SPEKD Journal
Resources for working interior designers
Field notes, vendor guides, and workflow tips for designers who source trade furniture professionally. Written for people who need to execute, not inspire.
2026-03-14 · 7 min read
How to Source Trade Furniture Faster — A Designer's Workflow
Stop bouncing between 20 vendor websites. Here's how working designers cut sourcing time from days to minutes using AI search, saved searches, and cross-vendor comparison.
2026-02-28 · 9 min read
A Trade Vendor Guide for New Interior Designers
New to residential design? Here are the 20 trade-only vendors you need accounts with, organized by what they're actually good at.
2026-02-10 · 8 min read
Performance Fabric Guide for Interior Designers
Crypton, Sunbrella, Revolution, Inside Out — a working designer's guide to performance fabrics and when each one actually earns its price premium.
2026-01-22 · 6 min read
Furniture Lead Times — What Every Designer Should Know Before Speccing
Lead times kill more projects than bad specs. Here's how to read vendor lead-time data honestly and build project timelines that actually hold.
2026-01-05 · 5 min read
Cross-Vendor Sourcing Is the New Standard
For years, designers sourced by going to each vendor's website one at a time. AI search changes the model — here's why cross-vendor sourcing is becoming the default workflow.
2025-12-18 · 8 min read
How to Specify Custom Upholstery Without Losing Your Mind
Custom upholstery is where residential projects either sing or fall apart. A working guide to speccing frames, fabrics, cushions, and finish details.
2025-12-03 · 7 min read
Choosing a Dining Table for Real Residential Use
Dining tables look easy to spec until you try. Here's how to pick base, size, finish, and expansion for rooms that actually host meals.
2025-11-15 · 6 min read
The Real Differences Between Leather Grades for Upholstery
Top grain, full grain, split, bonded — what each leather grade actually is, how it wears, and when to specify it in residential work.
2025-10-28 · 6 min read
Kid-Friendly Furniture That Still Looks Intentional
Speccing for family homes without ending up with beige performance-fabric everywhere. A working designer's playbook.
2025-10-12 · 6 min read
How AI Actually Helps Furniture Sourcing (And Where It Doesn't)
Stripped of the hype — a concrete look at what AI search can and can't do for residential sourcing workflows today.