How to organise your mind with Pinterest. (Part 2)
Hi Home Lovers!
I hope you got the chance to read my last blog (Part 1) and I highly recommend you read it again here ! I’ve made some improvements so it’s even more helpful.
Now let’s delve deeper into how to organise the style clutter in your mind using Pinterest.
If you're like me, you want a completely unique home, the perfect expression of yours and your family's personality and story. But, like me also, if you're a visual person and you like beautiful things - you'll have way too many styles in your head and you're feeling overwhelmed.
When you feel overwhelmed you put off getting things done. You're scared you're going to make a mistake. Which means you're no closer to achieving your dream home than this time last year.
“When you feel overwhelmed you put off getting things done.”
Your HOME_STYLE is harmonious (Linda Woods Design - Photography by Gathering Light)
For folks like us - our homes are everything and these decisions are weighty! Our husband’s don’t understand - “why does it take so long to make your minds up? It's just a house!”.
So I'm sharing with you my tried and tested process I take all my clients through. My clients have the same fears and frustrations - that's why they've chosen to work with me. Because that's my genius zone - helping people discover their uniquely wonderful HOME-STYLE!
Now let's jump into Part 2 - How to organise your mind with Pinterest.
Your HOME-STYLE flows. (Linda Woods Design - Photography by Gathering Light)
Now if you’ve read PART 1 (read here) you’ll have set up separate INTERIOR & EXTERIOR boards and been busy identifying the INTERIOR bones you love. Now it’s time to go outdoors! We’ll use the same 5 step process but I’m going to dig deeper.
1 - Flow
If you’ve been procrastinating and putting off gathering your ideas together - this is a great step to get you started.
Enter in the search bar a few styles you may be interested in, eg. Modern Farmhouse, Modern Rustic and add the terms “Exterior” or “Architecture”. Pinterest will send a bunch of relevant images your way and the more you pin the more Pinterest will target the images.
So just start pinning, try to loosen up, really get in touch with your instincts. This is like the solution to writer’s block - just keep doing it and eventually you’ll see patterns emerge. But same caveat as in Part 1 - you have to love the image or at least a strong attraction, otherwise Step 2 gets harder.
2 - Organise
Now it’s time to get organised - just like with your INTERIOR board. The EXTERIOR board can be more simple and I recommend adding sections like - Roof, Windows, Walls, Landscaping, Features (like fireplaces, etc) and Colour. If you remember, creating a section for “Colour” is great because it helps you store away all those images that you’re only loving because of the colour! So let’s get them out the way.
3 - Zoom In
This is the most critical and insightful step. You’ve got to decide in which Section each image belongs!
Look at each image and ask yourself - what pops out? Is it the window frames, is it the angle of the roof, maybe the texture of the walls or is it just the colour? The longer you look at an image and take it apart in your mind based on the Section labels, the elements you love will start to pop.
If you like an image for several reasons - maybe windows and roof - then save it in both Sections.
4 - Filter
It’s during this process that your going to find out if you REALLY love an image, or if its just the overall look and feel you like. Unless you love it - it’s going to be a distraction. I find one of the greatest attractors in Exterior images is the landscaping and surrounding nature. I’ve LOVED and gotten all confused over images because certain trees remind me of travel memories - not much to do with the home!
That’s why you need a “Landscaping” section. So either delete if it’s not a love, or move it to the relevant board. The goal is to categorise every image you start with. You must have a strong reason why you love what you love!
5 - Identify
Through this continuous process - eventually you’re going to feel an increasing sense of harmony in each Section. When you’re complete, look back at your INTERIORS board and see how the inside and outside imagery connects. If you’ve put the time in and trusted the process, you’re going to start seeing continuity.
Now it’s time to identify the style origins of what you love - you’ll most likely have a few. These style influences should be the same for INTERIOR & EXTERIOR while they may vary in dominance. Put your detective cap on and do some research. You’ll be amazed at what you find!
“This is your home, your story and only you can tell it.”
DESIGN TIP: CAPTURE YOUR THOUGHTS
As you follow this process, be sue to capture your likes and dislikes - either in the Comment section of Pinterest or now that Pinterest no longer has private Notes - start a Word or Notes doc.
Paste across your pics and note down exactly what you do and don’t like about them. You need to capture your detailed thoughts - they are a window into your soul!
You're now ready to communicate to your design team exactly what you love and achieve the dream home you're after with no regrets. Imagine walking into your finished home and feeling like you had a part in the design of every detail.
If your design team isn’t asking what you love and not interested in the details, then maybe you’ve got the wrong team. This is your home, your story and only you can tell it.
As a design studio that's our goal - to lead you through a highly personalised design process to create a one of a kind home that expresses your unique story. We look forward to being of service.
Linda XO
linda woods - interior designer
Want to discover your Home-Style?
I can’t wait to learn your home story and create a beautiful vision for your dream home. Let’s get started!