I recently read a blog post from Kelly at The Tattered Pew (found here) where she passed along invaluable information she learned after hearing Liz Marie Glaven speak at a recent vintage market held in Colorado. Her post prompted me to jot down a few thoughts I’ve wanted to write for a while. 

Many of you follow me on Instagram. I love getting direct messages looking for tips on growing an Instagram account/brand, specifically in the Farmhouse décor world. So I encourage you to cross-reference my article with Kelly’s (that also includes one from Liz Marie’s Blog found here) to make the most of this blog post. Between the three of us, I think you’ll get a TON of great info. 

I started posting Farmhouse décor on my personal Instagram page about a year in a half ago. I’ll have to say, at first, I felt a bit uncomfortable. What would people think? Are they wondering why I’m taking pictures of my home and sharing them? LOL. But, this was a way for me to pursue what I loved (home decorating) while still working a full-time position as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I learned quickly that the farmhouse community was an incredibly encouraging and supportive network, something I knew I wanted to be a part of.  

Over the next few months, the Lord led me to rename/rebrand my account to She Gave It A Go. Not only had I found a place to exercise my creativity, but I also found a platform that seemed to be accepting and encouraging of me sharing my faith and information/resources from my Marriage and Family therapy background. (Plus all things farmhouse!) And so She Gave It A Go was born. 

Reflecting back on my personal journey so far, along with the wonderful articles referenced above, here are three tips I’d like to share with you today. I want the chance to think about this a little more and share more in the future. But let’s get started!

Give it a go!

This sound repetitive, but I want you to hear me say in a cheering voice, give it a go! My name clearly states what I did, and I believe each and every one of you can and should too. You are gifted with certain talents and abilities and if you feel like pursing farmhouse decorating and sharing is where you want to go, then go for it! You will not meet a more encouraging and supportive community.

Make friends!

Speaking of an encouraging and supportive community, I learned early on that there were people who I’d consistently be connecting with, whether it was through comments they left on my post or vice versa. These people have become my personal (although virtual) friends. I would encourage you to build a group of folks you can ride with!

Be a consistent commenter. Encourage people. Share what they’re doing. And reach out more directly by sending them a DM. This can lead to many open doors such as joining/creating hashtag groups, being a part of giveaways, or just daily encouragement on this journey. I can name at least 20 people right off the bat that started their journeys around the same time I did, and we talk daily through DMs! There are also some great mentors in this community that offer “classes” and groups for what they call “décor newbies.” This is another great way to get to know people too and have an opportunity to be mentored along the way.

Share your home, efficiently!

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started, was thinking that I needed to share each and every corner of our home; from my children’s bedrooms to our kitchen and every space in between. This led to much fretting over moving things around just to get the perfect vignette or spending money on items that I may not use but just for the picture. I’ve learned over time, that it is 100% okay to share the same spaces over and over again. The idea though is to keep it interesting.  So, share different angles of your space (i.e., full room view, close up view, birds eye view), swap out some of the décor seasonally (i.e., fur pillows in winter time with linen pillows in the summer time), or hold up your favorite mug with the space in the background. There are countless ways to share your spaces, be creative! 

I will post more tips on getting started in the future, but wanted to start off with these three. I’m thrilled that you’re thinking about or maybe have already started this farmhouse décor journey on Instagram. Feel free to ask me questions below, I’d love to answer them here. Also, what tips have you discovered yourself?