Always Keep Searching for Something New

Always Keep Searching for Something New

As usual, I am on my “high horse” about products. There is so much choice when you are an interior designer that it can become easy to just specify what you know and become lazy. This is my advice for you today, don’t – always keep searching for something new and better. There are so many innovative and exciting products becoming available that it is difficult to keep up with but if you don’t you will miss out on exciting opportunities to create something special.

I am currently working with a client and they want a large feature wall coming from the outside in – they want it to be concrete and look really special. The obvious way to achieve this is to create a concrete tilt slab panel, but this is a very expensive option as the wall is very long. I just happen to stumble upon an alternative solution when I was looking at tiles – it is a very large tile that looks like concrete has been poured over timber and the finished result is a wonderful timber texture in a porcelain tile format that looks like a concrete wall. It looks great and I think it will be a perfect solution for the planned feature concrete wall going into the house, it looks good, is easy to install and is more cost-effective than the solid concrete option and it will speed up the build time.

In our office we have a wallpaper that fools everyone, it also looks like concrete panels. From a distance it creates a three-dimensional effect, it appears to be made of something solid, but up close you can see that it is a textured wallpaper.

Image credit – Anna Sullivan

There are thousands of fabulous wallpapers around now that can really make a difference. I recently designed a bar, it was very structured in look and it needed a little bit extra to finish it off. I chose wallpaper with circles and there you have it the last piece of the puzzle to lift the entire look of the space.

You can get tiles that have a mirror finish, multi-functional products.

Vinyl has become a new tool for designers. There are numerous designs of wall decals around to create feature walls. These are versatile, permanent or temporary if you want to change a look frequently, like in a retail store.

Image credit Kara Eads

Check for environmental choices of products, you will find that there are options now that have been designed and produced from recycled materials or are easily recycled when their use has ended. Take some time and read a bit about what you are specifying. Ask the sales representatives questions, check with the retail salesperson about just what you are specifying or purchasing. It all adds to your range of products that you can use and your general knowledge when a client asks you to design an environmentally friendly interior, be ready to try something new.

I hope that this insight into my world helps you make good design decisions.

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