Confession: I'm addicted to Instagram.

Instagram's a funny thing. The lure of the share, the pursuit of perfection, the illusion of having it all together, when in fact everything is a chaotic mess. I'd love to show you how it really is, but I don't want to cramp my Insta style. I admit, I look at my grid and go ahhhh, I like that. I see a photo that looks out of place and I delete it. But here's the thing, I like my Insta-space! And I like it polished. It's like...a little square of order amongst the chaos, a little piece of happy and a little feeling within that ahhhh, I just made something look great even though the three year old has just unmade all the beds, and last night's dishes are still all over the bench.

Some people don't mind sharing their mess. And I don't mind seeing it. I prefer not to share mine. Admittedly, I am a tad okay a lot OCD. I'm constantly cleaning up around everyone and wiping walls and vacuuming, oh man, I love vacuuming. I need to go to vacuuming rehab. And how I love seeing the beautifully curated feeds of some of these amazing people I follow on Instagram. Not so much perfect happy families as that usually makes me feel like crap, especially if the kids are melting down (or I am). But ones who post the beauty in the every day. Sometimes staged and styled. Sometimes curated. Other times little moments caught on camera. I'm fully aware of the illusion of perfection, in whatever form that may come - parenting, your home, interiors, the perfect life, the perfect family, the perfect meal, holiday....and I know that everyone has a behind the scenes. Sometimes Instagram is a bit like "oh look at all the shiny happy people ugh", and I know that I'm guilty of portraying a shiny happy little insta world, even when things seem to be crumbling around me. But you know what, sometimes I just like to escape the 'scenes' and pretend for a bit that there is no drama, and create a beautiful shot, and capture a lovely moment. And what sometimes happens is, I'm no longer pretending. Creating the moment, even if curated, has created an actual moment. It's like a portal into a happy place. Do you know what I mean? I'm rambling...

So I thought I'd share with you some images of my little studio, "as is". I resisted the temptation to clean and sort it before taking photos. I honestly went in with my camera and took photos of exactly how it was. Admittedly, the benchtop was clear because I was putting together a flatlay - this is one of about ten spots around my house (inside and out) that I take photos. So you'll see a little 'behind the scenes' of a flatlay as well.

My studio is a narrow little room at the back of the house, overlooking the back garden. Even though it's a small space (approximately 1.8m wide by 5m long) it has amazing light - with a window overlooking the garden, and a glass door at each end of the room. It's a lean-to room at the back of the house, I'm not sure quite what it used to be - a wash house perhaps? The previous owners painted it all white (yay), and it has a large built in work bench/desk - also painted white. Perfect for flatlays!

Here it is, piles of junk I mean treasures and all....oh and props, far too many props.

OUTSIDE THE SQUARE - BEHIND THE SCENES IN MY LITTLE STUDIO

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