Grant Pierrus, blogger, influencer and CEO and founder of Interior Style Hunter has recently been awarded the coveted Luxury Lifestyle Awards title for TOP 100 Best Luxury Influencers & Bloggers in the World for 2022. We spoke with Pierrus about his luxury interior design blog and his commitment to inspiring others with his passion for design and lifestyle and his core belief that “everybody should have access to good design”.

Luxury Lifestyle Awards: Congratulations on your recent win, in the category of TOP 100 Best Luxury Influencers & Bloggers in the World for 2022! What a remarkable achievement! Tell us what went through your mind upon receiving the fantastic news?

Grant Pierrus: I was thrilled to receive such a wonderful award. We have worked hard over many years to establish ourselves in the luxury influencer and blogging markets, and the recognition for all our hard work is a wonderful thing to receive.

LLA: The success that you have achieved with Interior Style Hunter is astonishing. What was the catalyst that prompted the idea of a luxury interior design and lifestyle blog?

GP: It was just after I had studied interior design and styling at Central St Martins that I decided to set up the blog. I knew that blogging was a phenomenal way to build a brand, attract an audience and create a profile for myself in a sector that I didn’t really know that well at the time. Nine years later, some of those original blog posts that I wrote at the start of this journey are still some of our most popular today.

LLA: Grant, tell us a little about yourself and the factors and influences that contributed to your success as being one of the world’s best influencers and bloggers in luxury interior design and lifestyle.

GP:  I am engaged and interested in what defines something as luxury. What we have learnt over the years is that if a design product needs the word luxury to define itself, it almost always isn’t. Storytelling that brings together art, craft, skill, material, vision, and creativity is what adds value to an item, it’s what elevates it to a luxurious level. I love to find these stories, I am really passionate about understanding and uncovering these stories, and particularly getting access to incredible things that only a limited audience would ever know about.

LLA: Your core belief is that “everyone” should have access to good design”. What would you say are the fundamental elements and principals of good design?

GP: Good design is making the most of the resources at hand. So, whether it’s the finest wood veneers, or the rarest pigments, or just a simple material like clay, it’s what the creator does with these materials that is important. So, in my mind, it’s the vision and conceptual thinking that’s a fundamental element of good design.

You can immediately see when a design works, there is a wholeness and a completeness to an item. It’s here that you can see that the design of the item is a true expression of its maker.

LLA: What advice and tips would you impart to a new homeowner, in terms of decorating and interior design?

GP: Firstly, I would plan how you are going to live in this space. Think about your lifestyle, what you do during the day, where you need to spend your time throughout the day and plan your layout accordingly to allow for this. I would then say that a lot of people get so caught up in colours, fabrics, and furniture but this is actually the last stage of the design process and something you need to do only after you have decided how you are going to live in this space.

LLA: Design is a global business. How do you stay abreast of ever-changing global trends and achieve standards and services of the highest excellence?

GP: I travel a lot, I always attend the latest design shows in London, Paris, Milan, Dubai, and New York. Over the years, I have developed a strong network of some of the top designers and product creators around the world. We keep in touch almost every other week and it’s through these two channels that I am able to influence standards and develop an understanding of the design market.

LLA: Tell us about the particular services that you offer, that sets you apart from others in the industry.

GP: Through our network of trade suppliers, dealers and makers we are uniquely positioned in the sector to deal directly with consumers to help them find once off pieces to collect for their homes. Essentially, we operate like a personal shopper but for the home.

LLA: Since the pandemic there has been a massive and global shift in consciousness. How has this impacted on global luxury trends, particularly in terms of luxury lifestyle and interior design?

GP: The pandemic changed many things, one of which I would like to focus on, which is lifestyle. We learnt during the pandemic how to work remotely, and this has done so much to global luxury trends. In the UK, we saw country properties which offer a more relaxed lifestyle achieving their highest values ever. In the US, we saw cities like Miami and Houston achieving record property values. Both of these were fuelled by city dwellers changing up their lifestyle and moving somewhere a little more relaxed. What that did to the luxury sector was bring in a casual vibe. In fashion we saw more relaxed silhouettes and in design we saw a return to the oversized, slouchy, low-lit 70’s look and feel. It’s almost like everybody was just out to party. I do think this is going to change again in the next few years as we all get back to business, but I do think that the pandemic did create a middle ground between formal and casual.

LLA: What contribution have you made to the luxury design and lifestyle profession that is most meaningful to you?

GP: The Show House that I was part of, which housed 26 interior designers across two houses, both of which were for sale for £20 million each. We opened this house up to the public and since it was only the second show house to have ever been opened in the UK, it was such a success, and we raised a huge amount for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

LLA: Lastly, are there any new and exciting developments for Interior Style Hunter that we can look forward to?

GP: The team is growing nicely, and we are always looking at interesting developments in the sector, figuring out what we can do to create more of a community. So, what we would like to do is to invite you to join our community via Instagram, join the conversation and help us to create beautiful things.

For more about Interior Style Hunter, visit http://interiorstylehunter.com/