Ten to follow on Pinterest

For design lovers, Pinterest is still the ultimate source of inspiration, with everything from room makeovers to insider tips. Rin Hamburgh presents her top ‘pinners’ to check out.

Pinterest page of Ikea Family Magazine
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Since its launch in 2010, Pinterest has established itself as one of the most popular image and idea curation sites, with an incredible 100 million monthly active users. There are plenty of other social-media sites, but for design lovers, Pinterest is still the ultimate source of inspiration, with everything from room makeovers to colour palettes, creative projects and insider tips. Here’s a rundown of some of our favourite pinners.

Abigail Ahern

2,792 pins

16,419 followers

If you appreciate someone who’s taken some thought over naming their ­Pinterest collections, you will enjoy browsing Abigail Ahern’s relatively small but perfectly formed series of 22 boards, from “Making an entrance” (gorgeous hallways and landings) to “Dining room drama”. There are some genuinely stunning images in “Wonderful walls” ­(including a shimmering blue and green crocodile wall treatment), and for the gents there’s a board dedicated to that all-important space, the “man cave”. Elsewhere, “In my pad” lets you take a sneak peek inside the designer’s own East ­London home, and if you want to know how to style like a pro then visit the “Vignettes” board for some tricks of the trade.

Apartment Apothecary

13,110 pins

312,846 followers

Blogger Katy Orme started Apartment Apothecary in 2013, and within a year she had given up her job as a teacher to run it full-time, alongside writing for interiors and craft magazines and helping other people design their homes. Her Pinterest account reflects the blog, with room and product boards providing plenty of inspiration. If you like to snoop into other people’s houses, you will enjoy the “Room makeovers in my home” board, where each photo links back to a blog post about that room’s restyle journey, and there’s lots of great advice in “Ask ­Apartment Apothecary”, curated in response to questions from the blog’s followers. Don’t miss the “Styling the seasons” board, based on a monthly blog series by Orme and Charlotte Smith of Lotts and Lots, which ­features a selection of reader photographs in which they style and photograph a surface in their home to reflect changes of season and what a month means to them.

Curbly

17,576 pins

120,510 followers

Curbly is a “DIY design community for people who love where they live”, a website covering everything from room makeovers and creative projects for the home to printables and Ikea hacks. The site’s Pinterest account covers similar topics, with 33 boards ranging from “Tips and tricks” to a collection of pictures that inspired the styling of the Curbly office. The “Eye candy” boards are particularly attractive, and there are some great project ideas for outside spaces in “DIY gardening and outdoor projects”.

Holly Becker / Decor8 (pictured right)

19,200 pins

362,902 followers

There aren’t many design fans who haven’t heard of interiors author, journalist and stylist Holly Becker, founder of the popular blog Decor8. Born in the ­United States and now living in ­Germany, she has been sharing her style tips and inspiration for an impressive 10 years, making her a true veteran of the blogging world. ­Becker’s ­Pinterest account offers something for every interiors fan: as well as more-­general style, trend and room boards, she has fantastic collections such as “Beni Ourain rugs”, ­“Pegboard” and “Feathers”, all bursting with inspirational shots. Don’t miss the “My home” and “My styling work” boards, which are proof positive of this popular blogger’s design credentials.

Homegirl London

51,357 pins

265,112 followers

Describing herself as a ­“London lifestyle blog featuring finds, trends, rooms, profiles, shops and eats”, ­Homegirl London – also known as Tanya Lake – has an eye for a quirky find and has filled her Pinterest page with more than 50,000 gorgeous images that will keep you entertained for hours. She categorises her boards with a satisfyingly meticulous consistency, making it easy to find the most ­relevant pins for your project or tastes. There are colour boards, ones dedicated to room types, and those about different trends, from ­“Industrial” to “Rustic & ­rural”. She has also put together a series of fantastic product collections, including birdcages, milk bottles, and tea and coffee pots.

Ikea Family Magazine

7,760 pins

84,369 followers

Search for Ikea on Pinterest and you will come up with a lot of results – there are accounts for many of the different countries where the Swedish mega-brand has stores, not to mention endless pins of their products and the increasingly popular “Ikea hacks” (where people customise Ikea products to suit their needs or make them that bit more stylish). But the best account to follow is definitely Ikea Family Magazine, with boards stuffed full of ideas for everything from workspaces to teen bedrooms, storage ideas to urban gardening. While the images themselves are great, it’s the detailed captions that are really worth reading, giving some great tips and ideas that add real value to each of the pins.

Jessica Colaluca / Design Seeds

7,507 pins

758,663 followers

American colour and design consultant Jessica ­Colaluca is the founder of Design Seeds, creating colour palettes that celebrate the innumerable shades found in nature. These are a great source of inspiration if you’re trying to decide on a colour scheme for your home, often showcasing unusual combinations that work surprisingly well. Colaluca’s Pinterest boards are mostly themed groupings of things that inspire her, from ­“Edible colour” (artistically styled foodie pictures) to “Creature colour” (beautifully shot animal pictures), plus colour focus boards and a selection of other design topics such as “Colour and typography” and “Interior motives”.

Kelly Hoppen

429 pins

16,931 followers

Fans of this British design icon will fall head over heels with her Pinterest account, which beautifully reflects her classic, strong, mono­chromatic style. There are the usual collections of images divided by room and colour, and plenty of her own projects and design collaborations to be seen, too. Best of all are the inspiration boards, from “Geometry” to “Coral”, all of which are full of incredible imagery as well as actual buy-it-now products – her own and others – so it’s easy to add the look to your home. All pins are well-captioned, with design tips to help you recreate the look, and product prices where appropriate.

Laura Bielecki / Luxury Interiors

26,700 pins

27,269 followers

If you like your interiors high-end rather than high street, you need to check out Canadian designer Laura Bielecki, who blogs as Luxury Interiors Design Journal. Currently based in Dubai, she has worked with clients around the world, from Miami to Mumbai, and definitely has an eye for the more upmarket things in life. Her boards are mostly divided by room, and include some really exclusive options such as mud rooms, libraries and pools/spas. For something a bit different, don’t miss the “Elevators” board (who knew lifts could be so stylish?) or the clever, eye-­catching design touches on the “God is in the detail” board.

Made.com

10,549 pins

30,991 followers

Some design stores stuff their Pinterest boards full of their own products and little else, but Made offers much more. There are some unusual trend collections such as “Hard candy”, ­“Memphis” and “Going Dutch”, as well as boards put together by dust pinners such as bloggers Hege Morris (Hege in France) and ­Helena del Rio (A Diary of Lovely). Other boards well worth a look are “Rented home” (containing “tips and tricks to turn your rented house into a home”), “Infographics” (featuring everything from “Which indoor plant is right for your home?” to “9 ways to create a productive home office”) and “Made unboxed” (where you can see how customers use and style their Made products).

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