Pinterest is always a favorite place to scope out new home design and decorating ideas, but their new tools are about to make it a whole lot easier. From a sort of reverse Pinterest image search to a purchase option that will probably make a sizable dent in my wallet in the coming months, these three new tools sound like they’re about to make the site even more intuitive than it is now.
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Lens is a new reverse image search tool that’s rolling out in beta over the next few weeks and will be available on the Pinterest app on iPhones and Android phones. Here’s how it works: You take a picture of an object using the Pinterest app camera and Pinterest will show you similar items. For instance, if you take a picture of a cool chair you like, Pinterest will offer pictures of similar chairs, from product posts to pictures of rooms that contain similar chairs. This could be helpful when you see an object you love, but aren’t sure where to buy or how to style it — just snap a pic in the app and see how others have made similar objects work in their spaces.
Shop the Look is a new tool that’s now available on iPhone, Android phones and the web, and makes shopping on Pinterest dangerously easy. On fashion and home pins, a blue bubble will appear over products you can buy either through Pinterest or a brand. You can also tap on a product and see pins relating to that item, giving you ideas for how you can style it (or what you should buy to go with it — eek). Companies like CB2, Wayfair, Target and other retailers will have shoppable pins on the site. For me and other shoppers, this could be a double-edged sword. Of course I want to see more pretty throw blankets that could make my living room cozier. No, I don’t actually need more throw blankets. But now that I can easily buy the perfectly styled stuff I covet from Pinterest, it’ll make it that much harder to resist pulling the trigger.
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Instant Ideas is a new option, available now, that makes it a cinch to update your Pinterest home feed with ideas similar to those you’re looking for in real time. Browsing living room layouts so you can figure out how to arrange your furniture? Tap the circle on the bottom right corner of a pin and your feed will be instantly updated with similar ones. It’s so much easier than having to do a separate search or weeding through the zillion cat memes your one weird aunt insists on pinning that constantly clutter your home feed.
All three new tools are pretty intuitive, and the Lens feature really makes a case for using the Pinterest app on your phone rather than just going to the site on your computer. Even though I’m a little nervous about what Shop the Look could do to my bank account, I’ll admit that I’m even more excited about what it could do for my home. Check out the tools for yourself and see if they get you even more hooked on Pinterest than you were before.
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