Pinterest and your holiday remodeling wish list

The holidays are upon us. It was around this time last year that my BFF and I embarked on a project to replace my downstairs carpeting with resilient vinyl flooring after my then-new dog convinced me that carpeting was not the right flooring for him.

It was my first real home improvement in my new-construction home, and it turned out great -- what is done of it. But all projects are on temporary hold because BFF got a new job recently that requires more of her time, and I started my own freelance business, meaning no budget yet for further home improv.

So for now, at least, I must be content to just keep adding to my wish list and researching products, ideas, and inspirational designs. It's actually a good time of year to think about making a wish list. You never know when Santa will smile on you and bring you a big home improvement in his sack. I pity the reindeer, though.

So what do you do while you're waiting for time, money, or both and you have lots of projects on your wish list? You do a lot of research. Lucky for us we have the Internet, something our parents (at least mine) did not.

Shopping for home decor, pre- and post-Internet

I can remember my mother dragging me from showroom to showroom while she searched for just the right mirror, bedroom suite, and wallpaper. Either I was born with a love of pretty home décor or I acquired it that hot, muggy summer, but one way or another it is now an obsession. Lucky for me I can satisfy my urge to browse pretty things without leaving the comfort of my desk most of the time. One of the best ways to do this is with Pinterest.

When I first heard about Pinterest my first reaction was, "Uh-oh! Not another social networking site to distract me!" However, if you are shopping for anything or just love the creative jolt that browsing gives your brain, this is one of the best places to satisfy that urge.

I am seeing a lot of new Pinterest members joining from among my many Facebook acquaintances lately, so my guess is that there are still a lot of people who haven't stuck their toes in the water of this social media phenomenon yet.

It doesn't take much (if any) instruction to sign up and start "pinning" to your "boards." It's like browsing through magazines, cutting out pictures and articles, and putting them on your wall or refrigerator for inspiration, except this wall or refrigerator can be seen by anyone else on Pinterest that you want to see it and the pile of "magazines" is the entire World Wide Web.

Members can share "pins" on their own boards, which are categories you create and name, e.g. "For the Home," "Pretty Things," and so on. You can "follow" members' boards, and when you go to your home page you'll see what they are currently pinning and find more great stuff to pin. Or you can do a search for whatever you're interested in and you'll be shown boards full of just that. For example, I am thinking about replacing the wimpy pedestal sink in my powder room with a utility sink so I have a place to bathe my dog. A search for utility sinks on Pinterest netted an entire board full of exceptionally nice sinks.

When you click on a pinned image, it usually takes you to the site where the article or product information originally appeared. So the really great part is that you can often find out more about it in an instant.

Got a remodeling or home décor wish list? Start researching and pinning. You can even send Santa a link to your home improvement Pinterest board. You might actually get what you want this year.