Interior design sites: inspiration, sourcing and the difference

Interior design sites fall into two groups that serve different needs. Inspiration sites show finished rooms and are meant to be browsed. Sourcing sites tell you what the things in the room are, where they came from and what they cost. Most sites claim to be both and are really one.

The test is whether images carry credits. A site that names the photographer, the designer and the products is sourcing, and its information can be acted on. A site with uncredited images has almost certainly scraped them, which means any product claim attached to them is guesswork.

Prices in this category are also worth treating carefully. Room photography is frequently of show homes, showrooms or staged sets, and the cost of reproducing what is shown is routinely a multiple of what a reader expects. Sites that publish budgets, even approximate ones, are unusual and worth more than the ones that do not.

Trend content dates fast and specific product content dates faster, as lines are discontinued. A design site without dates on its posts is hiding how old its recommendations are.