crafty achievements on Pinterest. But as a professional mechanism, Pinterest is a “big picture” tool – a virtual collage of color schemes, architectural details and other design elements. Designers say for both themselves and their clientele, clicking on the pins – exploring the website behind them, the methodology of the project, finding specific vendors and how-tos – is beside the point. “Follow-through of clicks isn’t as important as just having a visual,” said Sheryl Lock, Handcrafted House co-owner. “I had a customer who wanted to redo her bathroom but had no idea how. Houzz and Pinterest let us find common denominators.” Among local home interior professionals, Houzz is either the runner-up or preferred site to Pinterest. Pins can be misleading and increase guesswork for homeowners. For instance, unlike Pinterest, Houzz always accurately references color numbers. Houzz also provides more conceptual images – showcasing entire room designs. The internet and design sites in general have accelerated the planning stage of decorating for local operations. “When I first started in this business 16 years ago, you got ideas from catalogs,” said Amy Favour of Amy Favour Interior Design. “Having all these online platforms is a great way to find products, but you can waste a lot of time and get sidetracked.” That’s equally true for clients.“If you’re building a home or remodeling, there is so much available that it gets overwhelming to people and you have to narrow it down for them,” Favour said. “With all the technology, someone who maybe would have hired someone before has access to vendors and takes on a project themselves, but when they get into it, they find coordinating it is more than they counted on.” MEET THE MOST POWERFUL BUSINESS PARTNERS IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY. Kathryn A. Eren, VP, Cash Management Officer; Lisa Stuard, AVP Commercial Loan Administrator; Maureen Hanley-Bellitto, SVP, Commercial Team Leader; Gregory Pastor, Jr. VP, Commercial Banking Officer; Kim Karl, VP, Commercial Banking Officer; Deep community roots. Unrivaled market knowledge. Unmatched customer service. When a bank builds its commercial banking team around the values that truly make a difference in helping your business and community grow and prosper, that’s more than banking. That’s changing the way you bank. Talk to us today. Visit bankatunited.com/commercial JANUARY 2017 | HBRA of Fairfield County | 21
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