The Future of Interior Design?
When someone says "the future of interior design", what do you imagine?
Painted walls that can change colour on demand?
Rooms that can transform from home office to living space in a snap?
Homes designed to protect you from the next pandemic?
Home decor with a net-zero impact on the environment?
Sadly, when I Googled "future of interior design", Google’s search-bots served up this article from online accessories shop Amara. To say I was underwhelmed would be generous. Here are Amara’s predictions for the future of interior design:
Smart Homes - Smart homes are already everywhere. Barely a day goes by without one of the tech giants releasing a new gadget designed to make our homes more connected. Google Home has already been around for years now – a smarthome control centre that acts as a personal assistant, alarm and speaker rolled into one. Speak to your Google Home device and it will turn up your heating, turn off your television, or remind you about upcoming appointments.
Well...duh. Smart speakers & screens have become ubiquitous in our homes already, and aside from the privacy concerns that most of us ignore, there's zero reason to think our homes will continue to get smarter & smarter. But that's not exactly a bold prediction for the future is it? It's kind of like saying in the future we'll continue to wear pants.
3D Printing - The advancement in 3D printing is shaping the interior world to such an extent that some believe we are on the cusp of another industrial revolution. Where it used to be costly and cumbersome, today 3D printing is efficient and exciting. Interior designers can quickly demonstrate their designs and allow their clients to touch and feel their ideas in miniature form. With 3D printing, the time between idea conception and its implementation is drastically reduced. This speeds up an interior designer’s work and reduces costs for the client – a win for both parties.
3D printing (aka additive manufacturing or AM) truly is a step towards a Star Trekian future with replicators & holodecks. BUT...even though rapidly increasing investments in the AM ecosystem are fueling growth & boosting excitement in the technology, we can't ignore the giant bottleneck that is materials. Assuming the high cost of equipment will continue to drop, the biggest barrier identified by AM super-nerds is materials. While there are numerous types of 3D/AM printing materials on the market, few are advanced enough for either manufacturing or home printers.
And do you really want all of your furniture made out of plastic?
I'm not saying that the idea of having a luxury furniture manufacturer sending plans for your ultra-custom 3D printed sofa over to the local 3D printing facility to be shipped directly to your home ain’t gonna happen, BUT being able to print in something other than plastic & a small number of metals is a GIANT hurdle. Until that hurdle is hurdled, 3D printing won’t be a part of the interior design future.
The Tiny House movement - The Tiny House movement is one of the most striking phenomena that is set to overturn the way we think about interiors. Put simply, it is the movement whereby individuals are actively downsizing their living spaces, typically to under 400 square feet. The Tiny House movement has gripped America, and is partly in response to rising house prices but also thanks to a greater environmental awareness and willingness to reduce our carbon footprint. Advocates of the movement are masters at living in well-planned and incredibly efficient living spaces. They argue that downsizing to such an extent forces you to appreciate experiences over possessions – simplifying your life and your spending habits.
In addition to tiny homes, the increased adoption of micro-condos, home co-ownership, co-ops, van living, camper living, caravaning, shipping container homes, etc is not due exclusively to a desire to live a minimalist, back to nature, environmentally conscious life...it's also about money.
Between investors bullying their way through residential housing markets & rising income inequality, home ownership has become a pipe-dream for a lot of people. If tiny-homes are the future, we're moving into a dystopian not a utopian future...and that stinks.
Virtual Reality - Virtual reality (VR) has been the word on everyone’s lips this year. From glorifying gaming to helping with healthcare, VR is set to take centre stage in many an industry over the next few years. Interior experts are particularly excited about its uses within their profession. Imagine a designer walking their client through a room they have created, or explaining an architectural structure by actually being beside it. Imagine testing out hundreds of wallpaper designs, furniture pieces or flooring types at the click of a button. It’s no surprise that the interior design industry is welcoming VR as the start of a new, technological future.
I can 100% see VR becoming the next big thing in the interior design biz. While many designers still rely on 2D drawings to show their designs to clients, there is already a big shift towards 3D images & videos. The next logical step is to turn those 3D images/videos into an immersive virtual experience where clients can virtually interact with the designer's concepts.
Just say NO to Zuck’s idea of interior design in the metaverse
Imagine sitting in your existing living room while virtually sitting in your interior designer's version of your dream living room. The designers who leverage that technology are going to have a big advantage over those designers who still rely on 2D drawings & floor plans.
Sustainable Design - As consumers grow wary of the environmental and social mark they are leaving on the world, so the interest in sustainable design increases. From landscaping to beauty, the future for eco-friendly looks bright. For interiors where it used to have connotations of shabby chic; today eco-friendly design is entirely on trend. This trend looks set to grow as we consider the future of interior design.
I have to call bullshit on this one. It's nice to say that our interest in sustainable design is growing, BUT in reality, "fast interiors" like "fast fashion" is a big, big, big problem.
While there are people who shop for antiques & upcycled furniture as a way to help Mother Earth, that vast majority of home decor shoppers buy from Big Box retailers like Wayfair & Ikea. And while Ikea makes an effort to reduce their environmental footprint, the vast majority of us don't buy furniture meant to stand the test of time. We kinda suck...myself included. And it's not completely our fault.
Our grandparents used to get married, have kids & live in the same town & work at the same job for decades. Today, we get married later in life, postpone having children & bounce from job to gig & from town to city. The idea of buying "forever furniture" makes zero sense today.
And as with fast fashion, a lot of people feel the NEED to share our home decor all over social media...and no one wants to be seen in last year's clothes or sitting on last year's chair on social media.
In theory, sustainable design is a noble goal. In practice, it’s the nicheist of niches.
So…what does the future hold for interior design?
Here are my predictions:
As mentioned above, Smart Homes will impact the interior design industry moving forward. Anything that can be monitored in your home will be monitored…temperature, air quality, light, noise levels, clutter, traffic patterns, dirty dishes in the dishwasher, dinner guests arriving in 10 minutes, etc.
The pace of this trend will move even faster as computing power continues to grow in scale & shrink in size. Imagine a future where just about every feature of your home is looked after by the family AI.
As our homes become smarter they will also be collecting a ton of data about everything we do & say.
On the pro side, this data allows manufacturers to design better products and services, improve business processes, enhance decision making and even create new revenue sources.
On the con side, this level of data collection bumps up against our desire for data privacy and security.
As also mentioned above, XR - extended reality (aka virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality) is going to impact the future of interior design…for both homeowners and interior designers.
Instead of looking at floor plans and mood boards, interior designers will be able to share their design concepts with their clients inside a virtual environment. Instead of trying to imagine what their home COULD look like (floor plans, etc), homeowners will know exactly what their new interior WILL look like. This is going to be huge.
Thanks to increased computing power & AI, the entire design process is going to get much, much smarter. With Smart Design, much of the design process will be handled by AI, allowing designers to focus on the artistry of their designs and on relationships they have with their clients. In addition to the design side of the business, AI will take over much of the “business side” of the business. Designers who embrace AI-fueled Smart Business practices are going to have an distinct business advantage.
Digital Trust - We’ve only just begun to dip our toes into the crypto / blockchain / distributed ledger pool BUT as our world becomes more & more digital, being able to guarantee security is going to be an issue across all industries. Whether it’s smart contracts, crypto payments, interior design NFTs or interior design collectives organized as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), a digital future is coming for the entire interior design industry…and as mentioned above…those designers who move first are going to have an advantage.
3D Printing - As mentioned above, if the materials bottleneck can be solved, additive manufacturing will allow designers & home decor manufacturers to enter a world of customization we can only imagine. It “could” be huge.
Nanotechnology and materials science - We already use nanotechnology to prevent stains & reduce the flammability of furniture fabric. This is only the beginning. Imagine wall paint that heals itself of scratches, scrapes & smudges. Imagine toilets, chairs & beds that can detect markers of disease. Imagine windows that eliminate the need for blinds & curtains as they independently adjust opacity & colour to provide privacy, UV protection, etc.
Embodied Carbon - Embodied carbon is the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions associated with materials and construction processes throughout the whole lifecycle of a building. We’ve known at least since 2003 that the building sector contributes 40 percent of worldwide carbon emissions. , and the movement to reduce that impact has largely been spearheaded by architects. In the past 4 years, studies have shown that interior designers may be responsible for emissions at least equal to those associated with the structure and envelope of a building. Interior design, it turns out, has been doing great harm to the environment. This is going to become an issue for interior designers. Whether it’s government regulations and/or pressure from environmental groups, activist investors and the general publis (aka your clients), reducing our carbon footprint is going to happen whether we like it or not. Once again, designers who are ahead of the curve will have a distinct marketing advantage as the pressure to “go green” ratchets up.
Covid, the Great Resignation & our changing attitudes towards work - While there are significant differences between age groups, Covid + Covid restrictions + working from home + government assistance programs + the time to think about our lives has caused a shift in how a lot of us view work. Whether it is working from home, reduced hours, shorter work-weeks and/or renumeration based on performance rather than seniority or hours worked or butts kissed…a lot of us aren’t willing to sacrifice our lifes to an employer who doesn’t really care about our lives. If you want to employ the best designers, technologists & support staff, you had better be ready to show them the love.
So, what do you think interior design will look like in 10 years…in 20 years…in 50 years? Share this article on your favorite social platform, tag me and let’s move the discussion forward.
You can reach me at:
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