Interior design fact finding: Where do you find your answers?

Have we all become a little too dependent on Google? Or maybe we think only the best of choices can be made standing in the aisle of your favorite Do-It-Yourself mega store? If you are a “research before execution” or an “inspired by what I see on the display” person, there are a variety of ways to make visualization become reality nowadays.

I live and breathe in the design community on a daily basis. When I am inspired by something, I depend on a variety of resources to find better understanding of how it is created. For example, last week I was in a Thai restaurant (I ordered the Pad Se Ewe, medium spice with tofu, delish! I highly recommend) and they had a very subtle paint treatment on the wall that was just stunning. It was a crossing paint technique that made the wall look as if it was woven with different variations of sheen. From my observation, the wall had low, medium and high gloss paint in the same hue. Feeling inspired by this, a set off to figure out how this wall was created began.

Choice one, internet research. Knowing what combination of words to type into a search line in order to yield the result you are looking for is a new age art form, in my opinion. After trying a few different combinations including; “basket weave paint effect”, “multi-sheen paint pattern” and (my favorite) “paint effects with sheen variation,” I struck out. Therefore, I decided this would take a more effective research method.

Second attempt, the local paint shop. Success!! I was not only able to get personal attention and ask specific questions here, but I got good advice and walked away really feeling like I could accomplish the technique myself.

Being a good interior designer not only means knowing what I want a space to look like, but being a good communicator. If my painter can’t understand what I am looking for when I say “Can you make this wall look basket weaved?”, then I need to be able to explain the process. In the end, good research equals good results. No matter what path works the best, doing your research is always key!