Once upon a time in a design business long, long ago, picturing a front door or a bedroom wall painted a new color was a tricky business. Often I held a paint swatch an arm’s length away, closed one eye and tried to superimpose the new color over the current color. Paint stores offered small ‘trial’ cans to paint swatches on walls, giving a little better option for choosing between several colors. It still took quite a bit of imagination to see the color on an entire wall. Both of these methods work (although I have had to repaint a time or two), but technology has created some tools to make renovation and design much simpler. And thank goodness!
There are, of course, some pricey software design programs you could purchase. I have seen Joanna Gaines use some very impressive software and I may switch to something like it someday, but currently I can’t justify the expense. Right now, when I am working on a color scheme or design for a house, I use my phone and edit photos with my finger to get a good idea which colors look best and which features I want to add. It is a shortcut which saves time and money so I am quite happy ‘doodling’ on my phone. It also helps when I ask for a second opinion from someone else on our team. Just send the pictures in a text message.
I still do quite a lot of my design work by hand. For example my sketches for furniture placement, which help when I am ordering pieces. The sketches also help my team know where each piece goes when the furniture arrives and is put together. I like it when something works, but I am open to trying new things. I am all for new technology coming along to streamline a process, but I don’t jump on every bandwagon passing by. Take some time to evaluate the cost of a new tool in relation to the value and decide for yourself what you need for your own projects. You get to decide.
Using my imagination,
Karen Conrad