What’s your style? Do you have a style? Can you identify your style or do you just pick out things you like and “wing” it, hoping that everything will work together because you like it?
Buying what you like is very important when decorating your outdoor room or any other space in your home. But having a plan is also important for success. Take time to think about what you want your outdoor room to look like—what kind of feeling you would like to have when you are in it. Collect photos from magazines, books, or Pinterest in order to see what you like and to see how others have implemented a particular style.
Use your image collections to gather and curate ideas. Compare what you like and do not like about each one. Once you have a sense of what it is that attracts you to each image, begin to imagine those things used together. This is a good time to consult with a design professional if you are unsure about your ability to proceed further with success.
I love using Pinterest because it reminds me of the cork boards I had in my room as a teenager to archive any and everything.
Now I can do the same thing, but in a more convenient and powerful digital form.
Pinterest boards can be general (outdoor rooms) or specific (porches) or very specific (screened porches). I can, if I don’t mind having lots of boards, be even more specific and break those down into boards such as porches with stone floors, porches with wood floors, etc.
With the Pinterest app on my smart phone, I can pin and view my pins anywhere, any time. This means that, rather than carting heavy books, cumbersome cork boards, and fly-away pages with me as I shop, I can, in the palm of my hand, access all those ideas and images when and where I need them—easy as pie.
Think of it! Thousands of pictures to keep you on your path as you plan and shop. And, if a picture is worth a thousand words, you will be rich in visually describing exactly what you want.
Whatever it is that you are looking for, you can find a picture of it on Pinterest.
It can become a little, ok, extremely, addicting. But when you think of instant access to all of those ideas and photos, the inspiration at your fingertips, and the portability, your mind will be boggled. Who doesn’t like looking at pretty pictures? And how many times do you wish you could access a picture of something you saw at some point in time? Now, you can.
As a design professional and a retailer of casual furniture, I love it when a client or customer comes to me with pictures to show me what they like. It is a tremendous help and time-saver as I can quickly zero in on their likes and offer suggestions based on the thread of images they have collected. New ideas are born and the creative process of designing an outdoor room showcasing their personal style begins. My customer gets excited. I get excited. Everyone has fun. And that’s really what designing, installing, and living in your new outdoor room should be about: Outdoorlicious! fun.
Photo Credits:
Kreiss Furniture
Pottery Barn
Southern Accents
House Beautiful
