One Type of Design Library Is Holding Firms Back

We asked: what’s one belief about running a design firm that’s outdated? 

Not every physical library is a problem. A fabric and finish library still earns its keep, since feeling a textile or seeing a stain color in person is something no screen replicates. The library that’s become outdated is the other kind: shelves of case goods, lighting, and furniture catalogs kept purely for sourcing product. That version takes up space, goes stale between vendor updates, and can narrow which vendors a firm reaches for on every project. The fix is sourcing that category online instead, through search, AI tools, and catalog software, while keeping the tactile fabric and finish library exactly as it is. 

Why the case goods library breaks down (and why fabric and finish don’t) 

The distinction matters. Fabric and finish samples serve a purpose a photo can’t replace: you need to feel the weave, see the sheen, hold a stain color next to a wood tone. That’s not going anywhere, and firms shouldn’t feel behind for keeping one. 

Case goods, lighting, and furniture catalogs are a different story. A binder of vendor photos and spec sheets doesn’t offer anything a current online listing doesn’t, and it comes with real downsides: 

• It takes up space that’s hard to justify. Binders and vendor books accumulate, and unlike fabric swatches, there’s no tactile reason they need to sit on a shelf. 
• It’s hard to keep current. Pricing and stock availability shift constantly, and a printed catalog has no way of reflecting that. 
• It takes longer to search than going online. Flipping through vendor books to find the right piece usually takes more time than a quick search would. 
• It can narrow a firm’s range without anyone noticing. When sourcing starts from the same familiar vendor books, firms tend to reach for the same options project after project, and the work can start to look repetitive. 

Newer firms are already sourcing this way by default. Designers just starting out today are less likely to build a case goods library at all, not because they’re skipping a step, but because searching online has become the more natural starting point.

What replaces the case goods library 

The shift is straightforward: source case goods, lighting, and furniture online rather than from a shelf. 

That looks like: 

• Online and AI-assisted search, which surfaces current options faster than paging through vendor catalogs. 
• Catalog software, like Studio Designer’s catalog feature, where a product can go straight from search into a design board with one click, no photographing or scanning a printed page required. 
• Faster, more confident decisions. Seeing a piece in context right away makes it easier to tell whether it actually works in a room, rather than judging from an isolated image and hoping it comes together later. 

Think about how a mood board typically gets built. Sourcing from a vendor’s website usually means finding a piece, then judging from a single photo whether it fits, then repeating that across a dozen tabs. When sourcing and board-building happen in the same place, that back-and-forth disappears, and it’s easier to land on the right product the first time. 

Showrooms and design centers still have a role 

None of this changes the value of seeing product in person. Showrooms aren’t going away, and plenty of designers still want to feel a material or see a finish before specifying it. The right approach depends on what the visit is for. 

For general vendor discovery, browsing still works well. Walking a showroom or a design center is one of the better ways to find vendors a firm hasn’t worked with before, and there’s no client clock running while that happens. 

For a specific client project, the more efficient approach flips the order: 

• Find products first in a digital vendor catalog.
• Contact the showroom to see and feel a specific piece in person. 
• Have the showroom order a sample piece to place on your floor.  
• Request fabric samples be sent directly to your office. 

This is sometimes called “source before you see.” Narrowing the field digitally first means the in-person visit gets spent confirming a decision rather than searching for one, which matters most when that time is billable. Combining a digital catalog with a purposeful, targeted visit turns showroom time into project time well spent, rather than hours of client-billed browsing. 

FAQ 

Is a fabric and finish library still worth keeping? Yes. Tactile review matters for fabric and finish in a way it doesn’t for a case goods catalog, and this is the one part of a physical library that holds up well. 

What about a case goods library a firm already has? There’s no need to get rid of it overnight. New sourcing can simply start online by default, and the physical catalog can wind down naturally as it goes further out of date. 

How is AI-assisted search different from a general web search? Catalog software built for design work surfaces current, in-stock products and lets a designer drop them straight into a design board, cutting out the step of manually checking availability or building a mood board by hand. 

Do showrooms and design centers still matter if sourcing moves online? Yes, and how they’re used depends on the purpose. For general discovery, browsing a showroom or design center is still one of the best ways to find new vendors. For a specific client project, sourcing digitally first and using the visit to confirm a decision makes better use of billable time.