Social Media – Planning Your Kitchen Using Instagram, Pinterest & Houzz

Knowing where to start when designing a new kitchen can be a daunting task. If you can’t quite put your finger on what you want, you will probably need some inspiration to help you on your way. Have you ever considered using social media to help design your kitchen? It might sound like a strange thought but in fact there are some social media sites that are perfect for pulling together ideas so you can develop a firm picture of exactly what you want in your dream kitchen. From individual appliances to colour schemes, social media can be a huge help in your initial stages of planning. We’ve found that Instagram, Pinterest and Houzz are the most useful when it comes to kitchen planning, here’s why…

INSTAGRAM

Instagram may not be the first place you would think to look for design inspiration but in fact with the help of hashtags it’s a good place to start. Instagram is a photo sharing platform designed for use on phones and tablets. Because Instagram is visually focused with the emphasis purely on photographs, it is a valuable resource with thousands of images of different kitchen styles. Searching via hashtags, in a similar way to Twitter, allows you to search quite specifically for different kitchen styles. For example using ‘#kitchen’ will show you 3,792,656 images, whereas ‘#traditionalkitchen’ will bring up less than 900; hashtags are an effective way to target a preferred kitchen style or to find more general images. Although you cannot save your ideas on Instagram it’s a good starting point for gaining inspiration. At Davonport we upload new photos daily to our Instagram profile, keeping you constantly updated with the latest trends and ideas and providing much needed kitchen inspiration. Search ‘#Davonport’ or visit our profile to view all our Instagram images.

PINTEREST

Pinterest is essentially an online scrapbooking service. You create a free profile and are then able to ‘pin’ your favourite images onto your own personalised ‘boards’. Though Pinterest is not interior design specific it is an increasingly popular place to gather ideas for home decor and renovation; from colour schemes to specific cabinet door styles, it’s a great way to pull everything together. With unlimited boards you could have one for every room of the house, not just your kitchen. The optional function to install a Pinterest button to your browser enables you to ‘pin’ from across the web, rather than just from other people’s Pinterest profiles. As well as whole kitchens, the Davonport Pinterest profile also features boards about more precise details; for example a kitchen island board and a board for all things storage related. These types of boards will help you fine tune individual parts of your new kitchen design.

HOUZZ

Houzz is a relatively new platform but a brilliant resource for not only pulling together images of what you like, but also to find professionals local to you and to gain expert advice. Houzz is similar to Pinterest in that it’s the online equivalent of buying magazines, tearing out the pictures you like and sticking them on a corkboard; on Houzz these boards are called ‘ideabooks’. Unlike Pinterest, Houzz is home renovation specific, with professionals offering images of their work in ‘project’ folders, along with expert advice. Because Houzz is interiors specific and used by businesses and clients alike it’s a brilliant place to find the right company to realise your dream home. Houzz is an interactive service and therefore you’re able to ask questions and gain knowledge about products by simply commenting on pictures and articles. You can also ask the community for help or ideas in the Advice section. The Davonport Houzz profile currently boasts 25 projects, with new images added on a regular basis. We are always looking to offer our assistance to users; if you have a design query, please contact us via our Davonport profile page and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

All these social media platforms are free to use with unlimited access from the comfort of your own home. Instagram, Pinterest and Houzz are great ways to get a feel for overall styles or specific kitchen features. When you come to meet with your designer having some preliminary ideas about what you like will help you to achieve your dream kitchen. At Davonport we offer a wholly bespoke service, it only makes sense that this process starts with you and your favourite styles.

Feel free to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest and Houzz to find inspiration for your dream kitchen or interior.