An interior design project description is one of the most versatile documents in a designer's toolkit. Unlike a press release, which is tied to a specific moment — an event, a launch, an award — a project description is built to last.
The same piece of writing can live on your website indefinitely, support an award submission months or years later, and serve as the core material you send to press when pitching a story.
Because it does so much work, it's worth writing well the first time. This guide breaks down how to structure an interior design project description, how to write it in a voice that works across all three uses, and how to send it to press once it's ready.
The Three Uses of a Project Description
Before writing, it helps to know that one well-built project description can serve:
- Your website: As the primary content for a completed project page; this is often the first place a potential client will actually read your work described in detail.
- Award submissions: Many design awards ask for a written project narrative alongside images. A strong existing description can be adapted rather than written from scratch under deadline pressure.
- Press outreach: When pitching editors, the project description becomes the core material of your email, either pasted directly into the body or lightly trimmed to fit the outlet.
Writing with all three uses in mind from the start saves significant rework later.
The Anatomy of a Project Description
A project description is more narrative than a press release, but it still benefits from a clear structure. Here's how the strongest ones are typically built.
1. Project Details Block
Start with a simple, scannable block of facts. This is functional information, not narrative, and it should sit clearly at the top or bottom:
Project Name: The Rivera Residence
Interior Design: Jane Doe Studio
Photography: Mara Whitfield
Location: Brentwood, Los Angeles, CA
Square Footage: 8,500 sq ft
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 5.5
Link to Images: [dropbox link]
2. The Opening Paragraph
This is the story hook: what makes the project distinct, told in a sentence or two before any room-by-room detail begins. It should establish the "why" of the project: the challenge, the opportunity, or the brief that shaped everything that followed.
When the Rivera family purchased a 1970s post-and-beam home in Brentwood, the brief was simple in ambition but complex in execution: preserve the architecture's original mid-century bones while making the interiors feel entirely current for a young, growing family. Jane Doe Studio approached the project with understatement, using a tightly edited material palette to let the home's original architecture lead.
3. Room-by-Room Detail
This is the core of the description and typically the longest section. Move through the home space by space, and within each space, be specific about materials, furnishings, and sourcing. Naming brands and materials directly is standard practice and adds credibility.
The living room centers on a low-slung sofa by De La Espada, upholstered in a chalk-toned Pierre Frey bouclé, paired with a pair of vintage Pierre Jeanneret armchairs sourced through a Los Angeles dealer. A travertine coffee table by Kelly Wearstler anchors the seating arrangement, while a hand-knotted wool rug from Mansour Modern grounds the room in warm neutrals. Overhead, a sculptural Apparatus chandelier introduces the room's only moment of visual complexity.
4. The Design Narrative or Challenge
Many project descriptions include a section, sometimes woven throughout, sometimes standalone, that names the specific design challenge and how it was solved. This is often the most compelling part of the story for both editors and award juries, since it demonstrates judgment, not just taste.
The primary challenge was reconciling the home's low, horizontal ceilings with the family's request for a brighter, more open feel. Rather than raising ceiling heights, Jane Doe Studio focused on a near-monochrome palette and a considered lighting plan, using reflective materials and sheer linen drapery to draw daylight further into the interior.
5. Closing and Credits
End with a short closing note, often naming any additional collaborators — architects, landscape designers, contractors — who contributed to the project.
Writing Tone
The tone principles here mirror those of a press release: precise, confident, and restrained. A project description has slightly more room for narrative language than a press release does, since its job is partly to sell the experience of the space — but specificity should still do more work than adjectives. Naming the exact material, brand, or sourcing detail will always read as more credible than a general description of luxury or beauty.
How to Send a Project Description to the Press
Once written, a project description is most commonly sent to press as the body of a direct pitch email — not as an attachment, and not through a newswire service the way a press release might be.
1. Write a Short, Personal Pitch Email
Keep the email itself brief — a few sentences that tell the editor why this project fits their publication specifically, followed by the full project description pasted directly into the body underneath. Editors are more likely to open and read a plain-text email than click through to an attachment.
Dear [First Name],
Hope this finds you well.
Please find below a residential interior project in Brentwood, Los Angeles by Jane Doe Studio – an 8,500 sq. ft., five-bedroom family home built around a near-monochrome material palette and the preservation of its original mid-century architecture.
A defining aspect of the project is the studio's understated approach: rather than layering in additional visual complexity, Jane Doe Studio focused on tone, texture, and material honesty to let the home's architecture lead.
We look forward to your thoughts.
2. Paste the Full Description Into the Body
Directly beneath the pitch note, paste the complete project description as written: details block, opening paragraph, room-by-room breakdown, and closing credits. This gives the editor everything they need to evaluate or write the story without needing to request more information first.
3. Include a Link to High-Resolution Images
Always include a link to a shared folder (Dropbox, Google Drive, or similar) rather than attaching images directly, which can be too large for email and difficult for editors to download individually.
4. Personalize Before Sending
Just as with a press release, a project description pitch performs best when it's sent individually to editors whose beat genuinely matches the project — a kitchen-focused writer, a regional design editor, or a sustainability-focused outlet, for example — rather than blasted to a broad list.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Writing only for one use: A description written narrowly for an award submission often reads as too formal for a website, and vice versa. Aim for a version that works across all three.
- Vague material references: "Custom furnishings throughout" tells a reader far less than naming the actual maker, material, or fabric house.
- Skipping the story: A room-by-room list of furnishings without a framing challenge or narrative reads as a shopping list, not a design story.
- Forgetting the practical details: Square footage, room count, and photography credit are small facts that are frequently requested by editors and award juries alike, leaving them out creates unnecessary back-and-forth.