Now, more so than any other time, interior design is within reach of just about anyone with a computer, an eye for style and a following on Pinterest. Some designers and decorators may not believe this is a good thing. After all, points out Julie Lansky of the New York Times, “just because consumers have grown more autonomous doesn’t mean they have the experience and taste to dispense with advisers and friends.”
Even so, the new website, Project Decor, opens yet another door to the design world for average consumers. I personally discovered it a few weeks ago while I was perusing Pinterest, so I decided to give it a try. In about 20 minutes, I had created an inspiration board for “Black and Gold” by dragging and dropping images of products from international design brands like Jonathan Adler and Arteriors. I could have even used a photo from an existing room if I wanted to – like this board from K*Space. I shared the board on Pinterest, emailed it to myself and saved it to my desktop so I could then blog about it too. The whole process took about 45 minutes when all was said and done.
Founded by a trio of entrepreneurs — Andy Appelbaum, Cliff Sirlin and Aaron Wallace — and headed up by creative director Brooke Stoddard, the Project Decor site is “a place to hang out and covet, less snooty than a showroom, more intimate than a mall and filled with the kind of inspiration that used to be torn from shelter magazines before so many of them went the way of the fainting couch,” writes Lansky. The idea behind Project Decor is to essentially create a virtual, democratic design center.
As an amateur decorator and content creator in the home decor and architecture spaces, I love the idea of having a democratic design center. Project Decor gives me ideas for my own home and a feel for design trends and what sorts of products and style pairings consumers are currently drawn to — which is important for TypeA, since we are reporters, observers and storytellers for our clients who operate in the architecture, design and home decor worlds. It could also be a helpful tool for design bloggers and others who operate in the design arena.
Have you used Project Decor yet? Have you found it to be helpful in your work?
