November 2, 2016
The Internet has revolutionized the interior design industry. More design inspiration and many other forms of visually stimulating content are always available with a click of a mouse or the scroll of a thumb. Through the Internet, the market is inundated with gorgeous interiors and new, innovative products each and every day.
The benefits of all this technological change are significant: visual content can be put together and taken apart over and over again in seconds on a retina display Mac computer, yielding higher levels of individual creativity; additionally, there is the highly constructive influence of increased collaboration through the fluid exchange of information between designers and their clients.
However, what has not been good for the industry is the new tendency to do all design sourcing in front of a computer and miss opportunities to see, touch, and further interact with the product. Designers are selecting furniture they have never sat on, lighting they have never seen illuminate a room, and textiles they have not touched. While the Internet is great to browse for preliminary ideas and put together concepts, it is difficult to make professional and informed final decisions for an interior design project from just online product images and manufacturer specifications.
As with all technological change, there are positives and negatives to the ubiquitous design available over the Internet, and humans are slowly finding a balanced approach to interior design that combines the virtual and the physical. If designers pay attention to both worlds, both creativity and integrity will reign supreme and happy clients will be the result.
Some beautiful images of highly authentic furniture from Los Angeles-based Quintus Home are provided below. In addition to Roger Thomas as a partner in Quintus with Jobst Blachy, the company’s design point of view benefits greatly from the influence of New York-based Elissa Carlucci.
Touching and experiencing furniture is the only way to interact with a piece and your gut will tell you if it will contribute to the soul of the room. – Elissa Carlucci