(c) Pinterest

Years ago, if you were looking for a new recipe to try out or wanted to impress your guests with a unique tablescape, you’d head to a bookstore and browse through lifestyle and cooking magazines. These days, a world of ideas, tips and advice are just a few clicks way…on Pinterest.

I came to this realization last week, when I found myself searching Pinterest for a jambalaya recipe, a departure from my normal routine of searching for recipes via Google.  And here’s why: the photos.

Pinterest is photo-driven, and as any cooking magazine or cookbook editor will tell you, people are much more likely to try a recipe when they can see the end result in an appetizing photo.

That’s why magazine and book publishers spend millions of dollars each year on food stylists and high-end photography. When it comes to food, people “eat with their eyes” first.

I don’t know about you, but Pinterest has awakened my creativity in countless ways. Thanks to my fellow Pinners, I’ve learned how to:

• Turn an old dresser drawer into a shadow cabinet
• Use cardboard toilet paper tubes into biodegradable pots for sowing seeds
• Remove hard water stains from the drum of my washer
• Slipcover an old armchair
• Make soap
• Transform vintage teacups, saucers and plates into unique pastry stands
• Organize my linen closet by storing sheet sets inside one of the pillowcases

and much, much more!

With Pinterest, even the most domestically challenged of us can transform ourselves into the ultimate Domestic Diva. Our fantasies of a Martha Stewart lifestyle, surrounded by chalk painted vintage dressers, mercury glass votives and gorgeous, one-of-a-kind holiday centerpieces are made possible, thanks to the ease of setting up a Pinterest Board and the courtesy of other Pinners, all dreaming of the perfect wedding, perfect dinner party, and perfect home.

Sure, it’s all a fantasy, but what’s wrong with a good fantasy?