Pinterest Passion

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I'll admit it.  I adore Pinterest.  Social butterflies can keep their Facebook; just let me have my pins.

I've always been a magpie, collecting objects and images and other bits that inspire me, and I feel like Pinterest is the only online outlet that reflects this part of my obsessive personality completely.  Maybe too completely.  

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How do I love it?  Let me count the ways:

1. I can categorize my inspirations any way that I wish.
2. I've always been plagued by half-remembered book titles and recipes, so I love that it helps me remember what would otherwise slip through my memory's sieve.
3. I meet people weekly whose own interests and tastes intersect with my own in surprising ways.  One such person is Carole.  Her boards are full of beauty and surprises.  She is more sophisticated than I am, and this delights me, too!
4. I also get to know old friends--of both the real world and blogging varieties--much better.  For example, my friend Ciara is one of the first people I met through blogging a few years ago, and I have admired her writing and photography ever since.  Through Pinterest I've discovered that we have common tastes in interiors, books, and art.  She is a deeply beautiful and whimsical soul who inspires me daily with her own work as well as her pins.
5. I am becoming better acquainted with my own tastes.  I've always known what I like the moment I see it, but these boards allow me to see in a more coherent way the elements of design that most appeal to my own aesthetic sensibilities.  I'm also becoming much more realistic about the importance of function in any design.  

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Now that I'm getting to know my own loves and needs better, I can tell you without hesitation that my next kitchen will have ample open shelving above and drawers instead of cupboards below.  I can also tell you that I like chandeliers much more than I ever realized I did.  And finally, I can share with you my deep and abiding love for black and white.

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Yes, just look at the picture below.  There's the open shelves.  There's the black and the white--oh, and with little touches of bronze-y gold.  This combination sends me over the moon.

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Since childhood I have collected bits and bobs, letters and numbers like the ones you see below.  

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And typewriters.  And cups.  And bowls.  And frames.  And feathers.  

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The photo below reminds me that in my next house I would like an all-white room with a few key pieces of black furniture and touches of those browns, bronzes, and golds.  The vase of blue delphiniums softens the edges and pulls the look together for me.

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One of my favorite things about Pinterest is that I can collect thoughtful expressions and sayings, all beautifully lettered.  This one below has that gorgeous black and gold I love, but it also reminds me of a favorite line from a favorite childhood story.  Remember Willy Wonka's words: "So shines a good deed in a weary world."  

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So, yes, Pinterest, I adore you, and I doff my hat to you.  

Now, if only I can decide which one . . .

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