You likely know you want something new for your home – an updated kitchen, a modern ensuite or a new, three-season outdoor room, perhaps, but where do you start?
Having those goals is the first step, but with so many looks, products and floor plan possibilities, narrowing down the features you want in the space – and accurately sharing that wishlist with your contractor and designer – can be overwhelming.
That’s where a visual approach can help: You can save and share exactly what you like (and don’t like!), ensuring everyone is on the same page, explains Lauren Bathie, an interior designer with MAC Renovations.
“There are so many details in a renovation and not everyone has the same understanding of concepts like ‘modern farmhouse’ or ‘French country,”’ Bathie says.
Taking the time to explore can also open up new possibilities – “you can sometimes discover a new design aesthetic that you’re more drawn to, or realize that mixing metals in a room can work, where before you might have thought that was taboo.”
Whether you’re using magazine clippings or, as is more common today, saving images from online sources, you’ll be able to find and share overall looks that you love, light fixtures, faucets, tile selections, and so much more.
But where to start the search?
Bathie offers her top 3 favourites:
- Pinterest – Available in desktop or app version, Pinterest is a visual platform that lets you search by project, room, design style, feature and more, then save the images you like to concept boards.
- Houzz – Houzz is packed with ideas specifically for home design and renovation, letting you view home design ideas by room, and filtering results through options like style, size and colour. You can even find – and shop for – specific products, and save those images to concept boards that let you collect all your ideas for a space in one handy location.
- Instagram – The visually oriented sister site to Facebook, Instagram is more and more becoming a useful tool for design inspiration as well, Bathie says. Search #FrenchCountryDecor, for example, and you’ll find more than 114,000 posts! Initially designed primarily as a smartphone app, Instagram is becoming easier to navigate on desktop as well.
It’s important to remember that many of the images you’ll see will have been staged, photographed with special lighting and may well have been edited, but regardless, can provide an ideal jumping-off point for your project.
With inspiration in hand – or on your concept board! – contact MAC Renovations to learn more about the possibilities for your home. Visit them online at macreno.com or call