How to Use Pinterest & Houzz for Remodeling Design Inspiration

Find, save, and share inspiring home remodeling photos on Pinterest and Houzz.

When you see the perfect one, you know. It stops you in your tracks and makes your breath catch in your throat every time you see it. Before you find it, words escape you.

But a beautiful photo captures it and gives you something to show others.

That is the power of pictures. And now, thanks to technology, there’s a wealth of design inspiration at the touch of your fingertips.

Find your ideas and start dreaming with two of the most popular online catalogs: Pinterest and Houzz.

What is Pinterest?

Think of Pinterest as a searchable catalog of creative ideas. Created in 2010 the social networking site now has over 150 million monthly active users and over 75 billion ideas with more being added every day.

How to Use Pinterest

1. Join Pinterest. Create an account using either the Pinterest mobile app or the Pinterest website. The service is free to use and setting up a profile takes only minutes.

2. Learn the Lingo. Here a few Pinterest terms you should know:

• Pins (noun) are visual bookmarks. Each Pin links back to the website it came from, so you can learn more. 
• Boards are where you save your Pins.
• Pinning (verb) is when you save a Pin onto a Board.

3. Start Pinning. The easiest way to start finding and saving ideas is to enter what you're looking for in the search box.

For example, let’s say you love the look of barn doors. You type barn door into the search bar and find a sliding door that looks perfect for your laundry room remodel. Click the Save button in the upper-right corner and then click on Create Board. Name your Board and decide if you'd like it to be secret or public. It's that simple. Keep pinning to that Board or create new ones.

4. Add Collaborators. You can invite people to join your Boards if you'd like by clicking on the gray plus sign. If not, you can always add people later. This feature is an easy way to share your ideas with a designer.

Helpful Tip: Save anything you find on the web by adding the Pinterest browser button to the browser you use most.

Not sure what Boards to create? Check out some of Harrisburg Kitchen & Bath's pins here!

What is Houzz?

Like Pinterest, Houzz is also a visual platform. But unlike Pinterest, which has ideas for just about everything you can think of, Houzz is focused on home remodeling and design.

Founded in 2008 by a couple remodeling their home, Houzz has grown into a community of more than 40 million homeowners, design enthusiasts, and home improvement professionals.

How to Use Houzz

1. Join Houzz. Create a Houzz account using either the Houzz mobile app or the Houzz website. It's free and setting up a profile is easy.

From there you can browse more than 14 million photos and filter your search based on your taste, find local professionals who can help with your project, and shop for your home.

2. Create and Use Ideabooks. A Houzz Ideabook is a place where you can save inspiration photos, notes, PDFs and other details of your home project and share them with others.

For example, if you’re planning a kitchen remodel, collecting photos of kitchens can help pinpoint what styles, layouts, and colors you prefer. When you’re ready to start the remodel, you can email your Ideabooks to a design/build pro to show them exactly what you like. Also, with a simple setting change, others can add comments and photos too!

Here’s how you can create an Ideabook on Houzz:

On the Houzz App

• Saving photos. Browse through photos on Houzz. When you find something you like, click Save. Next, a new screen will pop up allowing you add the photo to an existing Ideabook. You also can create a new Ideabook by clicking the title field, then selecting Create new Ideabook. You can add a comment at this step by typing it into the What do you like about this photo? area.
• Viewing your Ideabooks. Look at your Ideabook by clicking Ideabooks at the top of your screen.
• Making changes. Delete a photo by clicking the red X in the right-hand corner of the image. To make changes to your notes, place your cursor in the blank box that appears when you hover over each photo and type.
• Privacy, sharing and collaborating. Share your Ideabook with friends, family, or your design professional by clicking Collaborate underneath your Ideabook title.

On Houzz.com

• Saving photos. Click the green Save button. You can add it to an existing Ideabook or create a new one.
• Viewing your Ideabooks. Look at your Ideabook by clicking Ideabooks at the top of your screen.
• Making changes. Delete a photo by clicking on the red X in the right corner of the image. To add text, place your cursor in the blank box that appears when you hover over each photo and type.
• Privacy, sharing and collaborating. The collaboration button is beneath the Ideabook title. You can make your Ideabook private or public and add additional viewers or editors by typing their Houzz username or email address into the Search field and clicking Add.

Helpful Tip: Consider creating separate Ideabooks for different projects or styles.

Check out Harrisburg Kitchen & Bath's Houzz projects and Houzz Ideaboards here!

In Conclusion

Because pictures can help you communicate your home remodeling ideas, image driven platforms such as Pinterest and Houzz are powerful tools.

For instance, our client brought us a photo they found on the internet. We were able to use that picture as the design inspiration for their beautiful bathroom remodel.

Bringing your vision into reality is what we do. Please contact one of our design specialists to get started.