If you've been down the Google rabbit hole trying to work out what "e-design" even means, you're not alone. It's one of those terms that gets thrown around a lot & explained badly.
So, let's clear it up.
What is e-design, really?
E-design is interior design done online. You send through photos & measurements of your space, share your style & budget, & a designer creates a concept for you to run with yourself.
That usually includes:
- A mood board showing the direction
- A cohesive product selection
- Shopping links so you know exactly what to buy & where
- Guidance on furniture layout & styling
- A product schedule you can hand straight to your trades for supply & install, aside from furniture & decor
A common myth is that e-design is only for a quick decor refresh. It's not. Renovations & new builds can absolutely be run through e-design too. A designer chooses all the products, works through your plans with you & puts together a schedule your builder or trades can work from directly. You're not limited to soft furnishings; you can run a full reno or build this way if that's the kind of support you're after. An e-designer will work with your team for the relevant selections.
For finishes & fixtures, you can either order these yourself or hand the schedule straight to your trades to supply & install. Furniture & decor you order yourself. If you're based in Australia & want more support, we offer our clients an optional procurement service for furniture & decor on top of the selections, so you can hand that off too if you'd rather not manage it. Either way works, it's entirely up to how hands-on you want to be.
One tip regardless of which path you choose: for finishes like paint, always source samples & test them in your own space or on site before committing. Light changes everything, so what looks right on a screen or in a showroom can shift once it's on your walls. It usually means you are still going with the same direction just a slightly different shade of that colour range.
The designer does the thinking.
It's a more affordable way of engaging a designer & it's a genuinely great option whether you're styling one room or managing a full renovation, as long as you're happy to be the one driving it day to day.
What full-service interior design actually involves
Full-service is the other end of the spectrum. This is where a designer is with you for the whole journey. Site visits, detailed drawings, trade coordination, sourcing, project management & often installation day itself.
It suits anyone who wants a designer on site, testing samples, shopping with them, doing full construction ready drawings, managing trades directly & handling the decision fatigue completely so they can just watch it happen. This can be for one room or a full renovation, the difference is how hands-on the designer is, not the size of the project.
It costs more & takes longer. But it also means someone else is holding every thread of the project, so you don't have to.
How to know which one suits your project
A few honest questions to ask yourself:
- How hands-on do you want to be? Happy to order, unpack & style it yourself? E-design suits you. Want it handled end to end? Full-service is your answer.
- Is this one room or a full home? Both options can handle either. Curated concepts & e-design can absolutely run across a full renovation or new build, you'd just be the one coordinating trades & install from the schedule provided.
- Do you want someone on site coordinating trades for you? E-design gives you the plan, the product schedule & the shopping list, then you or your trades run with it. Full-service means someone's with you on site the whole way.
None of these answers are right or wrong. They just point you toward what you actually need right now, not what you think you're supposed to want.
Where Ready to Shop fits in
Ready to Shop | Curated Design isn't a trial version of hiring a designer. It's simply a more accessible way to get one.
Normally you'd pay for a designer's time to source every product individually. With a curated design, that sourcing work is already done, so what you're paying for is the curation itself, the trained eye that pulls a cohesive concept together. It's a way of scaling a designer's expertise so more people can access it, without the designer needing to start from scratch for every single client.
Each design includes:
- A 2D design board showing the full selection
- A 3D concept render, so you can see exactly how everything comes together in the space
- An itemised product schedule with SKUs & online purchase links
- A design intent summary explaining the thinking behind the concept
- High-level installation notes, including placement guidance & practical direction like taking a cabinetry profile straight to your trades or cabinet maker
You download it, & everything you need to bring the room to life is already there. No sourcing, no guesswork, no paying for hours of a designer's time hunting down products one by one.
Selections can be tweaked to suit your own space, or you can book a consultation if you'd like a hand adapting it. Every design is built from Australian suppliers, so what you see is what you can actually buy. There's currently one design live, a Neutral Modern Farmhouse Kitchen.
Not sure which path is right for you? Reach out to hello@yourdesigncompanion.com.au & we can point you in the right direction.