Ireland's home influencers reveal what it's like to open up their living spaces

We talk to leading Irish social media content creators to discover what it's like to open the doors to their lives and homes

Tiffany Rea has always been interested in interiors.

CATHERINE CARTON

Catherine Carton of Dainty Dress Diaries (@daintydressdiaries) was one of the first Irish home influencers to grace our screens, having set up her home, garden, and lifestyle page back in 2014.

The Dublin native says: “I try to post about DIY projects and to show people how they can use what they already have.

Catherine Carton: "There’s just such a sense of satisfaction with helping people with little things"

“I try to be a little more conscious. I don’t do huge renovations. It’s more about how you can improve your home on a budget.”

Catherine, now a bestselling author, first started posting on her website and on social media in 2014 and has been working as a content creator full-time since she was made redundant last year. In just eight years, her followers have grown to over 89,700 on Instagram and 245,000 on YouTube.

“I bought my house in 2013 and I couldn’t afford anything. I never realised how expensive sofas and kitchen tables were, so I started looking at what I could do with second-hand stuff, and I would share my projects on Instagram,” she says.

“I discovered the lovely interior community that was there. It was really easy back then to find like-minded people who were also into cottage decor. I started painting and sewing and we all interacted.”

Nearly a decade later, Catherine still enjoys interacting with her followers as much as she did when she first started out. “I get such a buzz from inspiring other people. For example, I turned a milk carton into a basket years ago and put it on my channels and I still get people telling me they made it,” she says.

Catherine Carton: "I turned a milk carton into a basket years ago and put it on my channels and I still get people telling me they made it.”

“People will also message me to say they stencilled some tiles or painted their kitchen after seeing my posts or that they saved money because of my page. There’s just such a sense of satisfaction with helping people with little things like that.”

However, the social media landscape has also transformed since she first set up Dainty Dress Diaries. People want more than just photos and blog posts; they want videos and special effects — and they want them quickly.

According to a survey conducted by Canadian researchers for Microsoft last year, the average person now loses interest in what they’re watching online after just eight seconds.

“Back in 2014, Instagram was just static pictures, there were no reels or stories. Then the platform started to grow and video content became more and more popular. It’s changed so much, and it’s just gotten so big,” Catherine says.

“With the rise of TikTok, it’s become extremely fast-paced.

“Everyone wants a 10-second reel on Instagram now, they don’t want a 10-minute-long video. So, I use YouTube a lot more now because I still want to show people how to do things in my videos.

“I’ve seen people try to keep up and do things just because an algorithm is favouring it. I try not to fall into the trap of creating just for the sake of creating.”

Catherine Carton: “I try to be a little more conscious. I don’t do huge renovations. It’s more about how you can improve your home on a budget.”

There can be a lot of pressure involved with running a page like Catherine’s and as more content creators emerged over the years, she did feel like she needed to post as much as possible. However, now she has a set schedule, posting on Thursdays and Sundays.

“I like to think of my community over an algorithm,” she says. “So, I post two videos a week on my YouTube channel and anything that I post in between is just a little bonus. I also set aside a time to reply to comments and have a chat with people.

Catherine Carton: “I bought my house in 2013 and I couldn’t afford anything. I never realised how expensive sofas and kitchen tables were."

“My advice for anyone trying to set up a page would be to post on the same day every week and really engage with people on that day. You will find your community and when you do, you should focus on them.”

As much as she enjoys sharing with the world, can it be overwhelming to have thousands of people following her life? 

“I do have boundaries. It’s easier on some platforms, like YouTube, where there’s no direct messaging. However, I have to turn off my messages on Instagram and Facebook because I just can’t reply to everyone. It’s too overwhelming. 

"Instead, if I get a common question, I’ll post a detailed answer on my website,” Catherine says.

“I also don’t share certain things, for instance, I never post photos of the front of my house or share pictures of my family or details of my relationships. I always say that I would prefer people to learn from me instead of looking at me.”

SUSAN BUCKLEY

An open book, Cork creator Susan Buckley of SueDan House (@sue_dan_house) has also felt the effects of the changing online landscape. With more than two billion people using Instagram, she too finds she needs to be mindful of what she posts for her 56,500 followers.

“I think you have to have a very strong head on you to do this and you can’t care about what anyone else thinks. I’m very easygoing but that has changed a little since I’ve had kids. People saying anything about my children is a big no,” says the mum of two.

Susan and Daniel with their children. "People saying anything about my children is a big no,” says the mum of two.

“Content has also changed. It’s really down to reels and I’m the worst person with technology, so it can be really stressful trying to keep up.” 

Susan, known as Sue to her followers, first set up her Instagram page in 2019 after building her dream home outside of Ballincollig with her husband Dan.

While many find the process of building stressful, Susan says she would do it again “in a heartbeat”.

Susan first set up her Instagram page in 2019 after building her dream home outside of Ballincollig with her husband Dan.

It takes a lot to stress the 30-year-old out, evident in the fact that the couple had their wedding just three days after moving into their home.

“I’ve always loved interiors and looking at houses, even as a child, and we love where we live. We’ve been together for 17 years, and I always loved this site. I remember walking along the wall here when I was younger and now it’s the entrance to my home. It’s crazy,” Susan says.

And how did SueDan House first come about? “I just thought I’d set up an Instagram page for my friends and family so they could follow our building journey and it just grew from there. 

"I’ve always been a people person and love answering questions, and it’s kind of become a lifestyle account. It was all a bit of potluck, to be honest,” Susan says.

Susan and Daniel's kitchen.

“I just love entertaining people and chatting to my followers. My followers are more than just followers to me, it’s really personal.”

What makes Sue’s page so popular, she thinks, is her relatability. “Some influencers out there just post about their rosy gardens but that’s not real life. We all have messy kitchens and have a down day.

"Life is hard. It’s hard to afford nice things for a house and to keep a house clean with children. So, I try to keep it as real as possible.”

A bedroom in Susan Buckley's home.

Although Susan is very active online, she still works as a hairdresser, and often says no to brand partnerships unless she really believes in a product. She agrees that her home has sort of become a business, but doesn’t mind letting people in.

“I’m totally okay with it. I love showing everything. I’m a little apprehensive about showing my kids online, but with everything else, I’m an open book,” she says.

MATTHEW AND TIFFANY REA

When it comes to sharing online, Matthew and Tiffany Rea have mastered the art of separating the personal and private. As an Ulster rugby player and a former Miss Northern Ireland, the couple are accustomed to receiving attention online but that doesn’t make dealing with it easy.

In 2020, Tiffany made her Instagram page private due to online trolls.

However, the 32-year-old decided to start a new public page called The Rea Project (@thereaproject) with Matthew, 29, last year after the couple purchased a bungalow in her hometown of Holywood, Co. Down.

After deciding to knock the original house and build from scratch, they began to document their journey — all while planning a wedding in three months during the pandemic.

The living area in Tiffany and Matthew Rea's home.

“When we bought the house, we had great plans to renovate what was there. It was built in 1981 and by the time we had priced renovating it and bringing up the standard, it was cheaper to knock it down. So that is what we did, and we started again and built something bigger and better than we had originally planned,” Tiffany says.

“Amazingly, it wasn’t stressful at all. We had unbelievable contractors who were so efficient. Alskea Contracts started the foundations in August and finished the house on December 24. Their client attention is second to none and we were involved in every step of the way.

The Rea Project: Matthew and Tiffany Rea took a Scandinavian approach to their design.

“The hardest part was keeping up with them on the decision-making side of things.”

As associate partner in her father’s estate agency business, Simon Brien Residential, Tiffany has always been interested in interiors. So, it’s no surprise that she’s helped build a home that has attracted over 21,300 Instagram followers.

“We both love interiors and property. I’ve been involved in property all my life because my father is an estate agent, and my mother was a surveyor.

“Dinner-table chat has been work and property for as long as I can remember. I started working in my father’s business when I left school and over 10 years later, I am still here and absolutely adore what I do,” she says.

“Matthew studied mechanical engineering at Queens University and is very good on the numbers side of things and is surprisingly good at interior design. As a pair, we thoroughly enjoyed doing our build together.”

When it came to decoration, the couple went for a Scandinavian approach, with neutral but cosy interiors that their Instagram followers adore.

Even though the building is done, The Rea Project continues to flourish online.

“We really enjoyed sharing our build journey, from making the choices for tiles to choosing the furniture, and the page continues to grow all the time which is great. It’s so nice that people are interested in what we have done,” Tiffany says.

A bedroom at Tiffany and Matthew Rea's home.

“We don’t feel under any pressure to post on the account. We both are really busy with our jobs, so the account is just a bit of fun on the side. We only post when we have something nice to show people.” 

And is there pressure when it comes to sharing online? “We generally keep our page to just the house rather than our personal lives. It helps keep it less pressured.”

TOP TIPS

Catherine: “Look at what you already have. Can you refresh it or move it around?

“Shop from your house. You don’t need to get something new. Move a vase or a lamp from the bedroom to the living room. A little reorganising and a good deep clean can do wonders.”

Sue: “Get a packet of Wonder Cloths by Green Genie. Wonder Cloths only use water, and you just need one wet one and one dry. Everyone needs them in their life.”

Matthew and Tiffany: “You can very inexpensively spruce up your home with bits from high street retailers like H&M, Zara, Ikea, Dunelm or Wayfair.

“There is so much choice now and by simply adding cushions, indoor plants or a good rug it can transform a space.

“We regularly shop in these places and think the quality and style these places offer is great for the price.”