My Unabashed Addiction to Pinterest

Unless you have been living under a rock or on another planet, you probably have some idea of Pinterest, a kind of online bulletin board that allows you to gather visual “pins” or images of just about anything of interest onto your own “board.” You can pin ideas for travel, organizing your bathroom, centerpieces, party favors, kids’ Halloween costumes, hairdos, wedding cakes, vacation destinations, etc., etc.

Or, you may be an avid Pinterest follower, in which case you will recognize my symptoms.

A few years ago my husband and I embarked on a gut renovation of our kitchen and the designer suggested we search around on Houzz (a similar site geared to building, remodeling and decorating) for appealing ideas. She didn’t know me well enough yet to realize that I hoard shelter magazines and, when the pile gets too tall, I go through them, tearing out pages of ideas I like. (Kind of a pre-internet Pinterest.) I had folders full of stuff to show her, but I was happy to try Houzz too. For some reason, Houzz did not really click for me, but my daughter suggested Pinterest.

What came next was a slippery slope.

I started looking at — and pinning — kitchen ideas. Then I realized that some of the bloggers I followed had Pinterest boards that I could cruise for ideas. As anyone who has spent an evening or more on Pinterest knows, one pin leads to another that leads to another. More ideas and eye candy with every click. (See my Pinterest boards here.)

Pinterest’s point and click (pin) interface is too easy. Finding images of gardens? Add another board. Kitchens invariably lead to dining rooms. Add a board. Love ironstone and transferware? I have a board for that. Two years later I have 25 boards, 1500 pins and 25 followers! And that’s just limited to decorating!

I think I have a problem. It’s such a smart system. Pinterest sends you pins you may like (it also sends stuff I never look at, thank goodness), so there’s always something new to look at. And pin! The app is right there on my iPad, but the images are bigger on my laptop. Feeling a little bored? Have a little time to kill before starting dinner? See what Pinterest is sending you. Pin, scroll. Pin, scroll. Oh, wait, what’s that smell? Dinner is burning?

I have some history with this.

Years ago when I began my magazine files, I hoped they would help me identify and develop my own style. I believe they really did. Decorating decisions have never been a huge issue for me. I always knew the look I was going for (although it has morphed considerably over the decades), and if I didn’t I would spread out the images I had stashed in one or more of those files and study them. (This is how I realized I needed to get rid of all the red/blue/yellow in my house and switch to cream and white. I realized that I was saving and loving image after image of neutral rooms!) You know the inspiration boards designers put together? They’re my version of my files and, now, my Pinterest boards. 

In all honesty, I have not spent much time editing my boards. There is a lot of duplication. You can look at them here. For example, I love everything the late Charles Faudree did and I’m sure I duplicated some of his pins on my Country French board. I have also duplicated some Amelia Handegan pins. (Interestingly, I went thru my old magazines files recently and realized I also had saved magazine shots of some of these same images.)

But I’ve also made a deal with myself about not expanding my pins beyond decorating and gardening. There is, after all, so much more to pin in cooking and quilting and fashion. I’m afraid I might not come up for air.

What I’d really like to know here is that I’m not alone. Are you into Pinterest? What are the topics of your boards? And how did you save ideas before Pinterest?

See you next time!