The #1 Mistake Homeowners Make Using Houzz and Pinterest.

photo/design credit the talented designer Meg Lonergan The #1 Mistake Homeowners Make Using Houzz and Pinterest.

As a designer, I truly love utilizing Houzz and Pinterest as visual platforms. One amazing photo after another for inspiration….whats not to love?!?! But over the years, I keep seeing a reoccurring theme with homeowners that greatly concerns me. The number one mistake homeowners are making when trying to work strictly from images and photos is they're unconsciously creating rooms with too many focal points in a single space. The result is often a space that is visually busy and overall chaotic.

Let me explain….using Houzz or Pinterest to communicate thoughts or style is a wonderful way to utilize these visual platforms but many times homeowners will try and “piece” a design together by using the “most unique” parts of many different types of photos and with a variety of styles. The thought is that collectively all the differnent parts combined together will have maximum impact if they are placed in one single space. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. I can tell you first hand folks…regardless of your style preferences, great spaces always have a underlying since of hierarchy… meaning you notice one or two key elements in the room and the other elements are simply subtle supporting details. More is not more. Trying to combine the focal point elements from many different photos into a single space will result in a visual mess and huge waste of money.

So if your temped to create an over the top design with a “mashup” of many different images….. for example a hammered metal kitchen vent hood, with a brightly colored moroccan backsplash tile, distressed hand-scrapped wood floors, glazed cabinets and chunky natural stone on the base of the island with a wood butcher block top….take a step back and narrow your focal points down to one or maybe two great “show stopping elements” as opposed to trying to combine them into a single space which is simply too much for the eye to take in. Pair down your focal points for the space and I guarantee you will be thrilled with the overall results…. a more balanced, cohesive, confident space. Happy building folks!

Great example of a killer design above.... Note the two amazing focal points. 1) That ceiling. 2) And those bad ass counter stools! Done and Done....hats off to designer Meg Lonergan this space is incredible!