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Interior design site lets you drag and drop to create a room, then have furniture delivered

Have you ever wished you could redesign your home with a mere snap of your fingers? Would a click at your fingertips suffice? Because a new design website promises you may be able to do just that.

Project Decor, a new home decorating web platform for design enthusiasts, which launched in beta form earlier this week, has recruited more than 40 leading interior design companies to bring users a unique experience combining online design planning and ecommerce.

"Interactive boards allow users to browse designer rooms, 'tear' items they love, upload photographs of their room or furniture and easily combine them to create their own personal design," says the company in a press release. Users can then share their boards on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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And if all the social media feedback still hasn't brought you to decision about that chevron-patterned rug, interior designers will be on-hand to give advice through live chats. Once you decide on an item, you can buy it right there, through the site.

Project Decor spokesperson Saralynn Bass says most items will, indeed, ship to Canada and that Canuck designers are represent on the site. Both Ottawa native Scot Laughton and the three founding members of Pure Design Studios in Edmonton have designed for brand OFFI on Project Decor. She says they are also working with NEW WALL, a Mississauga-based company that distributes Marimekko wall coverings.

So can a site like this help an amateur or budding interior designer spread their professional wings?

"It's good for someone who's got talent and confidence in terms of their selections," says Lucie Pitt, an interior designer and president of Montreal-based Versa Style Design. "If anyone is insecure or lacks confidence in their design choices, this isn't going to fix that."

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She says that if a client has any doubt about their choices or is waffling even in the slightest bit, spending several hours working on mood boards won't fix the problem. The best idea, in that case, is to call a professional designer, sooner rather than later.

"Admittedly, not every consumer out there needs us," says Pitt. "But the ones that do, I wouldn't waste too much time on doing mood boards unless you think it's going to be a lot of fun. Because a designer's going to come in right away with some out of the box ideas and solutions that might be quicker, simpler, cheaper."

Project Decor is not the first website geared at design enthusiasts. Homestyler.com allows users to design rooms in 2D and 3D, complete with furniture. But unlike Project Decor, there is no ecommerce component.

But the launch of TheFancy.com earlier this year did combine visual pin boards, the likes of which have been seen on sites like Pinterest, with ecommerce.

Check out the video below about specific colours that are great for each room in the home.