What, When, Where: Polyvore Goes Home

September 30, 2013

By Kaitlin Madden

I’m about to tell you something that might waste lots of your time in the future, so forgive me in advance. Polyvore, the shoppable social media site that lets users create style inspiration boards, recently announced that it would be revisiting the home design vertical. Why will this cause you to waste time? Because the new section of the site is downright addicting.

Back in 2007, when Polyvore launched, the original plan was to focus on both fashion and home, but the fashion vertical took off, so the founders put their focus there. Six years later, in an effort to attract a new kind of user, they’re re-focusing on home design.

I’m going to call this one early and say the decision was a smart one, because while I never really got into Polyvore for fashion, I already love it for home. It’s a great visualization tool, and a way to keep track of items and products that you find online that work together, like these black-and-gold pieces which I found from retailers as varied as H&M, Z Gallerie and Ethan Allen (check out the collage online for exact product sources).

Black and Gold, collage by Kaitlin Madden via Polyvore

It’s also fun to just create collages of things I love, like these chairs I found in all shades of the rainbow.

Chairs of a Different Color, collage by Kaitlin Madden via Polyvore

For designers, however, the site could be more than just a happy diversion. It could actually be a useful tool (so maybe I’m actually saving you time?) You could send your clients boards with color scheme variations, or different genres of artwork to get a better idea for their preferences. Or, have them create a board of their own with things that catch their eye to decipher their style. Of course, it’s also a great way to make pretty graphics for your blog.