It was only a matter of time before interior designers had online communities of their own. The image sharing network Pinterest and mood board creator Olioboard are two great social networks for designers or design enthusiasts. They not only make it easy and fun to make digital versions of inspiration boards that designers commonly use, they provide a community of design-oriented people with whom you can interact.

1. Pinterest

By now you have likely heard about Pinterest, an online inspiration and pin board that is similar to a purely visual version of Twitter. Basically, it allows you to create “boards” on to which you pin images that you find appealing. Boards allow you to have image galleries with different themes or subjects of your choosing. You can add comments to the images as well. You can get images from anywhere on the web, as well as from other users on Pinterest.

Design Marketplace recently published a great article on the uses of Pinterest for interior designers. They explained how Pinterest can be used as a source of–and outlet for–inspiration, a method of self-promotion and networking, and a way to exhibit your unique style. Its important to avoid being overly self-promoting, however, because other users will not be interested in following you if you only showcase your own images. Success in Pinterest depends on having a variety of high-quality images organized in ways that keep people coming back for more, and reflect your style beyond your own designs or products. For example, a very common board type in the Home Decor section of the site is one focused on specific colors:

Red for the Home

Winter. Home. Blue & White.

Each image also features a link back to the website from which it originated, giving you the opportunity to increase traffic to your own site. You will notice the largest impact if you are lucky enough to have an image “repinned” many times over by other Pinterest users, which means that they chose to use it in one of their boards.

For designers, Pinterest is much more than a fun way to explore products, styles and imagery. It’s a way to connect with a community of visually-inspired people, and to expose yourself, your style, and your business to this community.

2. Olioboard

Like an interactive Pinterest just for interior designers, Olioboard allows you to create moodboards composed of a wide variety of images.

Interior designer Selma Hammer of Selma Hammer Designs recently published an amazing Olioboard moodboard guide on her blog. Her guide takes you step-by-step through starting out and optimizing your use of Olioboard as a designer. She also shows inspiring moodboards of her own:

Eclectic, Teal & Tangerine Tango by Selma Hammer

About the website she says:

“Olioboard provides me with a creative output for my imagination. My designs are limitless with Olioboard with the ease of pulling images from virtually any web site to create the desired design impact I’m looking for. I use the private option for boards that I create for clients. I’ve had much success with them being able to visualize the design I have created for their space. I look forward to exploring more of the new Pro functions such as the budget tool. This new tool is essential to my clients’ understanding of the components in creating the look I’m hoping to achieve for them.” -Selma Hammer

From floor paneling swatches to product photos to art prints, there are over 10,000 images from hundreds of brands available to use. Like Pinterest, there is a button you can add to your browser to use images from other websites, so the number of images is really limitless. Many users choose to create an entire room out of mood board images, rather than simply group the images for inspiration.

Creating an Olioboard is as easy as looking through their galleries, and then dragging and dropping. You can also rotate, enlarge, and shrink images to better fit in your space. Olioboard has periodic contests to create themed rooms, like “Whisper in Watercolors,” “An Experiment in Shades of White,” and “Valentines Day.” Some contests are even sponsored and have a cash prize. Not only is Olioboard a useful tool, but a wonderful source of fun as well.

For both Pinterest and Olioboard, a great asset is the community that comes with the website. Each site has an active community of interior design enthusiasts who give and receive feedback constantly. Neither website requires any kind of download to use, and both are free. Dive right in and have fun!

Do you use Pinterest or Olioboard? Please share your experience!

Saguaro Hotel Entrance

A few months ago we got a peculiar request to put a vibrant purple leather edge finishing on a Kona sisal runner. Although we trusted Peter Stamberg and Paul Aferiat of Stamberg Aferiat Architecture’s taste, I have to admit that it perked our interested since we could not possibly image the type of space that would cater to such a bold rug. As such, it prompted us to get to know a little more about Stamberg Aferiat and the project that they were working on….

Stamberg Aferiat’s style tends toward a classic modern look that incorporates vibrant color to express emotion. As Stamberg says, their look is “something that had been part of early Modernism but was then lost”, but we like to think it’s early Modernism brought back to life. Stamberg Aferiat has a very special way of revitalizing a space and breathing soul and excitement into it.

For the Saguaro Hotel project, aka the future home of the former purple bound rug in question, Stamberg and Aferiat were given one significant guideline – that the property had to embrace and feel rooted in it’s Scottsdale, AZ location. With the basic goals and guidelines laid out, the dynamic duo focused on how to bring the hotel to life in a very tight time frame and with a resourceful budget. As such, they found reputable locals whose opinion they trusted and asked them about their feelings on the essence of the area. With insider’s perspectives on the town and subsequent understand of people’s respect for the land and their natural surroundings, they drew their color palette from the gorgeous, bright and cheerful abundant indigenous wildflowers found in the local Sonoran Desert.

From there, Stamberg and Aferiat created a vibrant, lively, gorgeous and luxurious hotel. We had an “aha!” moment when, at long last, we saw the installation of the Kona runner. It fit into the space perfectly, and the creative pop of purple was just what the Kona needed to tie in to the overall design.

Saguaro Lobby - Kona Sisal Runner with the Purple Edge Finishing

Saguaro Guest Room

Saguaro Guest Room Nightstand

Saguaro Fireplace

Saguaro Picante at Dusk

Thank you Peter and Paul for opening up our eyes to another fun way to dress up our rugs! We are anxiously awaiting the grand opening of the next Saguaro Hotel, fittingly in Palm Springs, CA.  Shhh, here’s a sneak preview….

Saguaro Palm Springs Exterior

Saguaro Palm Springs Guest Room

Saguaro Palm Springs Guest Room Detail

Anne Maxwell Foster & Suysel de Pedro Cunningham

About a year ago this time I had the pleasure of connecting with Anne Maxwell Foster and Suysel de Pedro Cunningham of Tilton Fenwick when they were just starting up their interior design business. Typically it takes new interior design firms years and years to establish themselves and get recognized for their work, but Tilton Fenwick did things differently. In their first year in business Tilton Fenwick was nominated to Trad Home’s Top 20 New Traditionals, selected as one of the participants in the 2011 Hamptons Designer Showhouse, AND the recipient of the IFDA Rising Star Award. As Ronda Carman from the reputable All the Best blog echoed, they are “the darlings of the design world.”

Tilton Fenwick for the Hampton Showhouse

Tilton Fenwick for the Hampton Showhouse

I was intrigued to learn more about how Tilton Fenwick took the design world by storm. Undoubtedly they are talented in their ability to create stunning interiors, but we all know it takes depth and knowledge to grow a successful business in a short period of time. Upon talking with Anne and Suysel I came to learn that they both have solid business backgrounds with prior experience working in advertising. Interior design was their passion; so they both went on to hone their craft with notable NYC firms Markham Roberts, Ashley Whittaker Design, and Brockschmidt & Coleman. From there they came together to form Tilton Fenwick with a mastermind business plan.

When forming Tilton Fenwick, Suysel and Anne saw an opportunity in the market to expand their reach both meaningfully and quickly through social media. Tilton Fenwick is a good example of the massive impact that social media can have on the world of design. As such, I am happy to share their top 5 tips on how to successfully utilize social media to grow your business.

TILTON FENWICK’S TOP 5 SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS:

1. Express what you love. To build a strong and supportive community (be it online or in person) you need to be authentic in who you are and what you stand for. If you are upfront and transparent with this you will develop lasting followers that support you. If you talk about something that you love it will come more naturally and that will be conveyed in your communications.

2. Maintain authenticity. Once you’ve established your voice and what you are passionate about, make sure that you keep that authenticity in your daily communications. For example, do not tweet for the sake of tweeting, tweet if you have something relevant to say.

3. Set parameters. When getting started, set a goal for the number of tweets, posts, or fans that you want to achieve during a given week. This will get you in the habit of sharing relevant ideas, successes, or intriguing thoughts throughout the day. Eventually it will become second nature to share exciting things with your online community!

4. Branding is important – stay focused. At the end of the day you are building a community around your brand. Keep this in mind when considering the content that you are tweeting so you don’t get too personal or off topic.

5. Promote other designers and your vendors. After all, social media is about building a community together. If you show support for fellow designers and preferred vendors they will be more inclined to return the favor and in turn promote you.