A few weeks ago, as I was struggling with what to do for Monsieur’s Valentine’s Day, I came across a gorgeous looking recipe @inagarten which I instantly knew would make the perfect gift for my well deserving chocoholic. The recipe was easy, the cake was to die for, and the next day I boasted of my baking prowess to Meg, showing her the luscious inspirational picture on Ina Garten’s Instagram site, to which she replied, “I made it too!”
We laughed at the power of Instagram and its seductive pictures that transport us to new places, fill us with ideas for improving our lives, open our eyes, our hearts, our stomachs and sometimes (especially late at night!) our wallets too.
Instagram has become an important part of our lives at Huff Harrington and providing the content is practically a full-time job. But it’s also a wonderful place to escape to, when you have a couple of minutes to spare, and some of the people and sites that we follow have become like old friends.
At Huff Harrington, we’re all a little obsessed with art, interiors, décor, travel and food! So I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise to see whom we follow on Insta. Although we’re calling this our top 20, we could easily have come up with our top 50 or 100! But here’s a little taste of who we love to follow on Instagram, and who better to kick it off with than Ina Garten, who can make a PB&J sandwich look mouth wateringly divine!
Another foodie that we love to follow is Patricia Wells, who posts delicious inspirations from her garden in Provence or her kitchen in Paris. Everything is seasonal and fresh, like this yummy looking mushroom ragout that she posted recently.
While in France, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention a couple of other favorites, like Provencallife, who posts frequently about her favorite haunts mostly in the Luberon valley, which of course is close to our hearts.
One that I'm particularly obsessed with, because I can't figure out how he gets these remarkable shots, is Raphael Metivet, whose Paris scenes capture incredible architectural details and reveal the stories behind them - sometimes quite intimately.
And it just takes a daily dose of @Parisperfectrentals to put us in the mood, especially the beautiful photographs by the talented Georgianna Lane -- and the stories by @leahtravels. One of the things that we love about Leah's posts for Paris Perfect is that they're often laced with humor or history, so it's definitely more than pretty pictures, although of course there's that too (it being Paris!).
Speaking of humor, we are all equally obsessed with the lovely @Indiahicksstyle, for her combination of grit, grace and humor and oh did we mention that she is stunningly gorgeous and royalty to boot? Her pedigree is such that you might expect her posts to be haughty or high brow but instead they're always laced with self deprecating humor combined with stunning images.
You might have gotten the wrong idea about this one, until you read her caption:
Another equally enticing Brit that we follow is @hayman_design who says he's a kitchen designer but also reposts enchanting garden design, usually sprinkled with crumbling walls, or faded shutters and sun dappled terraces. Each one brings a moment of sunshine and happy nostalgia into our lives!
Another ray of sunshine comes with the richly vibrant posts by @gmcguireinrome, who entices us with the day to day faded beauty of Rome and celebrates her love for the centuries of culture that have illuminated this historic city.
And that brings us to the height of elegance, the "stop in your tracks and gush" over the incredible beauty of Reschio, an enchanting hotel and residence I'm dying to visit in northern Italy.
We're all obsessed with houses, from the outside in, and "it's a house love story" captures that passion and says it all.
I'm also particularly impressed with modern architectural design, especially that which is environmentally conscious and ecologically savvy, like the ones posted by Danish designers @Vipp.
When we're shopping in Europe, we love bumping in to our friends from Down Under, who always have a great eye for the unique and fabulous and know exactly how to pull it all together, as in the posts by European Antiques New Zealand.
A little closer to home, from Canada, is a very talented designer whose beautifully photographed and stylized posts always stop my scroll. @kellyhopterinteriors has a great eye for the mix - and for accessorizing with unique and interesting "objets."
There are so many talented southern designers whose posts we love that we'll have to devote a whole blog to those some day. But if there's one who comes to mind for posting frequently and beautifully, it's @danawolterinteriors. While her posts are always stunning, and reflect her talent and appreciation for mixing antiques with modern elements, they're also laced with humor and humanity, so that you can glimpse the person behind the pretty pictures.
And here's another one who always puts a smile on my face! How can you resist the spirited posts by this New England designer who combines humor and fun with elegance and tradition. We've all decided that we're dying to have her come on one of our trips because we know she has a great eye ... and wouldn't @honeycollinsinteriors be so fun?
And speaking of combining talent and fun, if you don't follow @William_McLure, you are missing out on a barnyard of fun. I'm not sure if the producers of Netflix are on to him yet but I would give anything to be his agent! A talented artist, an amazing interior designer and a farmer to boot, with humor and sass - he's got it all. Look out, HGTV!
We also salute another talented southern designer who inspires us with her curated posts about subtle beauty and edited exquisiteness, @annewagonerinteriors. We admire Anne's eye for beautiful details, her appreciation of art and her love of the quieter pleasures of life.
And then there's us, @huffharrington. We're proud of our foray into Instagram and so thankful for our followers - and for our marketing guru who has the daunting job of posting something new and fresh every day! (You should be thankful for her too, because, as we learned from experience, you wouldn't want us doing it!)
It's taken us a few years to get in our groove, but we hope that our posts radiate our love of art, beauty, interiors, travel and most of all, humor, fun and you!
We thank all the talented designers, chefs, travel consultants, artists and other creatives who inspire us every day. They entertain us, educate us, feed us and sometimes taunt us, and they open our eyes, our minds, our imagination and yes, our pocketbooks. Through Instagram they've become our friends and we can't imagine our lives or our businesses without them.
HH
