NeoCon, the largest Interior Design Trade Show in the country, occurs every year during the second week of June. It is considered the commercial design industry’s launch pad for innovation and the most important event of the year! Exciting new products are introduced and hundreds of thousands of designers and vendors come from around the world to walk the showrooms… Read More

By: Meryl Rosemarin As someone who graduated with a degree in architecture, I initially found myself not considering how to tailor the aesthetic to the object a project was designed for. As long as it looked “pretty”, it must be serving its purpose. While I continue to dive deeper into my career as in interior designer, I am learning just… Read More

By: Julie Knight Earlier this year, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) announced a new window covering safety standards in coorperation with the Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA).  This standard, ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2018, will require that all stock products sold in stores and on line be cordless or have inaccessible cords. By December 15, 2018, all products manufactured after this date… Read More

By Rhonda Wessel I recently had the opportunity to travel to Paris, France in January and participated in Paris Design Week by attending the Maison & Objet Paris tradeshow.  Did you know there is a Paris Design Week?  No, not Fashion Week, which is typically one of the first things that comes to mind when one thinks of Paris.  Yes,… Read More

By Janet H. Thomas Every year Interior Design Trends are analyzed and influences for the upcoming year are predicted. Color is one of the biggest topics and is covered by Manufacturer’s from many venues. The results are varied and provide options for all whether you are a fan of boldness or still loving the classic black/white/grey them or wanting soothing… Read More

By: Julie Knight Developing the proper paint specification can be a bit of a mystery for most designers. But now, Sherwin Williams has developed SpecExpress.  This tool allows you to develop a three part CSI, Construction Specification Institute, product specification for the exact coating you will need for your project.  In five (5) easy steps you create a custom spec…. Read More

By: Julie Knight TorZo Sustainable Surfaces out of Woodburn, Oregon has a mission towards environmental stewardship.  In 2008 the company launched the surfacing materials with the idea of sustainability by infusing recycled wood and agricultural by-products with polymer chemistry to create an architectural vertical or horizontal surface material. These infused materials are obtained from post-industrial recycled wood fiber board, wood… Read More

By: Kelsey Venekamp and Donna Metallic From an old-timer to the Neocon newbie, Donna and I waited in the elevator lines and walked 14,000 steps a day at Neocon so you wouldn’t have to! Check out our top five favorite trends from Neocon 2016 and sound off below on which of these trends excite you the most this year! Breakout… Read More

By: Julie Knight Sherwin Williams has revolutionized the coatings world with the introduction of  Paint Shield Microbicidal Paint. By definition, a microbicide is any substance whose purpose is to reduce the infectivity of microbes, i.e. viruses and bacteria.  Paint Shield is the first EPA-registered microbial coating that kills more than 99.9 percent of staph or Staphylococcus aureus, VRE or Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus… Read More

By Kelsey Venekamp The sun is shining, the squirrels are playing and you’re inside—buried under folders and sticky notes, sitting at your desk, without a ray of sunshine in sight. With spring in the air and on our minds, now is the perfect time to reflect on the beauty and newness of the season and use that inspiration to de-clutter… Read More