Welcome, and thank you for weighing it up carefully. Choosing between a design center vs a big-box store is a fair question for any home project, and we are glad to help you think it through. The honest answer depends on the job, so rather than tell you where to shop, we will explain what a design center like ours actually does and let you match it to what you need.
Debsan Design Center has been part of Natick since 1947, when it opened as a wallpaper and paint store. Today it brings five lines together under one roof: Hunter Douglas window treatments, drapery and decorative fabrics, wallpaper, Benjamin Moore paint, and floors from hardwood to carpet. That mix is the heart of the difference.
What a Design Center Does, in Order
The work follows the order of a project, from the first idea to the finished room.
- You see and handle the real thing. Fabric samples, wallpaper samples, shade materials, flooring and paint colors are all in the showroom to touch and compare. You can hold a drapery fabric up to the light, feel the weight of a lining or set a wallpaper beside a carpet sample.
- One person helps you across every line. The same person can talk you through the window treatment, the wallpaper, the paint and the floor for the same room, so the pieces are chosen to work together rather than one at a time.
- We come to your house if you want. A free in-home consultation brings samples to your windows and your light, where color and texture really get judged.
- We measure. Custom treatments are made to the size ordered, so we measure the windows ourselves rather than asking you to.
- We install. Measurement and installation are done by people who do this work daily, and they check that every treatment sits level and runs smoothly before they leave.
- We are here afterwards. If something needs attention once the room is finished, you call the same store that planned, measured and fitted it.
What Changes the Answer
Not every project needs the same help. A few things decide how much a design center adds.
Stock sizes or custom
If a window is a standard size and the goal is simply to cover it, a ready-made product can do that. When the window is tall, out of square, a bay or a wall of glass, the treatment has to be made to measure, and measuring and installation become the whole job.
One item or a whole room
A single blind on its own is a simple purchase. A room where the floor, the walls and the windows are all changing is a different matter, because the choices affect each other. That is where having all five lines in one place, with one person helping, makes the biggest difference.
How much advice you want
Some people arrive knowing exactly what they want. Others want help choosing a color, a pattern or a type of shade. A design center is built for the second kind of conversation, though it is just as happy to take a straightforward order.
Who measures and fits
On a custom order, the measuring decides whether it fits. If you would rather not measure, drill or hang anything yourself, professional measurement and installation take that off your hands.
What You Get From a Design Center
Samples in hand
Real fabrics, wallpapers, shade materials and flooring to touch and compare side by side, in the showroom or at your own windows.
One person, five lines
Window treatments, drapery and fabrics, wallpaper, paint and flooring planned together, so the room works as a whole.
Measured and installed for you
Professional measurement and installation by people who do this work daily, so the treatment fits the window you have.
Someone to call afterwards
A store you can walk into or ring when something needs a second look, the same one that did the work.
The Brands and the Range
The range matters as much as the service. We carry Hunter Douglas window treatments, from natural wood blinds to fabric shades, shutters and motorized options. Our paint is Benjamin Moore. Our wallpaper and fabric come from a long list of houses, including Schumacher, Thibaut, Kravet, Sanderson, Morris & Co, Clarke & Clarke and Phillip Jeffries. Flooring covers hardwood, carpeting and luxury vinyl.
Seeing these together is the point. A paint color is easier to choose next to the fabric it has to work with, and a wallpaper is easier to judge beside the floor it will sit above. You can see more on our window treatments, wallpaper, fabrics, paint and flooring pages.
Questions Worth Asking Wherever You Buy
Wherever you shop, a few questions show quickly how much help comes with the product:
- Can I see and handle the actual material? A swatch in daylight tells you more than a photo on a screen.
- Who measures the windows? On a custom order, the person who measures carries the responsibility for the fit.
- Who installs, and how often do they do it? Hanging heavy drapery level on an old plaster wall is a skill.
- Can the same person help with the walls and the floor? If the room is changing as a whole, that saves a lot of back and forth.
- Who do I call if something is not right? It helps when the answer is a store you can walk into.
These are the questions we would want answered ourselves, and they are the ones a design center is set up to answer well.
What to Bring to the Showroom
Walking in empty-handed is fine. If you can, bring:
- A few phone pictures of each room in daylight, windows and floor in view
- Rough window sizes, if you have them
- Anything you want to match: a rug, a cushion, a paint chip, a tile
- Pictures of rooms, colors or patterns you have liked
- A rough idea of which rooms are part of the project, now or later
Our showroom page tells you more about visiting. To begin at home instead, the in-home design consultation page explains what that free visit involves.
Common Questions
Is a design center only for big projects?
No. We are happy to help with a single window, a can of paint or a roll of wallpaper. A design center simply makes it easier when several things in a room are changing at once.
Can I just walk in?
Yes. You can come into our Natick showroom to browse without booking. For a visit at your house, get in touch and we will arrange a free in-home consultation.
Can you help with the whole room?
Yes. With every line in one building, one person can help you plan the windows, the walls and the floor together.
Do you measure and install?
Yes. On custom treatments we take the measurements and do the fitting, so you are not left with a tape measure and a drill.
Why see samples in person?
Because color, texture and pattern look different in hand and in your own light than they do on a screen. Comparing real samples side by side is the quickest way to know what works.
Start a Conversation
When you are ready to talk about your project, drop us a line from the contact page, or speak to us directly with the call button on this site. Tell us about the rooms and what is changing, and we will help you work out the best place to start.