Comment: Why we’re all about the Instagram interiors – even if they’re not as perfect as they look

Oh, to be a social media influencer - simply share a few snaps and – ker-ching! – more free things than you know what to do with. Well, who wouldn’t want a piece of that action?

This is the dream currently being lived out (on Instagram) by countless design-savvy individuals, who’ve found that offering a virtual window to their lovely homes can be quite lucrative.

Richard Burton focused on three Herts-based influencers in this week’s feature and it’ll be an eye-opener to anyone who still thinks interiors magazines are our only source of home design inspiration.

Having checked out their accounts I can confirm that: 1. stair runners are all the rage; 2. no roll top bath is complete without a pompom bathmat; 3. a photogenic dog is as important as a carefully positioned Fortnum & Mason hamper or trunk.

I’m sure being an influencer is harder than it looks, mind – if you’re going to convince the masses you’re a style leader you’re going to need some actual style first – a quick glance around my own place confirms that piles of discarded clothes on The Chair and a sideboard stacked with kid clutter does not an Insta-influencer make.

Influencers are good at arranging stuff. Before me right now I see an iron, a box of Minecraft Lego and a hairbrush jostling for space atop a chest of drawers. That’s not inspirational, is it? That’s just mess. It’s not what followers want.

One influencer made the press last week with a series of before and after shots of her lovely Leeds home, taken in its natural state and after its rooms had been curated to the max to fit her feed. The post by Katie Wild, aka @comedowntothewoods (who has a roll top bath, a staircase runner and a photogenic dog) has gone viral and doubtless added to her 70k-plus following in the process.

Check out these ladies’ feeds and see what you think. Me, I feel inspired, inadequate and in need of a whole house overhaul.