Most of us strive to make the most with what we've got inside our homes. It's an endless quest that tugs at homeowners regardless of whether or not we have any interior design expertise. There are a number of occasions during which we place a particular premium upon how our homes appeal to visitors. The first (and obvious) occasion is the holiday season. If we're entertaining guests, we work ourselves into a sweat rearranging the furniture, organizing accessories in strategic placements, attempting to create the impression that we didn't spend time contemplating the arrangements of our belongings; we just have a natural eye for what looks great.

And, of course, if you're placing your home on the market and preparing it for showings, you drive yourself nuts trying to make your home's interior look more fabulous than it has ever looked. You take notes of your Realtor's suggestions and turn yourself into a salesman of sorts, trying to market your home in the best possible light.

Regardless of your circumstances, you're going to need some help before you embark on the radical transformation of your home's interior. No, you don't need to enroll in interior design courses. Instead, head to Infoseek's list of recommended interior design Web sites, ranked in order of quality. (Warning: Don't ignore sites ranked lower on Infoseek's list. Many of them are arguably better than the ones with higher rankings.) From newsletters to local events to idea rooms, you'll find anything and everything you need on Infoseek in order to get the wheels turning in your creative mind.

For homeowners with big bank accounts, the Directory of Design and Decoration (DD&D), an unusual site, includes a lengthy directory of clients, many of whom cater to the discriminating consumer. The businesses you'll find here sell antique furniture and silver, rare books, Asian art, fine rugs and other artifacts. But you'll also find an assortment of clients selling more mainstream items -- fireplace accessories, outdoor furniture, garden sculptures, indoor furniture, custom-made flooring, interior design consulting services and more. All of the clients listed on the DD&D site have links leading to their respective home pages on the Internet.

Perhaps you're on the hunt for a particular piece of furniture or an accessory. DD&D's site contains a very large list of dealers broken down first by item (fabrics, lighting, contemporary furniture and fireplace accessories, to name a few) and then by geographical region, if you wish. A helpful feature of this section -- at least at first glance -- is a category listing antique shows around the United States, a favorite haunt for bargain-hunters. Sadly, however, DD&D misses the boat on what would be an exc ellent resource. Only antique shows affiliated with DD&D clients are listed, so a geographical search produced a measly one antique show, in San Francisco. That's good news for Bay Area residents or those planning a trip to San Francisco, but for the rest of us, it's news we can't use. Cities and towns throughout the United States host antique shows on a regular basis; the site would be performing a good service to list them here.

If you're on the lookout for more mainstream home items -- tile, flooring, framing, for example -- head to the site's "Design Resources" section, which produces a very limited yet helpful assortment of companies specializing in these items. In the Resources section, as in the site's "Dealers" section, DD&D needs to beef up its directories. There's not much point in including a link to such services if consumers are rewarded with only one or two listings (usually in New York or California) for their efforts.

Suppose you're the lucky recipient of a fine piece of furniture that you're looking to sell. The DD&D site includes an online inventory of items wanted by antique dealers. Be warned that the items they're seeking are high-dollar pieces. But if you're the owner of a fine piece of furniture with a history, and circumstances dictate that you sell it now, this inventory is a good place to find yourself a buyer.

A better bet for any online consumer (especially for those with less Madison Avenue taste) is the home decorating section of Infoseek's interior design section (access this section by selecting "home decorating" from "interior design topics," located at the top of the Infoseek interior design page). Choosing this more focused link will lead you to a list of more mainstream Web resources, including Better Homes & Gardens (one of the Web's best); Decorating Ideas, the online version of the popular "how-to" decorating magazine for do-it-yourselfers; and Home Furnishing netquarters, an online furniture information resource and shopping mall for consumers.

Have a look at Infoseek before you embark on that interior design project. But be warned that you may not agree with what the site ranks as the Web's most helpful online interior design resources. Leave yourself time to explore these recommended sites, and you'll come away with some good suggestions regardless of the size of your budget.

Published: January 5, 1999

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Editor's Note: This article reflects the opinions of Courtney Ronan only and not necessarily the views of this or any other publication, organization or Website owner.