Medina Grillo (Grillo Designs) won the Lifestyle bCreator™ of the Year Award, announced at the #BCAs Awards ceremony on the 10th October 2024.
Medina, who started posting on Instagram in 2017, shares home styling tips and tricks, and DIY tutorials and has now amassed 880 thousand followers on this platform alone! We caught up with Medina post-Awards to learn more about Grillo Designs and what we can expect in 2025.
How do you find inspiration for your lifestyle content, especially your DIY projects?
Honestly, everywhere! It might be a restaurant or a hotel that I once visited and I loved the interiors, or a TV show that I paused, so I could take in a room set that I really admired. And of course, Pinterest and apps like TikTok and Instagram is great for gathering inspiration from other interior creators, although I’ll admit, I do tend to limit my consumption of online content as I find it hinders my own creativity at times
What’s been the most rewarding feedback you’ve received from your followers?
I LOVE when my followers reach out and tell me that seeing my posts have motivated them to try something new in some way, i.e pick up a DIY tool perhaps or a paint a wall using a bold colour palette. I’ll never get over renters telling me that my words have changed their mindset and encouraged them to decorate their own rentals. It’s just the best feeling.
How do you balance aesthetic appeal with functionality in your lifestyle content?
I share mostly home and DIY content so I feel like this comes quite naturally. First and foremost, I try my best to cater for the needs of myself and family, and spend time figuring out how each of us use different spaces in our home. By adding personal touches, such as unique furniture pieces or custom artwork and incorporating cohesive colour schemes, each space automatically feels more inviting (aesthetic) . And of course I love conveying these ideas and snippets of information to my audience.
What do you think is the key to staying relatable to your audience?
Being honest and remaining humble always.
Are there any lifestyle trends you’re excited to explore next year?
I’m really LOVING ASMR content at the moment, as well as face to camera content where the creator is talking to their followers directly (in a blog type way) I just think this is a lore deep way to connect with your audience in an environment that can sometimes feel so fast paced and lacking depth.
What was your experience like at the bCreator™ Awards Ceremony?
The ceremony was a great experience, I loved that I was able to chat and meet with so many other creators I had been following online over the years.
My friends laugh at me when I say this, but because of the extremely talented shortlist, I went to the ceremony truly not expecting to win! So when I did, it was definitely a shock! My acceptance speech was short and sweet as a result. I’ve been doing this job for what seems like forever (I started Instagram in 2017 and went full time as freelancer in 2019) so being recognised in this way truly meant so much to me!