Angela's TOP TEN home decor-related content creators

I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get sick of watching regular TV shows and films. And spending so much time inside my house means I'm lookin' around, thinking about making some changes. Ok, so I'm like that pretty much all the time, even when the country isn't on lockdown. That's why I follow approximately ONE MILLION Youtube channels.

Don't have a house? No problem! You don't need a house of your own to enjoy home improvement content, first, because it is SO relaxing and SO gratifying to watch but secondly because a lot of the content is renter-friendly. Can we go to the hardware store for supplies right now? No. Can we order what we need online? Maybe. But does that have to keep us from dreaming of having a nicer space? HELL NO!

Right now, the amount of content out there is overwhelming, and who has time to weed through it all to get to the good stuff? Here's where I come in! I've done it so you don't have to!

1. Daniel Kanter aka Manhattan Nest (Instagram and blog, respectively)

I've been following Daniel since 2010 when he first started as a student, renting a small apartment in New York and then a second place in Brooklyn. The transformations he accomplished on a tight budget in a small space are impressively inventive. And then he reversed everything when he moved out! But then, THEN he bought a lovely fixer-upper in upstate New York. THEN he bought another fixer-upper down the street. And he does freelance projects also!

Recently Daniel started ramping up his Instagram activity and LET ME TELL YOU - His Instagram stories are everything: funny, interactive, informative, and so, so, soooooo gratifying. I know you'll love him as much as I do. But we warned: his Instastories are ADDICTIVE. You will be checking in every few hours to see how he's getting on. You will literally long to watch paint dry, and you'll love it. And for the dog lovers, he has two rescue dogs that feature prominently!

2. Dashner Design and Restoration Youtube channel

This.... guy -- I don't even know what his name is or what his face looks like -- has one of the most soothing, comforting voices of all time. Based in Minneapolis, he restores (mostly) mid-century furniture that he gets from secondhand shops. He also has an Instagram account, but for me, the Youtube channel is where it's at. You'd think that watching someone strip finish off furniture narrated in a semi-monotone voice would be boring, but it's anything but! We watch his videos in an absolutely entranced state.

3. Alexandra Gater's Youtube channel

This Toronto, Canada native is just a joy to watch. Her style might be on the feminine side for some people, but certainly, the projects she features on her channel are extremely adaptable to anyone's taste. Her channels is particularly helpful to anyone living in a small space, which, let's face it, is most of us! But really it's her cheery yet sincere demeanor and down-to-earth delivery that makes the channel enjoyable to watch. Sometimes Youtubers can be a little... hard to watch, especially (sorry!) people from North America. But Alexandra is a study in poise and charm!

4. Alexandra Gater's Make My Space Work Youtube channel

As someone who works from home, I was delighted to see Alexandra Gater's new channel, Make My Space Work, where she makes over the workspaces of entrepreneurs in the Toronto area. They aren't always work-from-home spaces, but they're always fantastic with lots of great ideas that anyone can try in their own space.

5. HouzzTV 

Houzz.com is a website where homeowners can connect with designers, vendors, and retail outlets on renovation projects. It's actually an amazing resource because you can find people in your own area, and use Houzz tools to collaboratively design spaces remotely. And I know this because of the Houzz Youtube Channel, which, while it exists as a marketing tool, is also great watching. Their videos are as professionally produced as any television show. And they've a neat series where celebrities do surprise makeovers for friends and family members. If you want to watch drastic, tear-down-walls renovations, check out HouzzTV. There are videos that feature cool homes that haven't been heavily renovated too.

6. The Lowes Youtube channel

 Lowes is an American hardware store -- kind of like B&Q but bigger and, it must be said, much cooler. They actually sponsor a lot of great content creators, but their own Youtube channel is a bastion of great and useful videos. My hands-down favourite series is The Weekender with Monica Mangin -- the premise is that Monica and the homeowner(s), with the help of a carpenter, transform one space in a home in one weekend and five DIY projects (using products from Lowes, of course!). There are 4 fantastic Weekender series (it turns out series is both singular AND plural? who knew?).

Another Lowes series we really enjoyed was Our Little Warehome, where a family in Panama City, Florida turn an 80-year-old warehouse into a residential home. But there are so many other great playlists in the Lowes channel, like Garden ideas, DIY Painting tutorials, really cool tutorials on turning boring doors and walls into architectural features, kitchen idea videos, bathroom ideas, and lots more, especially for DIY how-tos.

7. Apartment Therapy website and Youtube channel

Apartment Therapy is great for everything from IKEA hacks, house tours (specifically cool stuff that people have done with very small spaces), house plant tips, organizing tips, cooking tutorials, and design inspo of all kinds.

8. Mr. Kate Youtube channel

I guess you could say that I'm an old-school 'creative weirdo', which is what Kate, aka Mr. Kate, calls her followers. It's been pretty wild to watch the channel go from a fairly small operation to an interior decoration tour de force. Now joined by husband Joey (and often with new baby Moon in tow), the couple now do lots of different kinds of makeovers, from low budget to $$$. One of the things I love about Kate's approach is that she is always in for a bargain, uses loads of second-hand items, repurposes items inventively, and always adds an element of whimsy to the spaces she decorates. Kate and Joey can be a little on the schmoopy side, but jesus these days I think we could all do with seeing happy people doing things they enjoy together that make other people happy too. I really love when they re-do a follower's space -- it seems to always be on the channel's dime and they're great at choosing people in need, so the makeovers can often be emotional and cathartic. Yes, catharsis from a home decorating channel is a thing.

9. Engineer Your Space Youtube channel

Isabelle LaRue, the host of Engineer Your Space, is probably the most 'real' of all the home-focused channels I follow in the sense that she primarily features solutions she created for her own space, and the apartments she has featured are very ordinary, average apartments that many people will have experience with. Therefore, all of her ideas are renter-friendly, budget-friendly, maximise space, but they're really inventive! Some of them are nearly magical. But she gives step-by-step instructions that I think anyone could follow. Her style isn't to my taste, but the details of her projects are very customisable.

10. Lone Fox Youtube channel

I have really warmed to Drew Scott, the Lone Fox host. When I first started watching the channel a while back, you could tell that he had some nerves during filming, and his projects don't always turn out as planned or how I would have done them, but I've loved watching him evolve over time and tackle projects in other people's spaces, with great results! Drew does a lot of upcycling, 'thrift flips' and hacks, which is perfect for people on a budget. He just seems like a really nice, humble person and I don't know, there's an underdog quality about him that just makes me want to root for him. But also, he's got nice ideas, too.