A Builder's View

Are you spending the dog days of summer dreaming about your custom home improvement?  If you are starting to get serious about making this dream a reality, you can gather these custom home ideas with Pinterest. Pinterest is a website community where members can upload, save and sort and manage images, known as pins, and other media content through collections known as Pinboards. Accessing the Pinterest app via smartphone or tablet is a great way to assemble an archive of home interior and exterior design ideas. 

If you enjoy browsing through Architectural Digest, Sunset Magazine or interior design blogs, you will love surfing Pinterest.  Similar to perusing content from your favorite design magazines, you have easy access to the ideas that you love and the ability to compile these visual references in an easy organized format.  Another added benefit is the ability to easily share your home ideas while you are on the go. It will not be long before you have a sizeable reference guide to share with your interior designer, architect, builder or landscape designer.

Let’s imagine you are poolside and you have an iPad in hand along with the Pinterest app fired up and ready to go. So what’s next?

Take the plunge and create a personal Pinterest account. Saving all of the home design ideas that inspire you is free and easy. Simply go through the steps to join.

Soak up some rays and create a collection of custom home project boards: When you become a Pinner, create a series of category-based Pinboards where you will eventually pin articles and media.  Areas for categorization may include: interiors, exteriors, landscaping, hardware, bedrooms, bathrooms, doors, etc.

Surf and pin your favorite images or video for reference: When you see an image or article on the Internet or Pinterest community that inspires you, simply pin that visual reference to one of your home project boards. Did you see a great YouTube video? Pinterest is not just for images or articles, you can also pin a video on a Pinboard. 

Snap a picture and pin to the desired home design Pinboard: If you are taking a summer trip and see the ideal landscape design for your home, take a picture with your smartphone or tablet device.  This picture can then be easily placed on your Pinboard.

Look for environmentally friendly building materials. A traditional home is typically built with wood, steel, and concrete.  Today, there are a number of natural building materials to construct a home with minimal environmental impact. Pinning natural material options to a Pin board is a great way to gather ideas for reducing home toxins and share them with your home design team.

Follow your favorite home design Pinners: When you see a pin that inspires you, take a look at who Pinned it.  If you like what they are pinning, follow them to access their latest discoveries so that updates are delivered right to your home feed.  You have the option to follow one, two…or all of their boards.

What are you waiting for?  Not unlike reading a great book by the pool, gathering home ideas on Pinterest will bring you on a new adventure of building your fantasy abode.  If you found yourself inspired by this article and decide to give it a try – tell us. We want to know how it worked out!