01/26/2015
Here is the article about my ePerfect Project.com website. Read what they wrote:
Satisfy Your App(etite) for Design Using Digital Tools
(Excerpted from the Dallas Morning News)
Internet tools make it easy to amass home decorating ideas, contemplate wall colors and move furniture around. Their volcanic effects are also changing the way interior designers do business.
The Internet has made customers more product savvy and informed. They want convenience, efficiency and waste reduction, said Dallas interior designer Melinda Miles. By using a smartphone or tablet as a shopping companion, they’re “forcing residential professionals to look for ways to improve their process and efficiency.”
Miles’ contribution to the remodeling and building arenas is ePerfectProject.com, her new website, which allows a project team– homeowners, builders, interior designers, subcontractors and suppliers – to store and share product information.
“After years of seeing selection decisions not written down, scribbled on Post-it notes and scrap paper or lost in texts or emails, I decided there had to be a better way,” Miles said.
“The selection process can be overwhelming for clients. Giving them a way to keep track of what they are doing makes the whole construction experience so much better for them,” she said.
The core of ePerfectProject.com is the customizable Design Center, which organizes a project by categories (including plumbing and appliances) and room, creates a virtual shopping list and allows photo uploads.
“The format guides homeowners through the selection process and prompts them to include all the information necessary to specify materials and finishes correctly and to not leave anything out,” Miles said.
Down the line, this system makes it easy to order replacement products, like tiles, and buy the correct color paint for touch-ups. Plumbing and hardware fixtures often have a lifetime warranty and can be replaced for free if they can be identified via the manufacturer’s name, model number and finish.
Because the builder, interior designer and installers can log into a project and see what was chosen, they have the information they need to do their job. The system also helps interior designers keep their clients on track.
Miles’ companion Kindle book, Perfect Project: A How-to Design Guide for Your Home Building Project, is a workbook to use while shopping for appliances, cabinets, flooring, doors, trim, paint, wallpaper, hardware, glass and many more finishes.
“The book takes readers through the design and selection process just as if I were working with them in person,” Miles said. “It covers the most universal design issues and questions that seem to come up with every client I work with who is building or remodeling their home.
“My goal is to give homeowners the right information and tools to increase their confidence and ability to make selections, prevent project mistakes and enhance the design of their project.”
Rhona Schwartz ([email protected]) is a freelance writer based in Seattle.
