How To Use Pinterest To Design Your Home

Read time ~ 5 minutes

Pinterest has changed the way we create. From planning mom’s 60th birthday party to announcing an engagement to designing your bathroom to making brunch to DIYing lipstick, inspiration is everywhere on this handy platform.

So, thank you, Pinterest. Now we can never show up to another family BBQ without giving the dessert table a once-over and checking to see if the chip dip matches the ceiling fan.

Jokes aside, Pinterest is an incredible tool for all things creative, especially when it comes to designing your home. If you are building, renovating, or designing your home but don’t have a Pinterest account it’s time to make one.

Since its launch in 2010, Pinterest has made some major improvements, making it even easier to streamline your process for gathering inspiration and storing your ideas for the home of your dreams all in one place.

We’re giving you four tips on the best ways to do it.

Here’s how to use Pinterest to design your home:

1. Create and Organize Your Boards

Depending on if you’re renovating your entire home or a single room, be specific when you create your boards to organize your pins. Avoid creating a board titled, “Dream Home”, but break it down further and create boards for each room so you can easily find what you’re looking for. Are you renovating your master bath? Re-designing your closet? Building a front porch? Create boards for each project.

Pinterest is all about giving you the freshest, most relevant content. As you create each board, set a goal for when you want to finish say, designing your mudroom to get reminders about planning and keep your recommended pins relevant.

Want your partner, teen, or bff to give you their two cents? “Group boards” are a great option if you want collaboration on your pins to get everyone’s ideas in one place.

Don’t want your neighbors stealing your design ideas? We get it. You can also create “Secret Boards” so you can keep your brilliance to yourself.

Organize your boards on your profile either from A-Z, last saved to or drag and drop them in an order that makes the most sense to you.

Inside your boards, you can organize your pins any way you want. Maybe you want to move the pins you love the most towards the top for easy access, to put all the dining room tables you love next to each other to compare them side by side, or push your partner’s suggestion down towards the bottom.

The better you can organize your pins and boards as you go, the easier it will be to finish your project!

2. Find Your Favorite Pinners

Don’t follow hundreds and hundreds of pinners. Find the brands and bloggers who are active on Pinterest and creating quality content on the regular that aligns with your style. These will become the brands you trust and love (if they aren’t already).

Here are a few of our favorites:

• Luxe Interiors + Design Magazine

• Jean Stoffer Design

• Studio McGee

• Becki Owens

If you don’t follow hundreds and hundreds of accounts, your “following feed” will be more streamlined and less cluttered.

If following only a few pinners makes you panic, don’t worry. Pinterest saw that coming. On your “Home” and “Today” tab, you’ll get served the latest, most relevant content that matches the content of your most recent searches that aren’t limited to the accounts you follow.

3. Be specific with Your Searches

The more specific you can get with your searches, the better the content you’ll get. For example, if you search “mid-century modern brass lamp” you’ll get pages of great options and likely find what you’re looking for faster than if you had searched “cool brass lamp”.

Once you type in your super specific search, you can use the “Explore” tab or the “Shop” tab. With the “Shop” tab, you can see hundreds of mid-century modern brass lamps with their brand and prices and if you so desire, you can buy it right then and there. There’s always the option to use “More Ideas” for similar pins, or to “Shop Similar” whenever you search. Pinterest is making this too easy for us!

If you’re not ready to buy just yet but definitely want to save the idea, when you save each pin, make sure to comment what you love or don’t love about the pin to remind yourself of the specifics when you revisit it later. For example, “love the color, not the shape”. This is a great way to customize your pins!

Pinterest also lets you share or download your pins. Share your pins with your friends who are fellow pinners on the app by messaging it to them or sending them the link. Download the image if you want it saved to your phone or computer. These features make it easy to interact with your friends on or off the app and save the images to a folder on your computer if you want to store your ideas there, too.

4. Share it with Your Contractor or Designer

Keep your boards to yourself, or better yet, share them with your contractor or designer so they can get a better feel for your style.

This is where all the hard work you put into organizing your boards and pins pays off! Easily show your contractor or designer your dream for your living room, backyard patio or kitchen. Let them know exactly what you want.

Refer to any comments you made previously on your pins to point out the specifics. Maybe you loved the countertops, but you hated the backsplash. Or you loved the layout of the living room, but would love it even more if there were bigger windows. Point out what you like or don’t like about the design and let them browse your boards so they can make your dream home a reality.

Designing your home just got easier with Pinterest. Use these four tips next time you curl up on your couch with a glass of wine and get to work designing your home with this app.

Did we mention we’re big Pinterest fans, too? Follow us @markscotthomes to see our latest projects and get inspired for your own!

5 Things to Look for in a Custom Home Builder

Read time ~5 minutes

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Building a custom home has always been a dream of yours. Maybe you’ve already started your research and sketched out some plans, maybe it’s still a “one day” dream or maybe you’ve already bought the champagne for your first dinner party.

Wherever you’re at in the process, you deserve the best experience.

But before you pop the bubbly, you need to find a custom home builder to make your dream a reality. To choose the right builder for you, you need to know what to look for. But where do you start?

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Before you begin your search, know what you need.

Just like you wouldn’t buy a house sight unseen, you wouldn’t look for a custom home builder without first knowing what you need.

Once you know what your budget is, have a general sense of of the home you want, your non-negotiables, what’s important to you and what you want your experience to look like, it will be easier to find a custom home builder who fits your needs expectations, and understands your vision.

There are a lot of great qualities to look for in your builder. We came up with 5 to get you started with your search:

1. First, they listen.

Starting the process of building your custom home can be overwhelming, which is why it’s necessary to have a builder who listens to what you need and what you’re looking for before jumping in with the solution.

Great builders will evaluate your needs, your budget, and your values and align their solution with your best interest in mind.

After they listen long and hard, they might lay out what the most expensive elements of the design would be, what would be tricky to do and give you a rough figure of what the build would cost.

2. They pay close attention to detail.

There are a million details that go into building a custom home.

You need a builder with a well-established process who will walk you through these details and give you the confidence that your home will be built with taste and quality. Luxurious details that are carried out with intention will bring out your home’s unique charm and elegance.

You want a builder who will handle every detail of your home like it’s their home.

3. They are trustworthy.

The best way to find out if your custom builder is trustworthy is to talk to them and trust your instincts.

Here are some questions you could ask them:

• How many years have you been in business and how many homes have you built?

• How closely do you work with my architect and interior designer?

• Can you go into depth with how you approach the estimating process?

• Do you only build from existing floor plans or can I bring my own plans?

• What kind of new home warranty do you offer?

• Who will be overseeing the construction of my home? How can I contact them?

• How will you approach questions and concerns that come up throughout the process?

• Can I check out a current project you’re working on?

Once you trust and respect your builder to do the job well, you can be sure that they’ll get the job done exactly how you want it.

4. They have a strong reputation.

To get a pulse on your builder’s reputation, start with online reviews. Ask them to introduce you to past clients. You can even request to visit a finished home, ideally one that’s been finished for 1+ years.

When you visit a finished home, pay close attention to the workmanship and the materials they used. Are the design features attractive? Did they use quality materials?

You want a builder with a strong reputation of being hands-on, intelligent and thoughtful. Good builders will be incredibly organized and won’t cut corners. In your search for a reputable builder, don’t just look for great builders, but quality humans.

5. They keep you involved in the building process.

A good builder will keep the communication transparent throughout the entire process. Once you contact them initially, you’ll be able to get an immediate feel for their communication style.

Good builders set up meetings regularly to set clear expectations and make sure you both stay on the same page. You’ll want to know if the project gets delayed and why. A good builder will discuss challenges with the builder, offer modifications and tell you the plan moving forward.

And when it’s done? A good builder makes sure you’re satisfied. They won’t throw you the keys and run, but they’ll finish the job with class, do a final walk-through and make sure you’re 100% satisfied with your home.

Chances are if your builder listens well, pays close attention to detail, is trustworthy and has a strong reputation, they’ll keep you involved in the building process because it’s evident that they care about your needs.

In your search, don’t just look for the best price. Look for compatibility and these 5 qualities in your candidates. And remember, building your dream home should be an incredible and rewarding experience. At Mark Scott Homes, we don’t want you to settle for anything less!

Naturally Nautical

The unique thing about our portfolio is that there are really no two houses that are alike. We have a wide variety of styles. Learn more about one of our homes featured in Great Lakes by Design Magazine.

Click here for the full article.

UNDERSTANDING CONDENSATION

Condensation is one of the biggest problems in a modern, well insulated home.  Additionally, it is the one which is most misunderstood.  Left untreated, condensation can lead to mold growth which can be potentially harmful and lead to serious health issues and breathing difficulties which is why it is important to reduce humidity levels in a home.

When condensation appears on the interior of your windows, everyone assumes it must be the windows.  Your home is insulated to protect against extremes of outdoor temperatures. With this insulation, a vapor barrier is installed to prevent moisture from getting into wall, ceiling and floor cavities where it can cause damage. Since moisture cannot escape through the structure the excess must pass through the any opening built into your home.

In daily living you add moisture to the air by breathing, cooking, washing clothes, bathing and even by heating your home with gas. As a homeowner you must control condensation so that it doesn’t cause damage to the surfaces and the structure of your home.

Based on keeping an indoor temperature of 70 degrees, humidity will vary with the outdoor temperature.  Use the following maximum recommended humidity levels to keep condensation under control:

Outside Air Temperature                 Maximum Recommended Indoor Humidity Level

-20 F or Colder                                   Up to15% Maximum

-20 F to -10 F                                      Up to 20% Maximum

-10 F                                                    Up to 25% Maximum

0 F                                                      Up to 30% Maximum

10 F                                                     Up to 35% Maximum

20 F to 40 F                                       Up to 40% Maximum

Humidity levels above these are not recommended unless special provisions are taken during construction.

 Here are a few tips that can help you control humidity:

• When cooking on the range, turn on the exhaust fan in the hood above it, which will carry moisture from cooking outdoors.

• When taking a shower or bath, keep the bathroom door shut to confine the moisture in the bathroom alone. Turn on the bathroom vent fan or open the window slightly for 30 minutes to let excess moisture escape.

• When doing laundry, avoid hanging wet clothes in your home. Use a dryer if you have one; it exhausts moisture directly into outside air.

• Avoid storing firewood indoors.

The humidity level that should be maintained in your home varies with outside temperature.  The colder it is outside, the lower the humidity level must be inside your home.  Keep in mind not to take your humidity too extreme, or you’ll experience shrinking and drying of walls, wood floors and cabinetry.  All major manufactures of humidifiers list the recommended humidity settings based on outside temperatures. 

When in doubt, consult a Home Maintenance Expert to review your home to control Condensation before damage is done.