I find it mind boggling when I think about how technology has become such an indispensable tool for design. Today, we don’t even have to get up out of the hammock to design a great space. I can create a floor plan on line, I can see how materials and colours will interact with each other without having to lift a paint brush and I can shop the world for draperies, furniture and accessories from my iPad.
With technology so accessible and easy to use there is no excuse for not living in fabulous spaces that you love to spend time in. Sam and I are always ordering gorgeous coffee table books for our libraries and client’s coffee tables from Amazon.com and we are always on line searching for unique and fabulous pieces from eBay and global design sites. Yesterday, I found a late eighteen hundred’s blue velvet cross- a fabulous edition to our cross collection and I ordered a beautiful Bali bed for a client’s patio. Last week we had some amazing reclaimed hardwood shipped from overseas for a project and this week I have a container full of custom cut stone and mosaic tile arriving- all because I shopped online.
One of the greatest gifts in life is travel and you know that I have an incredible passion for traveling the world in search of inspiration and materials for my projects but when you don’t have the luxury of going to these exotic destinations yourself, you can virtually travel and shop from home. The other great gift of technology is the ability to engage with the best in the industry from any where. Our clients text and email us from across the globe with questions and concerns. They simply send us pictures of there rooms and we can send back a plan. There’s truly is no excuse for not having the rooms you dream of when technology makes design so easy for us.
Get on the program, sign up to receive newsletters from your favourite designer’s and supplier’s websites, spend the evening stumbling upon design blogs that will keep you inspired and enlist the aid of apps that will make implementing ideas and shopping for the right products easy. There are apps for Feng Shui that ensure your chi flows perfectly and others that will help you select the perfect paint colour and others will help you buy the perfect kitchen sink – literally. If you are not using your computer and your smart phone as a design tool and best friend, you really need to start. I even have an app on my phone that will hang my pictures level for me!
DESIGN NOTES
In the guest room, hang on the wall or resting against the wall on top of the dresser place a beautifully framed cork board. On the cork board attach a list of important phone numbers for the area, labels from great local wines, brochures from local attractions, a local event calendar and business cards from your favorite haunts. Any thing that you think your guests may find interesting to do or may need during there stay at your home. It’s always nice to include a photo of you with your guest to make them feel welcome and special.
