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How Home Interior Design Is Being Changed By Technology

Technology has a tendency to force change very quickly these days. It is strange when you think about the fact that only twenty years ago cars needed to have outstretched antennas in order to be able to receive FM radio signals that were quite weak (assuming you weren’t close to a tunnel). These days, we are not only in the middle of a race with technology companies releasing the initial competent self-driving cars on the roads, but Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, launched a roadster recently that is headed for Mars (which travels much faster than the national speed limit).

In recent years the winds of change are starting to make their way into the interior design industry also, with designers needing to adopt and evolve with various norms and demands for offices and homes all over the world. In terms of adapting to modern advancements, there is such a fierce battle raging for interior designers to continually adjust to technology that any complacency or negligence can risk living even the best designers mired in all of the changes. The following are six of the largest technological advancements that may result in negligent practitioners getting left behind.

1. Smart-Homes

The market has many smart-home interpretations that are available. Dedicated apps are able to control the security, heating, and lighting of a room by simply pressing a button. There are also voice-activated services like Amazon’s Echo and Google Home that can help you manage your house without having to even lift a finger.

This has huge ramifications for interior designers. Designers will have to be mindful of leaving space for smart meters, thermostats, and light switches when creating the technology that controls accessibility of a room by voice or hand.

Interior designers need to consider implementing smart objects as well. Integrated kitchen worktops such as the Tuler Kitchen are designed to easily encase sinks and stoves into a stone flat surface. It is revolutionary, cutting-edge and has the potential for completely dominating a design blueprint.

2. Tiny House Movement

In addition to not being able to neglect all of the various advanced technology that may may significant improvements to an interior designer’s output, there is another important movements that may impact how homes will be designed in future years.

The tiny house movement is continuing to gain momentum giving the rising living costs and home prices, along with more people recognizing the important of being environmentally friendly.

In general this movement is resulting in smaller houses, which often are under 400 square feet, which gives interior designers a new challenge when it comes to overcoming the problem of creating a fully functioning and visually appealing space that is very compact.

With a very small canvas to work with and a strong focus on smart technology in order to make the smaller living spaces feel as spacious as possible, the burden is on designers to become more creative with small spaces.

3. Virtual Reality

This is the most well known type of technology on the list. For decades now dreamers and gamers have been thinking about virtual reality, and it is starting to make the transition to interior design also.

If the potential of virtual reality were to be neglected that would be a huge mistake due to all of the advantages that interior designers can enjoy through using this cutting-edge technology.

The power that virtual reality can have on the interior design industry is hard to fathom. Imagine being able to walk your client through digital rooms that feature your full designs. You would be able to point out all of the nuances that are part of your creation in a completely immersive way to give you a distinct edge over other interior designs who are all competing for attention.

Virtual reality is also customizable, through the kind of instruments that are used and using digital rendering. Headset and glasses create a completely interactive experience, with handheld devices performing a more understated yet similar role.

4. Augmented Reality

This is an outstanding tool that allows designers to visualize rooms through its 3D renderings of furnishings and item that you can embed on top of a existing scene via the device’s camera.

This not only will provide you with a visual aid throughout the design process but the accurate renderings that it provides make it an excellent tool to measure designated spaces for various items very easily.

With augmented reality being used more and more, it would be a major impediment if interior designers ignore the potential that digital placing items into the spaces has for calculating functionality and fit.

5. 3D Printing

The superior intricate designs and cost-effectiveness of 3D printing designs have led some people to think that there is a new industrial revolution on the horizon.

Although it might be some time off before 3D printers are the de facto leaders of furniture production, the potential innovations that can be made in this medium definitely should not be ignored.

This technology can now be used by interior designed to quickly build prototypes of their designs so that clients can sample them and offer their feedback, in addition to producing constructions that are wildly imaginatively that its older counterparts would never be able to dream of putting together.

For interior designers 3D printers are a complete dream product. Their output is so convenient that means that it is very easy to design and produce custom designs, and therefore clients are able to get their rooms designed to precise specifications, with any risk of compromises made when similar furnishings are purchased form third party vendors.

6. Green Homes

Increased environmental concerns combined with developing technology that supports renewable energy has increased the emphasis on interior designs being created for green homes.

When the electrical system of the home is connected to renewable energy sources will have to be taken into account, and more attention may be commanded by natural light sources as green families are looking to use artificial lighting as little as possible.

To further accommodate this growing awareness, a greater emphasis might need to be placed on using eco-friendly materials. For example, bamboo and laminated wooden flooring are very environmentally friendly materials.

Internal technologies such as eco water heater will have to be considered within designs. Also external factors, such as solar panels, are going to have to be seamlessly connected to relevant devices within the design of a room.