Remodeler and Interior Designer Partnerships Charlotte NC

Design/build and full-service remodelers are hiring interior designers, in-house or as partners, to work with existing selection systems, or to have those partners incorporate new technologies with the process.

Larry Parrish of Parrish Construction, Boulder, Colo., has hired a part-time interior designer to work through the selections process with clients. The designer uses the company's "virtual showroom," a conference room set up with a Smart Board (www.smarttech.com), which is a 4-by-5-foot touch screen connected to a computer and the Internet.

The interior designer can visit Web sites and display images of products or project photos that are saved on the hard drive. Then clients can make and initial selections on the large screen. Images can be saved and printed.

Bruce Snyder of Penn Contractors in Alburtis, Pa., is investing $195 a month for a new online project management tool that includes a product selection module. Called My Design Build Project (www.mydesignbuildproject.com), it allows clients to log on to a password-protected site, linked to the remodeler's Web site, and view product selections from preferred vendors.

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