Having a Vision for Renovation
Around 2010 we were living with what my family refers to as a “capital spending freeze” and my rather pricey habit of magazines didn’t make the essential expenses list. What a relief it was that early that same year Pinterest launched and I was able to get my magazine fix of looking at pretty property pics online rather than in print.
I know that the online movement hasn’t been helpful for magazine sales, and I was sad to read this weekend that I had picked up the last ever issue of Inside Out at the supermarket. Another established title that has bit the dust. Wherever I can I still support the magazine publishing industry, but in 2010, when faced with a capital spending freeze, Pinterest was my hero.
I have always been a big believer in vision boards. For goal setting, for business planning and for home inspiration. Pinterest enabled me to create Vision Boards for whatever was happening at home for us at the time or what I was aspiring to. My account now sits at 115 boards! These range from Caravans to Courtyards, Sea Change to Soul Home and Ensuite to Exterior (and 109 more!).
When marketing a property like our latest listing at 9 Lipman Street in Mount Victoria it is impossible to not think about what I would do if I could get my hands on that juicy renovation. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’ve started a Pinterest board for that too!
It has made me realise that pinning on these respective boards really helps me identify a number of key things before embarking on a renovation, big or small:
Colour
If you have several colours that you are particularly drawn to and add those in a Pinterest search followed by “Colour Chart” you will get plentiful images on the various supporting colours that work well with your faves. Through the collection of charts you start to identify certain themes of what other colours work best in your eyes with your hero tones. After scrolling through the feed certain images will grab your eye more than others, pin those pics and keep scrolling. When you later look at the board you have created, it becomes much clearer what direction you are most drawn to and gives you a great place to start pulling together a plan.
Texture/Materials
We all gravitate to different textures and materials. Some people like sparkly and glam, some like organic and neutral. Pinning the images showing texture and materials that speak to you is a great way to distill the elements that give you the most joy in a space. When I start pinning I don’t dwell on each image for too long to try and identify what about it speaks to me, but as with colour, when I take time to scroll through my board after a serious pinning session, the key textures and materials that light my fire will become more evident.
Is it natural stone, is it plentiful timber, is it metallic or velvety? A look through the chosen images on your board will make your preferences evident and will help to determine some of the big design choices faced in a renovation.
Décor
Amongst my boards I have the likes of Kitchen Styling, Palm Springs Love and Funky Furniture. These boards have a collection of décor elements that inspire me and that can be carried through to the interior design aspect of a renovation. What sofa speaks to you, what table and chairs invite you to enjoy and what bed says “good night sleep”? Building up a library of these images helps my reticular activation system recognise items that give me a similar vibe when I spot them and help build a picture of how we will pull a space together.
I’ve had a few special décor items that I have pinned and then worked super hard to acquire, and many others that remain simply a dream to this day.
Rest assured, of the 115 boards that I have, very few have become a reality, but as with all vision boards, dreaming and manifesting is an important part of the process, and I enjoy bringing the design elements together even if it’s for a purely visual kick rather than reality. And with serious manifestation who’s to say what’s possible in the future.
If you are planning any improvements around the house I would highly recommend starting with a scroll on Pinterest, and if you are intrigued by 9 Lipman Street and what my plan would be if I was renovating that handsome home, you can find that board here.