Own Space Interiors is a small interior design studio founded by Paola Castillo, who launched her studio after working at several established firms.

Like many designers running their own place, Paola was handling everything from 3D visuals to product sourcing, while managing client communication and approvals across a jumble of Excel sheets, Notion boards and saved image folders.

Before discovering thesheet, her workflow looked something like this: countless open tabs, too many Excel files and a whole lot of copy-paste.

 “I was copy-pasting images into one file, saving links in another. It just wasn’t sustainable.”

Now? She sources products while designing, clips them directly into her project and builds shopping lists without repeating work.

Paola Castillo is the founder of Own Space

The Challenge: Too Many Tools, Not Enough Flow

When Paola started her own studio, she found herself stuck in the same cycle many designers face. Managing design work across too many tools and spending more time formatting documents than actually designing.

“I was using Notion and before Notion I was using Excel,” she says. “It was like a massive thing.”

Spec sheets lived in spreadsheets, images were saved in folders and client feedback came in through scattered messages and emails. Every change meant re-saving files, digging up links and copy-pasting between documents.

“Before finding a better solution, it was very hard to manage everything,” she explains. “I needed something smoother and easier to use.”

There was no central place where everything was stored. And because the setup was so manual, it was easy to make mistakes or lose hours just keeping things organised.

The Switch to thesheet: Simple, Visual and Easy for Clients

Paola discovered thesheet while scrolling through Instagram. The clean layout and focus on visuals immediately stood out.

“I saw it on Instagram and thought, ‘Oh, this looks nice. I want to try it.’”

But even with her excitement, she wasn’t sure how her clients would respond. Especially the older ones who weren’t particularly comfortable with tech. Her first project on thesheet was with exactly that kind of client and she was nervous.

“I was quite scared because my first project was with clients who aren't very tech-savvy,” she says. “I thought ‘Oh my God, maybe they don’t understand or maybe they’ll feel it’s complicated.’ But no, actually it was really easy for them.”

Instead of feeling overwhelmed, her clients found thesheets’ spec sheets easier to follow than the spreadsheets and PDFs she’d used before. That clarity made collaboration smoother from the start and gave Paola the confidence to fully commit to the new workflow.

The Change: From Copy-Paste to Creative Flow

Before switching to thesheet, Paola’s design process was anything but seamless. Managing specs meant juggling Excel files, Notion pages and endless tabs just to keep track of product links and visuals. She’d often need a second screen just to handle all the copy-pasting between documents.

Now, everything happens in one place and in real time. When she’s working on a 3D model and spots a product that fits the space, she clips it straight into thesheet. No saving images, no switching between tools, no losing track of links.

“I do the 3D and then I say, ‘ah, this pattern fits well.’ So I clip it and save it in the space. Then when I am doing the shopping list, it’s already there – I did it already.”

Even sourcing feels lighter. She can do it from her laptop at a cafe, without feeling tethered to a setup with multiple screens. And because everything stays organised from the start, the admin side no longer eats into her creative time.

The Result: Less Admin, More Design

For Paola, the biggest shift since switching to thesheet has been the freedom to focus on the part of her job she loves most – designing. Instead of spending hours formatting spreadsheets or chasing product approvals, she now moves through projects with ease and clarity.

Spec sheets and shopping lists come together almost automatically as she works and client feedback happens in real time. No more messy email threads or confusion over which version is the latest.

What used to feel like a mountain of admin has become a smooth, integrated part of her workflow. Or as she puts it herself, “The best part is I spend less time on management now. Instead of getting stuck in admin work, I can focus more on being creative with my designs, which is what really matters.”

And because thesheet is easy for clients to use too, she’s able to present ideas clearly, offer alternatives and keep conversations focused. All without leaving the platform.

The Conclusion: A Better Way to Work

Seven months in, thesheet has become second nature to Paola’s process. It’s not just a tool she uses, it’s a tool that works with her. From clipping products during 3D work to sharing live updates with clients, everything now flows more naturally.

What changed wasn’t just how she organises specs, it’s how she thinks about her time.

Interior designers often wear every hat in a project and it’s easy to get stuck in admin mode. But as Paola has learned, simplifying the management side doesn’t just save time, it opens up space for better ideas and more thoughtful design.