Top 5 Ways to Choose the Right #Colors for your Home ~
Posted: 14 February, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
YOUR HOME YOUR HAVEN ~ By now, you’ve probably heard so many different viewpoints on how to select the right paint color or interior color themes for your home that your head is probably spinning! I don’t even have time to go spinning, so I have made it easy for you. Interior Designers, Home Decorator and Color professionals may each have a slightly different approach in achieving color selection. Over the past several years, I have approached it in the following manner and found that it really, really …
An Interior Designer Gets Lots of Web Visitors But Few Leads / Enquiries
Posted: 30 January, 2012 Filed under: The Business Of Interior Design | Tags: interior design, sales and marketing in interior design, ideas for designers, Google, PageRank, Search engine optimization, Target market, Google AdWords 3 Comments »
Image via Wikipedia
I talked to a friend a couple of weeks back and she bemoaned the fact that her Design Practice had spent quite a bit of time and money on creating and growing their web site but not much was coming from it in terms of genuine leads and sales in the very particular niche market that she was targeting much of her efforts towards.
So I quizzed her a bit more:
1. Was she creating engaging, frequently updated content for her target market? She said yes. I read her blog and had to agree.
2. Was she using the right keywords? She thought so. And although I’m not an expert in her particular target market I tended to agree.
3. Then she raised the point that Mr Google thought her PAGERANK was quite high. That was strange and surely not part of the problem?
4. We then looked through her Google AdWords campaign. And that too seemed broadly OK.
5. There were quite a few backlinks from other sites to hers, so that wasn’t the problem either.
So what’s the problem? Other than she wasn’t getting any money back from the investment? And, er, that’s pretty important!
To cut a long story and quite a bit of research short, here’s what we thought the problem was (if you want to know what pagerank is there are links at the end of the article).
Well, although her pagerank was OK it wasn’t actually that relevant.
One problem with pagerank is that it just BROADLY shows how often your site is visited/how important your site is/how trusted yoru site is. It does NOT show you how often YOUR target customers visit your site…and that is the stat you really want.
So what was happening was that quite a lot of people were visiting the site from all the good links and good search engine positioning that she had paid for. A few of them read some of the stuff on her blog BUT VERY FEW went on to the next steps for converting them into customers. And that was because they weren’t interested in her services because her services were not RELEVANT to them…they just WERE NOT POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
So you could have the most visited website with the best page impressions, page views, clicks and all the rest of it. BUT THAT IS NO GOOD IF THE WRONG PEOPLE ARE VISITING YOUR SITE ! They won’t buy.
Her market was such a small market and relatively technically unsophisticated so, perhaps, blogs and search engines were not the best way to get to them.
Similarly, and a bit simplistically, if she had a pagerank of 8/10 (which would be excellent) it would not mean that she was excellent at targeting her customers…just excellent and targeting the whole population.
And the problem was compounded because the 3rd party, who was commissioned to get clicks and a higher pagerank and higher search engine positioning and all the rest of it, did just as they were asked. They weren’t asked to get leads! And didn’t!
Now it was not a total waste of time of course. Because pagerank IS IMPORTANT for google to give your site weighting when google produces search results.
And really the picture was not as bleak as I painted as she did experience an increase in leads for other services she was offering. Although they were more mass market services with lower levels of profit.
So what did she do?
A: Cut back a bit on 3rd party SEO services, focussing the remainder of the budget on the markets that had been successfully reached. With the marketing budget that she saved, she is now looking again at how best divert funds to more traditionally target the profitable niche market she originally set out to make money from.
Related articles
- Interior Designers: Why does no-one visit your web site? (kothea.com)
- The Crimson Herring That Is Google Pagerank (tfollowers.com)
- What is Google’s PageRank Good For? – Whiteboard Friday (seomoz.org)
- What is PageRank? (ronmedlin.com)
- Google Expands Business Interior View With ‘Trusted Photographer’ Scheme (simplyzesty.com)
- Web design: Understanding purpose (marketing.yell.com)
- Interior Designers – An Update On using Facebook, LinkedIn WordPress blogs and Twitter (kothea.com)
Interior Designers: Why does no-one visit your web site?
Posted: 24 November, 2011 Filed under: interior design, interior designer, interiordesign, interiors, The Business Of Interior Design | Tags: American Society of Interior Designers, interior design, Interior Designers, sales and marketing in interior design 6 Comments »
Interior Designers can spend hundreds or thousands of pounds/dollars on websites. That CAN be a good investment or it can be a total waste of money.
Not just interior designers, but people from many industries bemoan the fact that no-one is visiting their web site. Then the next (incorrect) step in thinking goes that “well maybe I need to pay someone to get links to my site”… or something along those lines. And so it goes on, more money is spent on technology, on social media, on the web, on the net, on web 2.0 – whatever you want to call it. I’m sure you recognise the picture, perhaps from other designers you know that have these awesome looking websites…with no visitors!
This all-too-typical situation raises a whole raft of questions, points and observations. I’ll try to cover a few of them here.
1. Why on earth should I visit your web site?
I think you, the interior designer, really have to answer this question. Yes I’m sure your site looks great. Yes I’m sure it highlights your services and showcases your past projects (hopefully!). But let’s say I’m a potential customer, really, why Read the rest of this entry »
Wyzenbeek – Martindale – Abrasion Testing
Posted: 31 May, 2011 Filed under: Contract Fabric, Domestic Fabric, Fabric Design, Production & Details, home decor, interior, interior design, interior designer, interiordesign, interiors, modern homes, modern interiors, Upholstery, Upholstery Fabric | Tags: Fiber, natural, Natural fiber, Textiles and Nonwovens, Yarn 4 Comments »
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I would be rich if I were to be given one pound for every time we are asked, “What is the best upholstery fabric to use on my sofa?” Typically the questioner means ‘most durable’ rather than ‘best’. You could buy a near bullet-proof fabric with a Martindale score of several hundred thousand but could you live with it!
‘Simple’ measures of durability such as Martindale and Wyzenbeek overlay complex structures of the fabric. This covers the construction of the yarns and design of the weave weave as well as the fibre chosen. Furthermore, finishes, sofa/furniture design, maintenance regimes and usage are variables that very significantly affect the life of your fabric.
More Martindale links here and here and here
There is a close link between fiber strength and yarn strength. Yarns are twisted to add strength – generally a tighter twist gives a stronger yarn. This is measured in Twists Per Inch or Meter (TPI or TPM). Tightly twisted yarns are generally smooth and dense. This brings us to weave design. Weaves can be extremely complicated and difficult to structurally model and understand. Just knowing the fibers, yarn and weave construction still doesn’t answer the basic question – an objective measurement is needed. Test were developed to determine wear. They are better known as abrasion tests and many Interior Designers today refer to these test results as THE way to measure fabric durability. Abrasion test are supposed to forecast how well a fabric will wear in upholstery applications.
There are two tests: Martindale in Europe and Wyzenbeek in the USA. The tests are different and there is no correlation between the two. With Wyzenbeek (ASTM D4157-02): a piece of cotton duck fabric or wire mesh is rubbed in a straight back and forth motion on a piece of fabric until “noticeable wear” or thread break is evident. One back and forth motion is called a “double rub” (dbl rub). Whereas with Martindale (ASTM D4966-98): the abradant in this test is worsted wool or wire screen, the fabric specimen is a circle or round shape and the rubbing is undertaken in a figure 8, unlike the straight line of the Wyzenbeek. One figure 8 is a cycle – hence the terms Martindale cycles.
Contract fabrics would normally meet these criteria:
General contract: Wyzenbeek 15,000 Martindale 20,000
Heavy duty contract Wyzenbeek 30,000 Martindale 40,000
Whereas for domestic applications:
Light residential Wyzenbeek 6,000, Martindale 9,000
Medium use residential Wyzenbeek 9,000 Martindale 15,000
Heavy use residential 15,000 Martindale 30,000 or higher
The higher the result the more likely the fabric is to be more durable. (Source of the above figures can be provided on request to the author)
With figures over 100,000 then there may be an issue with the applicability of the results and certainly how the fabrics’ care regime is implemented will have more of an influence on its longevity.
Some commentators question the validity of test results. In my experience in the UK, test houses are independent and are strictly monitored by British Standards and no one fabric company is big enough to be able to ‘ask for’ results to be skewed. Nor, I’m sure, would any fabric company want to put a supplier in that position if only for the reason that it is in no-one’s interests to undermine the authority of independent industry bodies that, in general, regulate for the greater good of all.
Related articles
- Hemp History Week (peaceandgreens.wordpress.com)
- Well Balanced Yarn (knittingbeforeknittingwascool.wordpress.com)
- Fabrics 101 – Cotton (kingpinchic.com)
Fabrics and Trims (via Custom Versus Ready Made Mass Produced)
Posted: 22 April, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »Custom Curtains Vs Ready Made / Mass Produced Curtains
via Custom Versus Ready Made Mass Produced
faux friend is new again (via Q Projects)
Posted: 22 April, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »Another nice article about new/modern fabric on old chairs. Ignore the image…it’s the before-shot!
via Q Projects
Chair Couture. (via the velvet fantastic)
Posted: 22 April, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »Wow ! Awesome modern velvet on antique chairs.
The Key to Design Success-The Design Plan (via S Interior Design Blog)
Posted: 5 April, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized 2 Comments »Always good to have a plan…
Tips For Using an Interior Decorator (via Furniture Distributors)
Posted: 5 April, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized 3 Comments »Interior Decorator vs. Interior Designer. always good to know the difference.
BS7176 BS5852 Crib 5
Designer Fabrics & Luxury Wallcoverings 2012 – Latest Collections of Faux Leather & Raffia
Posted: 23 February, 2012 | Author: Verity du Sautoy | Filed under: Contract Fabric, Curtain Fabric, Domestic Fabric, Fabric Tips, home decor, interior, interior design, interiordesign, interiors, Panelling & Wallcovering, Upholstery, Upholstery Fabric | Leave a comment »Interior Design 101. Back to basics.
Minimally patterned, plain and simple patterns matter when you choose designer fabrics for your interior design scheme. It’s not just the ‘important’ stuff you have to worry about; it’s all the stuff.
Design after design. Pattern after pattern. Squashed into corners. Covered ceilings. Hung on walls. Something here, something there… OK you might have certain pieces that take centre stage in your grand design but you also have to set the stage with the backdrops, the reflected light, the subtle blend of auxiliary textures.
To a certain degree, if you must, you can compromise on the backdrops. It’s great having a silk panelled wall, relatively inexpensive and good to the touch. Not so good when it fades at differing rates in the exposed sun-lit areas of the room.
So when you choose designer fabrics yes you should be wowed by the colours, designs and textures BUT you should also be wowed and interested in the technical properties. Your clients might initially thank you for a great looking job. They won’t thank you if it starts to fall apart. they may well have already paid you at that point (so you’re OK right?) but will you then get recommended to their friends…probably not. It is so, so easy to make this kind of mistake.
So try faux silk rather than silk. It looks and feels pretty much the same but can be excellent in terms of non-fading.
So try faux leather. A wide variety of finishes and qualities are available and many are great for wall covering (!) as well as upholstery. Great to cover chairs or a bar in a restaurant but also in your kitchen as they can relatively easily be cared for and cleaned. If you love leather you might find that your upholsterer might not love that choice as you are working with hides of varying sizes, whereas with faux leather you are working with a fabric available by the metre.
Click for faux leather or faux silk designer fabric samples.
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