Interior Designer Resources Directory :: Interior Design Article
Finding Absolutely Any Design Information On The Web
As promised earlier in the month of March, we want to follow through with giving you a list of sources for finding resources and products on the web and explain what you will find at each.
Beginning with us, http://www.designeresources.com, you will find a directory of product information. Our directory links you directly to the manufacturers’ website. But, before you click on the site, we tell you exactly what you will find there making our resource listings much more viable from the standpoint of your time and finding what you really need faster. The listings are categorized by the type of product and there is a search engine that you can use to put key words such as beds, chairs, umbrellas, etc.
In addition, we also give you resources for codes information, accessibility and sustainable websites, design related association sites and general business websites. We do not charge the manufacturers or resource providers to list them. Therefore, we have total control over who goes in. We list every manufacturer we can find and every resource we feel has solid information only. On occasion we may list a site that does not have full resources. In each case we tell you that and explain why as in the case of a manufacturer we feel has exceptional items.
We also provide a format for you to set up presentations to your clients and show them online. Unlike most sites that allow you to only use products found on their site, our site allows you to use any item you can have on your computer.
Now, for what other types of resources are out there… and we think you should use all of these for different reasons.
Libraries
Let’s begin with libraries. Libraries put products online in their own format and allow you to search a specific product category such as tables, faucets, rugs, etc. You will then be presented with a collection of the product you desire from all the manufacturers in the library so that you may compare. The only downside is that most libraries charge manufacturers to put their product in the library. Therefore, the only manufacturers there are those who will pay.
TODL is the largest design library online. There is no charge for the designer to use TODL although you must register to obtain a log on name and a password. TODL charges the manufacturer. There are a large number of manufacturers in both contract, residential and hospitality found here and the images are excellent.
Homeportfolio is similar to TODL but is largely a residential site aimed at the retail consumer. It is a free site to anyone and you do not have to register to use it. Again, they charge the manufacturer to be listed. Homeportfolio has various levels for manufacturers. The higher price levels have enlarged images. All the others have small images. They are usable but not great.
Again, similar to TODL, e-Interiors requires the designer to register to use the site but it is free to the designer and the manufacturer is charged. E-Interiors differs from the other 2 in that it is primarily a European contemporary furnishings site with some American companies. The products are largely classically modern designed by well known furnishings designers and you can search by the designer’s name as well as the brand and product type. They have an excellent 2-D and 3-D CAD file.
Still a little different is the Digital Showroom. It is strictly contract oriented and is more a software than online program though there is both. It is a bit pricey, but includes the computer along with the software. It is really a digital replacement for a the catalogs in the program and the photos are exceptional.
Again, this is a library with a twist. Here you will find advertised over 5000 catalogs. You will search them one on one. The twist is that you can also purchase selected merchandise from this company. You must register to use it and there is an annual fee of $200.
Directories
Now, let’s look at the Directories. There are many more directories than libraries. The truth is that most manufacturers have their products online now, some better than others. A Directory simply lists the manufacturers and connects you to the manufacturer’s site. It is largely what designerEsources does. Most directories, unlike designerEsources, again receive their money from the manufacturer and the directory is only as good as the number of manufacturers who will pay to be there. I am going to give you the best ones but you should know you will probably need to use all these at some time for different reasons.
Resources is largely a Contract directory. It lists all the contract manufacturers and links you to their sites. There is a library of sorts as they do have a cut sheet program for limited products. They also list every dealer for every major contract manufacturer and give you their address and a phone number.
This is a directory which offers products in categories as well as a number of other categories of information such as interior designers, design centers, education sites, calendar and news items and a newsletter. The site allows the listees to fill out their own information (as do many directories) so what you get is not always what you expect. It is free to designers to use. There is a free listing for anyone but manufacturers and designers pay for a hyperlink to their site, which means if it is very convenient to use and you want traffic, you need to buy a hyperlink.
The largest directory I have found online is the Interior Design Magazine Buyers Guide and it is free to designers. Like the other directories, manufacturers can fill out their own information and be listed for free. To get a hyperlink to their site or detailed information about their products, there is an additional fee. The downside on this site is that the manufacturer can choose their own categories in which to be listed and many choose almost every category. It is very frustrating to go to the manufacturer’s site and to discover they have only 1 barstool and they listed themselves as having barstools or that they have nothing you can find that you thought they had.
A directory of several things can be found here. Among the directories are Products, Manufacturers, Catalogs (which has tear sheets), Product Names, Dealers and Reps. This is both contract and residential. It is free to the designer and well organized and cross referenced.
Design Centers Online
Another place to look for product information that may be a little closer to home is your design center online. Many design centers now list all their showrooms under their umbrella and link you to their website if they have one. In turn, many of the showrooms will list their manufacturers and link you to their sites. All this is free. Below are some of the best who do this.
Pacific Design Center Start with Showrooms then click on their website if they have one.
Washington Design Center Look at the About The Design Center then Resources and you will find Showrooms. It is a bit convoluted but worth the search.
Design Center of the Americas Look under showrooms. They are grouped according to alphabetical order. This is one of the best design center sites.
New York Design Center Here you can put in a keyword such as “armoire” and it will return all the showrooms that have companies with armoires or just look at the showrooms as you have done with these other design center sites.
The final way to find items on the internet, and it is far from the best but used the most, is a search engine like Google. Instead of asking for console tables then laboriously looking through different site for them, try using the “Images” area. Simply click on Images and put in your key word. This search returns pictures that you can easily sort through.
Now, we have given you the best of what we know to be great ways to find information on the Internet. Put them all in your Favorites list and use them all for all your different reasons and searches. You will quickly find the ones that return the most viable information in the shortest amount of time for you. It will not always be the same for your friends or associates. Everyone seeks their own level on the Internet. Good hunting and be sure to give us a really good look.
Joan Gaulden, FASID is co-founder of designerEsources. She also develops courses and teaches for education-works in Dallas Texas. The CEU, “Fibers, Fabric and the Whole Cloth” is being offered by education-works in 7 cities over the next 3 months. Click here to see where. If you are interested in holding the seminar in your area, contact Kathy Ford Montgomery at Kathy@education-works.com. Because of the extreme popularity of the Emerging Textiles part of the course, a new course on New and Emerging Materials will be completed in the late Fall of this year. Also watch for “Fibers, Fabric and the Whole Cloth” online soon at http://www.education-works.com.
