Looking For Design Inspiration?
Updating your interiors can seem like such a chore if you aren’t creatively inclined. Have you ever wondered where those contestants on The Block get their design inspiration from? A seemingly endless stream of ideas – some great and some not so great - do not just materialise out of thin air. Inspiration can come from all manner of sources and, for those in the know, websites like Pinterest, Instagram and Houzz are now the go-to sites for design tips, ideas, inspiration and advice.
If you want somewhere to find ideas and save them to refer to later, then try Pinterest for design inspiration. Pinterest has some fantastic features for both professional and amateur interior designers and its ‘boards’ make sorting your research a breeze. Remember how you used to tear ideas out of magazines and save them in a scrapbook? Well Pinterest does exactly that, but online! Once you’ve signed up to Pinterest and filled out your profile, you can create different boards for whatever you like. For example, ‘bathroom’, ‘storage’, ‘garden’ or ‘shoes’ (it’s VERY easy to get distracted but you’ll be amazed just what you discover).
You can search Pinterest using whatever term you like and ‘pin’ items you find to the relevant board. For example, create a board called ‘kitchen’, then search the same term to find kitchen design ideas. As soon as you start to type you will see more suggestions such as ‘kitchen design’ or ‘kitchen décor’. You can even be as specific as ‘kitchen splashbacks’ or ‘kitchen taps’. Pinterest will deliver you results based on your search, as items or boards, so you can look at what other people have saved as well. If you find an idea you like, you simply hover over it, click ‘save’ and Pinterest will add it to your chosen board.
Pinterest sources its information from a huge range of blogs and websites so you can follow your favourite Australian interior designers, furniture stores and yes even The Block. You can also save ideas from around the web to Pinterest yourself from outside of the platform. Check out the Pinterest Browser button for your computer here.
If Pinterest doesn’t do it for you then there is of course Instagram. The same process applies of signing up and creating a profile, then you can search to your heart’s content for whatever you like. Use broad search terms like ‘design ideas’ or be more specific with ‘water features’ for example. An icon next to the result means it’s an Instagram user, but a hashtag – for example #waterfeatures - means you will find results on this subject from many users, in some cases hundreds of thousands of results!
You can also follow inspiring people which is Instagram’s most popular reason for being. Follow designers or reality TV show contestants you love, or stalk that person whose party you went to on the weekend with the amazing house. You can check out all the gorgeous pics they shared before, or follow them to keep track of what they do in the future.
The best thing about social media for design inspiration is that many professional designers are now using it to showcase their work. They share pins and things they are inspired by, and both platforms will deliver content to you based on your previous activity and search terms. So, you can see not only things and designers you look specifically for, but also get a few surprises too thanks to algorithms! Being able to see the very latest work from some of Australia’s best designers really has value beyond words when you are looking for fresh, innovative ideas. So, get online now and transform your space just like the experts do!
by First National
Looking for Design Inspiration? Read On
palmbeachfn.com.au September 2017 First National Palm Beach 15 Palm Beach Ave Palm Beach, Queensland 4221
Phone: 07 5559 9600