Design A La Carte: The Washington Design Center's Consumer Buying Program

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You're lazily paging through House Beautiful when you spot the wallpaper of your dreams. Heart racing, you flip to the sources page; your eyes scan the columns excitedly, and finally you spot it—perfect! But then...your spirit begins to deflate. Next to your beloved wallpaper appear those dreaded words: "to the trade only." Washingtonians, take heart! If it's not in your budget or preferences to hire a designer, but you still desire certain "to the trade" pieces, you have a new option. This spring, the Washington Design Center started a program just for you. Here's how it works...

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If you are not currently working with a designer but you have your hopes set on a particular piece(s), you can make an appointment with one of the Design Center's design professionals who will be able to offer you up to 2 hours of design advice to discuss floor plans, paint colors, fabric choices, etc. During these 2 hours, you are able to purchase key items from showrooms that are otherwise only available to the design trade.

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The program is not meant to replace the work of interior designers, but rather, to give design-minded non-designers a chance to access some of the luxurious resources of the Center's showrooms.

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However, this luxury does have its cost, so don't expect low prices. Purchases made in the first hour are sold at the designer net rate (the base price that a designer would normally pay for the product) plus a 20% mark up. Purchases made in the second hour come with a 25% mark up.

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To schedule an appointment or learn more about the program, visit the Washington Design Center's website.

(Images: 1: Schumacher, 2: Larsen via Cowtan & Tout, 3,4: Donghia, 5: Scalamandre)

All "Trade Only" design centers have buying services - It's been that way since at least the early 90's when I was working in the SF Design Center.

posted by bepsf on July 17th 2009 at 2:31pm
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bepsf- actually this is a new service for DC. Previously, you had to go through the "find a designer program" which is quite different as it requires full design services.

posted by LeahDC on July 17th 2009 at 3:12pm
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