Over the last few months, I have had several conversations with customers about Pinterest. The most interesting one was with a lady who was looking for complete redesign and rework – she had given photos downloaded from Pinterest to a carpenter and now that everything was ready, the family did not really like the output and was looking to redo everything. There was another who got the wardrobes made ditto like the one in a Pinterest image, the construction was done in a modular furniture factory. When the Wardrobes were delivered it was found that the door frames of the room were not large enough to bring the wardrobe inside – they had to cut some of the panels, bring it inside the room and rebuild the wardrobe.
There are many such fiascos that Pinterest the interior designer has been responsible for. Unassuming customers see something that looks great in the picture, get it made for their home and realize that there home does not really look as much as what they saw in the picture.
I had written about the 5 elements of interior design some years back (Read it here – https://thestudiobangalore.com/blog/2018/03/the-5-elements-of-interior-design-and.html) and this is the FIRST area where Pinterest goes wrong. Let me explain what I mean – When you are looking at a Pinterest image, the furniture that you see is placed in a particular context. The context includes (1) The Lighting of the space (2) The Colour Combination – not just of the unit but of the entire space and (3) The décor / wall art/ furnishing etc that is embellishing the unit and the entire space around it. If you miss out on even one of the 3 elements above, then there is no way that the SAME unit in YOUR home will look like the one in that Pinterest image.
The SECOND reason why the unit looks different at your home from the one in the picture is due to what I call RELATIVE SPACE = the size of the unit as compared to the space around it. For example, a King Size Cot with a heavy headboard and side tables might look great in a 14X18 foot room. Place the same cot in a 12X11 room and you would create claustrophobia. Most Pinterest images come from palatial 6000+ square foot homes, fitting that furniture in a 1400 sqft. space does come with its limitations and danger.
Despite the limitations, there are strong areas where a tool like Pinterest can play a positive role and help the interior design process. This includes
- Understanding and choosing different THEMES that you are would like for your home
- Choosing a colour scheme for your home
- Choosing a furniture STYLE for your rooms and NOT copying the exact design
- Setting up expectations and needs with your designer in terms of the design flavour you are looking for before the start of the design & engagement process
Limit Pinterest the designer to the above and you will be able to harness its true power – anything more, and you too might end up struggling to get that wardrobe through your doorway 😊… enter at your own risk as they say.
Cheers
Nandita
Nandita Manwani is an Interior Designer in Bangalore and the founder of The Studio by Nandita Manwani – a boutique Interior Design firm creating contemporary and warm homes that are full of life & liveliness
