Before the advent of the Internet, it wasn’t easy for house hunters to assess whether or not a listing could meet their needs. They might stumble upon a dream home, but what if that same property only has three bedrooms instead of the four that they need? Could they somehow create another sleeping space within that home? Or maybe it was more simple things, like deciding on which color to brighten up that dark entrance hall best of all.
Image credit: Gregory_Butler via pixabay.com
These days though, this kind of problem no longer exists. Thanks to an array of home design oriented sites, it’s easy for home buyers to seek advice from all kinds of professonals. Such sites present information in a variety of ways, ranging from do-it-yourself projects to bulletin boards to professionally designed exteriors and interiors from all over the world. There are sites that showcase products that can help obtain a specific look, with links to retailers as well.
Here’s are a few of our favorite architecture and design resources available online right now.
Designboom
This site posts extremely cutting-edge ideas, both residential and commercial, from around the globe. You might see a floating contemporary yacht home with underwater rooms, an eco-safari lodge, or urban tree houses here. Want an even more novel design? Check out the transparent sleeping capsules—24 feet long by 8 feet high and wide—fabricated from weatherproof aerospace aluminum and suspended above Peru’s sacred Cuzco valley to offer intrepid travelers a place to sleep and enjoy spectacular views.
Houzz
Considered by many to be the largest residential renovation and design community online, this site attracts more than 30 million monthly users, according to the company, founded six years ago by a couple working on their own home. Home owners can post queries on a discussion board to engage professionals about how to source a look or solve problems. Sites like Houzz have replaced the home magazine as a design source, and it can also be used as a collaborative tool. For example, the ability to search photos by keyword and collect images into shareable albums makes sharing ideas with clients and colleagues simple and fun.
This site is perhaps the best-known social media site in the amateur design world. The upside: You get to curate your own boards featuring all types of linked images, from inexpensive to pricey. The downside: The site is not focused purely on design, so you get food and fashion served up, too. Looking for ingredients to put together a timeless-looking kitchen? Watch out or you’ll get distracted by recipes for cookies that resemble basketballs or vegan meals with lots of protein.
Curbed
Geared for those looking for real estate in specific cities and neighborhoods, the site offers witty, insightful coverage about new developments and transformations, either from a national perspective or in a particular market. It also gathers information on recent area listings of note, such as the Upper East Side townhouse where fictional party girl Holly Golightly hosted her gatherings in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
A recurring feature for East Coast voyeurs is House Calls, which tours New Yorkers’ offbeat homes. In Denver, the site recently featured a home fabricated from recycled shipping containers to show how this new style of green housing can be spruced up with luxe finishes.
Apartment Therapy
Designed as an inspirational guide for decorating or renovating apartments, the site features posts from amateurs, some of whom have sought professional input. The choices are accessible, varied in style, affordable, and informative. Founder and CEO Maxwell Ryan and his staff use “cool” as the curating criteria, he says.
Users can learn everything from how to organize closets to how to grow herbs without a backyard. A new video feature presents two identical apartment layouts furnished in different ways. There are also links to find furniture and equipment, and color palette suggestions from paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams. The site’s team also publishes books; its latest is Complete + Happy Home.
Archinspire
This is a high-end site with numerous examples of apartments, houses, gardens, landscapes, and products, as well as commercial and public spaces. Recent posts featured a modern apartment with Scandinavian style, a micro apartment with a mezzanine bedroom, and a backyard terrace with sloping terrain transformed by garden spaces surrounding a swimming pool.
The site also presents clever products with an architectural vibe such as a round modern coffee table with different colored drawers for storage underneath. Architects and designers submit work for consideration.
About Mike Wheatley
