Are you unsure where to even START when it comes to designing your home build, reno, or decorating project? YOU AREN’T ALONE! It’s hard to envision in your head what you want!

Luckily there are online platforms that offer a TON of design and décor ideas! I mean, millions of ideas literally at your fingertips! You just need to know how to sift through these platforms to find exactly what you’re looking for!

This post will show you (in screenshots) how to use Pinterest, Instagram, and Houzz to find design inspiration!

Pinterest, Instagram, and Houzz offer SO. MANY. IDEAS. when it comes to home design and décor. You can find actual design ideas (e.g. trimwork, cabinet layout, floor plan, front façade, etc.) and simply show your builder the inspo pics so he or she can replicate your desired look.

Note: Pinterest and Houzz screenshots are from a laptop; Instagram screenshots are mobile.

 HOW TO FIND DESIGN INSPIRATION ON PINTEREST 

Many people refer to Pinterest as social media BUT calling it a ‘search engine’ is SO much more accurate! Just like Google, you can search for just about anything (and everything) on Pinterest! This is the FIRST place I go when I need design inspiration!

Below are screenshots to show you how to search on Pinterest.

I typed in white kitchen for this example. Notice how popular searches, pinners, and boards related to white kitchen pop up. This is to help you narrow down your search … however, you do NOT have to select any of these items!

I clicked white kitchen cabinets and this screen pops up. Again, more popular search items auto populate to help you narrow your search.

Not only can you search for ideas and information (on literally everything under the sun) but you can also save your findings in organized boards you create! Bonus! Below are some of my own organized boards!

You can click on individual pins to get more info from the website or blog post that generated the pin in the first place! Make sense? Below is an example of one of my pins that leads to a blog post.

Click on this pin to see what happens! The same happens when you click on pins in Pinterest! They all lead somewhere!

You can choose whether you want your boards to be public or private … and you can share private boards with specific people (e.g. your builder or interior designer).

Visit my PINTEREST to get thousands of ideas from design and décor inspo that I have curated over the years!

HOW TO FIND DESIGN INSPIRATION WITH INSTAGRAM HASHTAGS

Instagram is SO much more than just ‘liking’ and commenting on friends’ photos!

Instagram is an expansive platform that takes shopping for home decor to a whole new level! You can search for whatever you are looking for via hashtags on the search/explore page! The search bar is at the bottom of the screen (see arrow).

The next two screenshots show you what the search/explore page looks like, and what happens when I search for white kitchen.

I typed in white kitchen in the search bar. Several hashtags related to white kitchen popped up.

I clicked on the top option (#whitekitchen). Voila! We now have 202K posts with photos of white kitchens! Tons of design inspo to scroll through!

Not only can you search for home design and decor inspo, but there is the whole movement of Social Media Influencers! More specifically, many Instagram feeds (mine included) offer ways to shop for items in the photo.

This is SO helpful because you can actually shop for the exact home décor products that you see! This takes all the guesswork out of figuring out where to shop for the item! See How to Conveniently Shop my Instagram Photos to learn how to do this!

Instagram now has a ‘flag’ option similar to Pinterest boards so you can organize your flagged design ideas into ‘collections’. These collections are only available for YOU to view.

Here is the flag page. You are looking at ‘ALL’ of my saved photos. You have the option to click on Collections and create folders to organize your saved photos! I haven’t done that yet!

Visit my INSTAGRAM feed to see hundreds of photos of my home, as well as other beautiful home designs that inspire me!

HOW TO FIND DESIGN INSPIRATION IN HOUZZ

This is my third fav choice for finding design inspo … it is a HUGE platform full of design inspiration and shoppable products. Houzz is a fabulous place to search for gorgeous ideas! The only reason it is my third choice is because it can be a bit overwhelming and confusing.

Just like Pinterest, popular search items related to white kitchen will auto populate, BUT you can search for whatever you want … you don’t have use what is listed!

Houzz also offers options to Shop, Find a Pro, and Get Advice. There is a wealth of info in Houzz … and it can be somewhat intimidating, so you just have to play around with it to find what you need!

Like the other platforms, you can organize your findings in Houzz. I don’t use this option though … I just search for ideas without storing them. 

CONCLUSION

So there ya go … three fabulous platforms for finding design and décor inspiration for your home!

I hope these screenshots show you how EASY it is to use Pinterest, Instagram, and Houzz to find design inspiration for your next build, reno, or decorating project! Not only can you find inspiration, but you can also store the ideas in organized folders or boards! 

I would LOVE for you to come over and hang out with me on INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST! I have carefully curated gorgeous design ideas that I would love to share with YOU!