thank you for inviting me to be a part of your beautiful and inspiring blog! Thank you for your kind words, I am excited and humbled to say the least! The following base for Inspire Me Home Decor has truly exceeded my expectations. I am honored that people have taken to my taste and style and have chosen my page to serve as their platform for their daily dose of interior design inspiration. 

Designs By Laila ~

* How would you describe your design/decor style?

Inspire Me Home Decor;

My style has evolved and changed along the years as I explored with different designs until I found what makes me happy and that is Transitional with an infusion of glam elegance and a cozy inviting feel. Some people would think glam and cozy don't work together, but you would be surprised how a few textures and elements can add a level of coziness to a space without compromising the overall style of the room.

Designs By Laila ~

* On your blog, you mentioned you had a passion for home decor ever since you were a child. Your passion led you to open a home decor page on Instagram that allowed you to share what inspires you with the world. Today, you inspire over 3 million people daily with your decor posts, where do you like to be in the next 5 years?

Inspire Me Home Decor ~

Yes, weird right? Sitting in class I would doodle in my notebook and draw what my ideal bedroom would look like. My mom was always my inspiration as she always designed furniture and redecorated our home. So this was always a part of my life growing up and I was always exposed to it. I saw first hand how redecorating a space can make a huge impact in the way you feel emotionally and mentally. I carried that passion with me. As I began to explore with Instagram when I first made my personal account, I loved the idea of everything being visual and the interaction that came a long with each post. As we were gearing up for home renovations in my house, I took to Instagram to search for added inspiration to my vision. I really did not want to explore any other social media outlets since Instagram is truly my favorite. When I could not find a page that shared my style, I decided to secretly start my own page. I never told anyone about it for fear of failure, or that it might not take off. Once I reached 500 followers, and keep in mind, back then, 500 was a lot! That's when I told my friends and family about Inspire Me Home Decor. 

As for my goals, I have a lot of ideas but sometimes what you think will work might not necessarily take off so I am taking it one step at a time. I can say that I do have bigger goals for the website. I want to turn it into a one stop platform for my followers just like Instagram is. Except on Instagram you are limited with what you can post and that is where my website will come in. There are more projects in the works but you will have to tune in and see! 

Designs By Laila ~

* What has been the most challenging moment in your journey so far and how do you motivate yourself to keep up with your decor posts daily? Sometimes I find myself taking social media breaks just to spend more time with family, friends or have a little "me time" How does it work for you?

Inspire Me Home Decor ~

Thank you for that question! Some people may think that this is just another page where posts are going up but that is not the case. A lot of thought, time, research and energy goes into keeping up with your page, your posts and comments that get posted. I used to go over every comment and respond to every singe question and that took a huge toll on me. I would say that was when it became challenging. I did not want to be the page that was just about posts. I want to have a connection with my followers. But as your page grows, so do the number of comments and questions and I am talking an average of 500 up to over 1000 comments per image. I had to learn to walk away and allocate certain times to read through comments and answer as many as I can. I unfortunately cannot answer every question and respond to every feed back and its really hard for me but it is what it is. I try my best and as long as I know I did that, I feel better. That is why I started the Q&A posts once or twice a week. That gives me time to connect with  my followers and answer their questions directly.

Family comes first to me always and Inspire Me Home Decor has turned into my creation and my work and they understand that. It's all about self discipline. Now can I take a couple days off for "me time"? No I can't and honestly I wouldn't want to because Inspire Me Home Decor has become a part of me now. I took a weekend off once from Inspire Me Home Decor so that I can focus on painting my daughters' lounge room. I was checking in on my page after a whole day of not posting and I had a message from one of my followers asking me if I am okay... she missed my daily posts and wanted to make sure everything was okay with me. Gosh that almost made me cry! Needless to say, a post went up 5 min later. 

Designs By Laila ~

* If someone walked up to you asking how or where to start with what their passionate about, what would be your best advice?

Inspire Me Home Decor ~

It might sound cliche but I cannot stress enough how important it is to follow what makes you happy, what makes your heart skip a beat and what makes you want to dance in excitement! Before all this happened, I was attending school and getting my political science degree and the goal was law school right after. Gosh it felt like I was going through the motions and I was miserable! I noticed the excitement and sense of fulfillment I would get any time I decorated my home, helped a friend with home decor ideas etc. I couldn't figure out why that sense of happiness was just not there with my studies. Three semesters short of graduating I decided I had to stop and do some soul searching. My decision to stop what I thought was the right thing to do and follow what made me dance in excitement was the best decision I have ever made. I enrolled in interior design school and a few months later started my page. Now I am a lead virtual stager, I have a platform that inspires people and launched my website in the hopes of expanding Inspire Me Home Decor. 

Stick to what you love and enjoy, work and surround yourself with that passion and watch how you will flourish and find ways to share that passion with others. Look at you and the ladies/gentlemen in the Instagram community who have a passion for interior design. I have watched you start a page, grow your page, start blogs and surround yourself with good company that share the same passion. The moment you decided to go for what you love, you have figured out the rest as you went along. 

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Thank you so much for reading along as I enjoyed having you!

Have a great day!

xo
Laila