Pinterest is one of the greatest design tools we’ve ever been given.
Within minutes, we can step inside homes in Copenhagen, browse apartments in Milan or wander through boutique hotels in Kyoto. It has opened up a world of ideas that was once reserved for magazines and professionals.
The problem isn’t Pinterest. It’s what happens when inspiration quietly becomes imitation.
When Everything Starts to Look Familiar
A client once showed me her Pinterest board before our first meeting.
“I know it’s a bit random,” she laughed.
It wasn’t random at all. There were dozens of images. Different architects. Different countries. Different budgets. Yet somehow, they all felt strangely familiar.
Warm oak.
Cream walls.
Travertine.
Soft linen.
A sculptural chair.
An olive tree standing in the corner.
Every room was beautiful.
Every room also looked as though it belonged to the same person.
We rarely notice the moment familiarity becomes taste.
Do I Actually Love This?
The more often we see something, the more natural it begins to feel. Not because we’ve carefully decided we like it, but because our minds are incredibly good at accepting what they see repeatedly.
Without realising it, we stop asking ourselves:
“Do I actually love this?”
Instead, we ask:
“Does this look like the homes I’ve saved?”
It’s a small shift.
But it’s the moment our own judgement quietly steps aside.
When Someone Else’s Taste Becomes Our Own
This isn’t really about Pinterest. The same thing happens on Instagram, in magazines and in beautifully curated homes we visit. We are constantly surrounded by images telling us what good design looks like. The danger isn’t that we become inspired. The danger is that we stop noticing where our own opinions end and someone else’s begin.
I’ve met homeowners who apologise because they don’t like a colour that’s currently fashionable and feel it is all over their favourite magazines.
Some even feel guilty for wanting something different from what everyone else seems to be choosing.
A home isn’t a competition in good taste.
A Home Should Reveal Something About You
A home is the place where your life unfolds.
The homes people remember aren’t memorable because they contain the latest trends.
They’re memorable because they feel deeply personal.
A chair that’s been repaired rather than replaced.
Books that have been collected over decades.
Art bought on holiday because it meant something, not because it matched the sofa.
A room shaped around the way a family actually lives rather than the way a photograph should look.
Those things can’t be copied.
They have to be discovered.
Start With How You Live
That’s why I rarely begin a project by asking a client what style they like.
Instead, I ask different questions.
Where do you drink your morning coffee?
Where does everyone naturally gather when friends come over?
What object in your home could you never imagine getting rid of?
Those answers reveal far more than a hundred saved images ever could.
Inspiration Should Make Your World Bigger
None of this means you should stop using Pinterest. I use it myself. It’s a wonderful place to discover materials, craftspeople and ideas you may never have found otherwise. But inspiration should expand your thinking, not replace it, use it to ask better questions, not to find ready-made answers.
The most memorable homes aren’t the ones that could appear on everyone’s Pinterest board, they’re the ones that couldn’t belong to anyone else. Because the best interiors don’t begin with someone else’s vision, they begin with yours.
Good interior design isn’t about arriving at a particular look. It’s about understanding what matters to you, how you live, and turning that into a space that feels unmistakably your own. Have a project in mind? Get in touch with Kando Studio to start a conversation.
Written by Fariba Soltani, Founder of Kando Studio — kandostudio.com
