How to use Pinterest like an Interior Designer

By now, Pinterest is a household name. I was one of the early adopters, who logged on a decade ago and started digitally pinning all sorts of ideas. The platform has grown from a fun little hobby, that replaced all those binders full of ideas (you had them too?!) to a powerhouse source for inspiration.

The problem: it’s overwhelming.

More often than not our clients present to us dozens of ideas, which leave them confused, and unable to make a decision. Inspiration overload is REAL and I am finding our clients are sometimes even MORE unsure after a long bout of “inspiration seeking” on Pinterest. Sounds familiar?

Since we, as Designers, lean on Pinterest as a visual search engine, I thought it would be helpful to break down how to use Pinterest like we do, so it remains a source that makes you feel good, instead of, well…frustrated.

HOW TO SEARCH FOR WHAT YOU WANT

We lean on keywords a LOT when we search Pinterest, and find this the most useful way to start gathering inspiration. If we want to see the exact iteration for a certain design element, then we will enter that specific key word. For example: “Black Vertical Paneling.” When I enter those search terms, here is what I get:

I try hard to ignore the sponsored posts and focus on where the search engine got it right. Then I’ll help the algorithm do what it does best, by clicking on the closest image to my desired search result.

I selected the bedroom with black vertical paneling. (Note: clicking on the bathroom images would have led me down a bathroom algorithm.) So let’s say my focus here is on black vertical paneling in a bedroom.

Then I keep filtering the results, searching for what I am looking for exactly. I then consult the “More like this” populated images, and generally, I can find what I want to see more of.

You can do this with any keywords like “white bedding” or “navy vintage rug living room.” The big trick: be specific. Then help the algorithm work on your behalf. Help it find the images you want to see.

THE MOST IMPORTANT BOARD YOU WILL CREATE

I argue that it takes seeing a LOT of different styles to help you uncover what you love. You ought to see styles you like, and those you don’t and try hard to uncover what moves you in each category.

The most important board you can start to curate is the one you name “Rooms that Feel Good.”

By paying attention, and starting to add the rooms that evoke a positive feeling within you, you’ll begin to curate rooms that help me uncover what you want your home to look like.

If you are a Styleberry client, I will ask to see your Pinterest boards. One of my gifts is being able to look at everything you have curated, and then extrapolating the similarities between all of the images you love. This may be hard for you to do, or see, but after years of studying interiors I can see your style goals right away.

So if you have not a single board, or are feeling overwhelmed with too many boards, create this one today: Rooms that feel good. Then pin anything that love right there. It’ll help ME so so much, when we sit down to understand the direction of your design concept!

HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR BOARDS (FOR YOU AND YOUR DESIGNER)

Once you start your “Feel Good” board, then we can start to dial down on specifics. We love to see boards specific to each space in your home. So if you create a “Living Room” board, and a “Kids Bathroom” board, we can start to pick up on patterns and ideas that caught your attention. This works for the DIYer too!

After you break down by room, then you can further start detailing out specifics: Lights you love, Plants you think are pretty, Fabrics that speak to you, etc.

As you continue to collect these images and build up your boards, start to look for similarities. Are the light fixtures you pinned all the same color or shape? Do all the bedrooms you pinned have the same color palette? Is blue present in almost all of the images?

If you cannot make sense of them, don’t sweat it. We can help. Our special designer eyes don’t miss a thing.

While definitely a potential source of overwhelm, we think the benefit of Pinterest outweighs the risk of inspo overload. It is a very powerful tool to help you sort through all the pretty (and not so pretty) things, that can help you achieve your home goals.

Thinking of Pinterest like the Google of images will help you get the best results. Be specific with key words, click on what is right, and focus on what feels good. Then, save what you love, and let go of the rest. Less can be more–on Pinterest, and at home!

Happy Pinning!

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Styleberry Creative Interiors specializes in fresh, relaxed design crafted in a meaningful way. With a team and process you can trust, we’ll help you create soul-soothing spaces that inspire you to unwind, connect, and finally… exhale.

Styleberry Creative Interiors is based in downtown San Antonio, Texas and serves clients in the Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, greater San Antonio Metropolitan area and Nationwide.