THE AI REVOLUTION IN INTERIOR DESIGN ?

Visionary Tool or Professional Replacement?

Nowadays, it seems everyone is using AI tools like Gemini or ChatGPT to visualize their "dream room" with a simple text prompt. The results are often stunning—sleek lines, perfect lighting, and textures that look real enough to touch. This leads to a burning question in the industry: Can AI actually replace the need for a professional interior designer?.

While the "magic" of AI visualization is impressive, there is a massive gap between a beautiful image and a livable, buildable space. To understand why, we need to look beyond the screen and into the actual architecture of a project.

The Blueprint of a Project: The RIBA Stages

In professional practice, we follow the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Plan of Work. This framework ensures that a project is not just a "pretty picture" but a safe, functional, and coordinated reality.

The process is divided into eight critical stages:

• Stage 0: Strategic Definition – Defining the project's core goals.

• Stage 1: Preparation and Brief – Understanding the client's needs and constraints.

• Stage 2: Concept Design – The initial creative vision.

• Stage 3: Spatial Coordination – Ensuring everything fits within the physical dimensions.

• Stage 4: Technical Design – Detailed drawings for construction.

• Stage 5: Manufacturing and Construction – The actual build phase.

• Stage 6: Handover – Finalizing the project for the client.

• Stage 7: Use – How the space functions in daily life.

Where AI Hits the Wall: Scale and Coordination

While AI can generate a "mood," it currently lacks the "brain" to handle the complexities of a real-world renovation. Here are the primary reasons why AI isn't ready to take the designer's chair:

1. The Coordination Crisis

AI cannot yet coordinate with other essential disciplines. A professional designer must communicate with:

• Structural engineers to ensure walls don't fall.

• Lighting designers for functional and atmospheric illumination.

• Joinery experts and builders to translate a vision into physical wood and stone.

  
  

2. The "Installability" Problem

The most frequent issue we face with AI-generated images is a complete lack of scale and installability. An AI might render a beautiful floating shelf that is physically impossible to support or a staircase that doesn't meet safety codes.

"If you give an AI image to a manufacturer or builder, they cannot build it as-is. They still require technical drawings and specifications to bring the concept to life".

3. Non-Standard Spaces

AI tools struggle significantly with spaces that aren't "standard". If your room has exceptionally high ceilings or a very wide, awkward layout, AI often fails to understand the scale and proposes solutions that look bizarre or out of proportion.

How Professionals Actually Use AI

In our practice, we don't use AI to do the design. Instead, we use it as a powerful presentation tool. It’s great for adding realistic accessories, textures, and fixtures to a design we have already technically solved. Think of it like a digital "Pinterest moodboard" on steroids to help give direction to the designer.

Case Study: The Japandi Study Room

To illustrate the difference between AI-led and Designer-led work, let’s look at a recent project:

• The Brief: A client wanted a dark wood, "Japandi-style" study room with herringbone wood flooring. Here is the empty visualization of the space.

  

• The AI-Only Approach: Using a hyper-realistic prompt for a chestnut wood shelving unit and a Vitra chair, the AI produced a "fancy" image. However, it didn't account for the flow of the room or the specific storage needs.

  

• The Designer-Led Approach: We first designed the layout—deciding where the desk, storage, and sofa would go to ensure efficient circulation. We then used the same AI prompt to "skin" our technical layout with realistic textures.

The result was a space that wasn't just beautiful, but functional and buildable.

The Verdict: A Design Must Start with the Plan

At the end of the day, a design must start from the plan layout. You have to make sure furniture is placed efficiently and that there is enough flow for people to move comfortably.

AI is a brilliant assistant, but it lacks the human touch, the technical knowledge, and the spatial awareness required to turn a house into a home. It's a tool for inspiration, but it's the designer who brings the reality.