For one of the ways we get to know our residential clients and their project ideas, we have them complete a document about where they currently reside, how they live their lives at home and how they imagine their new project. It’s a tool for getting their lifestyles, and their design styles, too. It’s a Word document, and in addition to filling that out, many arrive with (and we encourage them to bring) books or magazines that share their design interests.

I started using Pinterest last week, and it’s going to change our process for clients who wish to use it with us. And while I thought I was an early-adopter – how surprised was I when I found a client’s boards waiting for me: “interior ideas” “Colorado house” and “objects of beauty.” Almost all in one place, I got a simple, interesting and effective snapshot of her design eye and preferences. And while I’ve always liked my design document for getting good baseline info, I’m more visual than verbal. Pinterest gives me eye-candy narrative to use in my conversations.

Pinterest bills itself as an “online pinboard,” where users discover images of things and “pin” to their theme-based pin boards and share them with friends and followers.

So using Pinterest simplifies our architectural process. When you set up your Pinterest account you’re asked to download a browser plug-in that fixes a “Pin It” button to your bookmarks bar. During your-day-to-day browsing, when you find an image of the operable door assembly or kitchen tile that you were wishing to find, one click will save it to your Pinterest account and provide the visual and source web link for us.

The site is really taking off. In October of 2011 alone, the site generated 421 million pageviews. Pinterest also saw a significant user growth in 2011 from 1 million users in January to 6 million by the end of December. When you take those numbers, it’s easy to see that Pinterest has some serious momentum – and not just for residential but commercial work, too.

VFLA image of our project with a beetle kill bar has been re-pinned many times.

Already pinning? Please follow me justinclarson If you’re interested but not a member, yet, simply request an invite. You’ll be easily sharing what inspires you – from architecture to food to nature.