houzz, Pinterest, and the Barrage of Creative Ideas
November 20, 2012 § Leave a comment
At last count, there were 867,525 spaces on houzz.com to feed your quest for inspiration. Hours — days –of poring over photos of beautiful designs. And then there’s Pinterest where, by their account, “millions of new pins are added every week.” Is anybody out there feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of ideas??
If you are planning a renovation, big or small, to any part of your house, here are a few tips to avoid creative overload:
-Realize that not every good idea will work in your home. Although that wall color online looks spectacular with the view of the ocean out the window, the same color may look completely different in your room with limited natural light. When you’re choosing wall color, start with your own home, the lighting you have, and the colors, furniture, and artwork in other rooms. A beautiful wall color inspiration is most likely already there.
-Stick with what you love, not something you think you should love because it’s fashionable. As we all know, trends come and go, and unless you want to re-do your home with every new trend, your home will be defined by the period in which the trend was popular. Look at metallic wallpaper from the 70s, for example. If you love it, then go for it. But try to avoid catching a wave only to find yourself tossed up on the beach in a year or two.
-And finally, unless you’re well organized at assigning ideas to a particular project or room as they come cascading into your head via web sites and social media, then focus on one project at a time. Try to avoid mission creep unless you have the budget and time to devote to starting and, most importantly, finishing all your projects. You will be bombarded with ideas and inspiration that may have you ripping up carpet in your family room when you really wanted to work on the bathroom first. Stay focused.
Enjoy the opportunity to see how millions of other creative people have transformed their homes. We are truly living in an age of enlightenment bordering on informational hysteria. Try and stay calm.
Your Home & Color Coach 
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