Interior Designers have access to exceptional resources like the Boston Interior Design Center, The Design Center at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago and North Carolina's Highpoint but what if you're in a rural part of the country or want to guide your client through the myriad of products before going to a design center for samples?  Like Houzz, PaletteApp is another online tool that can streamline a client's decision-making process by moving them towards an aesthetic before investing time creating a physical interior or architectural design board. 

What Is PaletteApp?

PaletteApp is a digital design tool that gives users the opportunity to pull together a mood board online and send clients a digital version of the design direction intended for their space. Like physical design boards, it can be used to showcase materials and interior design ideas, provide an initial look and feel of the future design and illustrate a visual starting point from which to begin the client's decision-making process.

What makes PaletteApp different is the ability to create the design board online in a fraction of the time it takes to create one using the traditional process.

What Does PaletteApp Do?

This innovative website allows users to do in minutes what used to take hours. PaletteApp lets you

• Create and share your personalized design board (or palette) online

• Order samples in a matter of seconds

• Search through hundreds of manufacturer’s products with information conveniently listed

• Access your designs on a mobile device via the app available for iPad and Android

• It’s free to create an account!

How Do I Set Up A PaletteApp Account?

Getting started on PaletteApp is an easy process- to visit to the app’s website by clicking here.

Next, just click on the “Join PaletteApp” button at the top of the website’s homepage. The registration form gathers some general information from you as a user (name, city, company, etc.), as well as an email and password to access your account.

Lastly, it asks you which type of user you are registering as, commercial or residential designer, commercial or residential architect, contractor, the even student is included on the list to choose from.

Once your free account is set-up, you can research and select products for your library and then narrow down your library choices for use on a palette. With practice, you can create an original color palette that could be used as a first step in creating a traditional design board. 

The key feature of PaletteApp is the ability to browse products groupings such as fabrics, flooring and filter through what you’re looking for whether it be flooring, wall finishes, lighting or furnishings. Within each broader category are more specific ones such as product type, color, price, etc. This provides for a versatile app that gives buyers of every budget and style hundreds of options.

By clicking on a particular product, you then have the ability to

• Add it to your palette

• Add it to your library for future palettes

• Learn more about the products details such as manufacturer and cost

• See similar items

At this time, the weakest part of PaletteApp is the quantity of goods and numbers of manufacturers you can choose from on the system. A sample of the choices available includes flooring, fabrics, wall covering, furniture, and hardware. It should be stated that you should not expect the same selection you would find by visiting a fabric retailer like Stark as an example, but PaletteApp is investing resources towards acquiring and presenting new manufacturers and states on the website that they have 105 more manufacturers products to load on the application. 

Will PaletteApp eliminate the need for traditional design boards? Probably not but it may take you one step closer to an overall style before creating a traditional design board and the time saved in the initial stages of the project equals higher profitability for your firm.  

About Michael Conway and Means-of-Production

My firm builds Squarespace websites, Houzz profiles, and content marketing and advertising solutions for architects, interior designers, design-build contractors and landscape design firms. Our all-in-one tactics attract the right clients with exceptional architectural photography and brand messaging that sets you apart from the competition. Contact me for a free-of-charge consultation and marketing review. It takes about 40 minutes and you'll be provided a list of actionable improvements designed to solve your specific marketing problems.