Collecting Renovation Inspiration for Your Home

Home renovation projects are a great way to fall in love again with a home you own, or make upgrades buyers will pay top dollar for when the time comes to sell. Redoing a kitchen or bathroom can make a huge difference in how much you enjoy a space. But how do you know what you really want? Are you aware of how much is out there in terms of modern home design?

Searching for inspiration online is a good place to start. While you can haphazardly click from blog to blog, there are some easy-to-use tools to help introduce you to design options and help you organize your project.

First and foremost, if you’re not on pinterest.com, go sign up for a free account. (You can even use your Facebook login to create an account in under a minute.) Pinterest isn’t specifically about home design, but it is the best online scrapbook out there. With Pinterest, you can “pin” images you like and organize them into collections. This is especially handy if you want to separate bathroom elements, living room designs, or even individual elements such as “lighting” or “color schemes.” You can also search on Pinterest and browse other users’ public collections.

Another spectacular resource focused on home design is houzz.com. House bills itself as “a platform for home remodeling and design, bringing homeowners and home professionals together in a uniquely visual community.” Houzz, much like Pinterest, allows you to create idea books which you can then share and collaborate on with others. With each photo you save you can make notes, highlighting what you like or don’t like about a particular image. Houzz also goes beyond design inspiration to connect you with professionals who can actually help turn your dream project into a reality. As you’re meeting with architects of design/build firms, having a Houzz account can be very helpful for guiding in-person conversations about your tastes and preferences.

When you’re in the dreaming phase of a project, it can be fun to allow yourself free reign to select anything and everything your might want in a renovation project. Projects, however, do come down to compromises. Sometimes the compromises are related to building conditions and existing systems, while other times the restrictions are simply budgetary. Keep this in mind as you “go wild” creating inspiration books online. Don’t forget this as you go along… it’ll make the project easier and more satisfying along the way.

Of course you might also decide that renovation isn’t the right move. Sometimes moving is the right move. If you ultimately decide to relocate, I’d be happy to help you find a home which has exactly what you’re looking for (or can be upgraded to meet your needs.) Get in touch!