AI and Pinterest
Let’s continue the conversation about how AI is affecting your build or remodel. If you missed the first post, click here. This time we’ll look at the planning and design phase of your build.
You’re probably familiar with Pinterest. We use it as a tool to communicate ideas, share product links and design by room. It has been very beneficial to us and our homeowners, BUT more and more it has become inundated with AI images and on occasion we have to let a homeowner know that the overall look or concept of a space they pin might be great, but the products or even the construction details aren’t real and/or possible. How can you tell? Sometimes you can’t, but often if you zoom in on the image you’ll find some details that are dead giveaways. Take a look at the photo below.
Screenshot of a Pin on Pinterest
There’s a nice bright kitchen with…wait, what’s the deal with those lights? Are they hanging on a hook? Hmmm, they used two different lights side by side. That’s definitely some interesting cabinet hardware and I can’t say I’ve ever put pulls in the middle of a single cabinet door. I can’t even begin to say where the faucet handle disappears to and what on earth is the “thing” on the far left of the faucet. I wonder if the homeowners were annoyed that their window grilles are cut off or that they are so far outside the glass that they have become part of the trees and grass??
To be honest I often get a chuckle out of these images. At first glance most won’t notice any major issues and if it’s the overall look or feel you’re going for, it’s fine. But if we get into the details, most would be a little confused and unsure of the skill of their builder if they walked in and found this…and thankfully they won’t because it’s not real.
The greatest concern we have on Pinterest, both with AI and reliability in general, is the potential for scams. There are A LOT of pins on Pinterest and even Instagram that are products linked to fake and/or fraudulent websites. In some instances you’ll be charged for a product you never receive and other sites may be selling stolen goods. We are pretty strict about who we purchase our products from and are very skeptical of websites that are showing “significant savings”.
So while we definitely use these tools…we do so with caution and a really good sense of humor.