before pinterest

Sometimes I wonder what I did before Pinterest.  Oh, I know . . . I didn't spend nearly as much time online sifting through images and ideas as I do now.  I used to read lots of magazines (printed on actual paper) and I tore out what I liked or interested me and organized them in these . . . my "picture books" as I like to call them - cardboard binders filled with plastic sleeves loaded with images and sorted into categories as basic as "wall" and "bath".

Not all of the images were kept because they were what I envisioned for my future home, but because I love a great idea, an interesting layout, or an innovative use of material.  It's interesting to see too, how my tastes and what I'm naturally drawn to has evolved over time.  It seems I used to go for a more contemporary aesthetic with a bit more color.

I have filled two binders with images until Pinterest came about.  And ironically, in going back to them to look for kitchen inspiration, I spotted several images that I saved but also pinned, not knowing that they caught me first years ago in print.  Like, for example, the kitchen image below, bottom of the page. Look familiar?  I included it in my mid-century kitchen love post