By George Nicola (Expert Stager)
Homebuyers often endeavor to design their new homes with striking interior decorations for aesthetic purposes.
Today, the property market is flooded with a new breed of savvy and style-conscious first-time homebuyers who are looking to maximize their first purchase with interior improvements that add value to their hard-earned homes.
Whether you are hiring a professional interior designer or going the do-it-yourself (DIY) route, in the text below, you can learn more about:
- the benefits of 3D interior design
- how to prepare a 3D interior design brief
- AI-powered DIY interior design tools
- the future of 3D interior design, and many more!
If you consider hiring an interior designer, one of the first questions is how much does an interior designer cost?
This article outlines a comprehensive guide on average costs, price rates, and steps to hire a designer.
How 3D Interior Design Favours Homebuyers
3D interior design allows homebuyers to practically design the interiors of their envisioned homes. Today, homebuyers can discuss how they want the interiors of their house to look with a design company. Before, interior designers would provide clients with interior design alternatives to select.
To ensure that all ideas are incorporated fully, homebuyers often work closely with 3D interior designers. Their initial meetings and consultations help in relaying all the broad and specific requirements of the project. The 3D interior designer must acknowledge that he/she has understood the ideas before signing the contract.
Initial interactions with the 3D interior designer allow for the smooth exchange of ideas that could play an important role in the design process. It is also important to note that some ideas could be left out to reduce your budget. The design company usually offers recommendations after paying attention to the clients’ visualization of the home.
Once the initial discussions are completed, the 3D interior designer starts the process of creating the designs using various AI-powered software. As the 3D view of the home’s interior unfolds, the homebuyer can suggest tweaks as desired before implementing the final 3D interior design.
The 3D interior design process calls for careful planning of the design so that the inner space of the house provides a perfect replica of the real-life structure in 3D, that is, height, width, and depth. More in the Ultimate Guide to 3D interior design
Easy Visualization
As a homebuyer, 3D interior design allows you to envision a fully decorated and furnished space incorporated with furniture, lighting, colors, textures, appliances, and the like. 2D floor plans and simple elevations are not suitable for conveying the whole picture of your home interiors because they give incomplete views.
Cost Reduction
The availability and affordability of 3D rendering software make it effortless to try out multiple design variations on a PC until the final version is reached.
3D interior design packages allow you to try out different combinations at no extra cost. Initially, home buyers wasted a lot of money in circumstances where they would start implementing a design but eventually take it down for a better idea.
Whether for renovation or new construction, designing a home is as exciting and 3D home design rendering has changed home design projects significantly, saving time, money, and effort while minimizing contingencies.
Time-Saving
The overall duration of a 3D interior design project can be significantly reduced thanks to the capabilities of various software.
For instance, if you have a list of colors to try out in different rooms, the 3D interior design software would effortlessly let you do so in a few clicks.
The same applies to other design elements, such as texture, scale, lighting, furniture, or finish, which can be completed within minutes.
Legal Compliance
Every jurisdiction has regulatory guidelines that govern practicing interior designers.
Interior design regulations vary by state; however, the bottom line is that a good 3D interior design package should incorporate such guidelines to ensure that the final designs are compliant.
So long as the designs comply with the regulatory guidelines, no further due diligence would be necessary.
Technical Clarity
Several people generally focus on the aesthetic beauty brought about by 3D interior design.
However, it is essential to note that it also gives homebuyers valuable insights into the technical structures of their homes. Such information can help home buyers visualize their homes more sophisticatedly.
All-rounded Visualisation
As a homebuyer, you can see the complete picture of your fully furnished and decorated home using 3D interior design.
You can also raise questions and seek clarification regarding various design elements so that the design company can address them individually.
DIY Guide on Creating a 3D Interior Design for Your Home
Create a 2D Floor Plan Outline
Outlining a 2D floor plan is the typical starting point for designing 3D interiors because it allows you to incorporate structural elements of your home interior, such as room shapes, placement of doors, windows, chimneys, etc.
After completing the 2D floor plan, you can view it in 3D, which gives an accurate impression of the style and functionality of specific features.
Choose the Right Furniture and their Placement
If you want your interior space to be furnished with a specific furniture, you can check whether various stores have 3D visualization versions of the same.
For example, the IKEA Home Planner is an easy-to-use web-based tool that allows you to design each room as desired and lets you add 3D versions of your most preferred furniture along with their pricing.
Design the Bathroom
Several 3D rendering software has useful in-built tools that allow you to design bathrooms stunningly by choosing from various elements, such as tiles or terrazzo, toilet or bidet, bathtub or shower stall, and dual vanity.
You can also incorporate organizing accessories, such as plants, mirrors, and bathroom cabinets.
Upload Images of Your Rooms
If you are seeking interior design ideas for specific rooms, just take high-quality pictures of the rooms and upload them to a 3D rendering app, which will allow you to explore your visualizations.
Various visualization tools will help you envision the appearance of each room using different wall colors, flooring, carpeting, furniture, curtains, portraits, or art before settling on the most convincing one.
Choose the Right Lighting and Fixtures
The ambiance of your interiors highly depends on suitable lighting and fixtures. Therefore, it is advisable to go for spotlights and directional lights.
Spotlights like hanging pendants and chandeliers highlight specific design elements, such as stunning pieces of artwork, to create an attention-grabbing scene.
Directional lights add visual interest by contrasting light and darkness to create boundaries.
How to Attract Homebuyers with Irresistible 3D Renderings
3D Modeling comes before 3D Rendering
Visualization is one of the most important benefits linking virtual staging and homebuyers. All potential homebuyers prefer to visualize the homes before they purchase. With virtual staging, it is possible to attract more home buyers because approximately 90% of homebuyers end up making a purchase once they see the virtually staged versions of their properties.
Every homebuyer has a different taste and preference for what he/she wants to include in a space.
It is important to prioritize using virtual tours and animated walkthroughs to highlight unique features of interior spaces.
If you are interested in using virtual staging as a tool to highlight unique features of your home, read more about Contemporary Virtual Home Staging.
Tips on Floor Plans
3D floor plans play a significant role in expressing the link between rooms and space. As homebuyers seek properties with a specific number of rooms, they also focus on the size of the interior spaces.
When paired with 3D virtual tours, 3D floor plans strikingly define interiors to give homebuyers wide-ranging and enhanced selections to choose from.
To exceptionally illustrate the scope and scale of a 3D interior design project, create a ‘before’ and ‘after’ floor plan to give homebuyers an opportunity to evaluate their budgets.
3D floor plans provide detailed illustrations of designs and their specific measurements. As such, potential buyers can envisage their new homes and confidently plan their budgets.
Tips on Animated 3D Walkthroughs
Animated 3D walkthroughs are short videos that provide a virtual tour of a property’s interior.
A 3D walkthrough allows homebuyers to virtually explore the rooms of a home using simulated media that produce an uninterrupted flow of sensory images embedded with texture, lighting, color, and other design elements.
To create 3D walkthroughs, the standard steps include:
- Outline the routes
- Define the camera’s focal length and frame rate
- Define the heights for vertical movements
- Embed the 3D walkthroughs on your website or partner websites.
Tips on Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) attaches the physical space of your property to a computer-generated one as an overlay. AR does this by applying algorithms and sensors that can detect the position of cameras, and then overlays 3D images of your property through PC screens, smartphones, and other suitable digital projections.
Generally, you can use AR to add digital images and videos (real or edited) elements to a live view of your property’s interiors by using an advanced camera on a smartphone.
This ensures the implementation of a hassle-free interior design project. Some examples of AR experiences include the game Pokemon Go as well as the mobile app Snapchat.
5 Practical Tips on Preparing a Brief for a 3D Interior Design Project
Purpose - Why does your home need 3D Interior Design?
To avoid a generalized or vague purpose, liken it to the condensed version of the whole project. An all-encompassing purpose of a 3D interior design should have 1-2 sentences using this formula:
The purpose of this project is to… “Showcase [what] for [who] to [a desired outcome].”
The above formula addresses three important questions:
- What type of real estate are you showcasing?
- Who are your target viewers?
- What effect are you trying to accomplish?
Space – What do you like or dislike about your space?
Here, you should critically examine how you live versus how you’d want to live in your home by asking yourself the following questions:
- What design elements do I like or dislike?
- Which rooms spend the least and the most amount of time?
- What functions of your lifestyle do your space address or fail to address?
- What interior design element would you improve irrespective of its cost and practicality?
Style - Traditional, Contemporary, Industrial, Bohemian, Minimalist etc.
If you seek to change your interior design style but are uncertain of the direction to take, there are more than two dozen styles to choose from.
The most popular among them is the contemporary design style, characterized by clean lines and smooth surfaces to produce a well-organized appearance in your space.
Budget - How much are you willing to spend?
Whether you are hiring a 3D interior designer or going the DIY route, you should conduct in-depth research for your budgetary needs.
While you might know the amount you’d want to spend, start by examining the expenses that go into every design element.
This will help you understand how each factor contributes to the total price as regards the time, experience, tools, and services provided.
Timeframes - What are your deadlines?
The shorter the deadline and the more complex the 3D interior design project is, the more costly it would be, and vice versa
5 AI-powered DIY 3D Interior Design Tools to Decorate Your Home
Invented by a Lithuanian software company, Planner5D is an advanced 2D and 3D home decoration tool that allows you to create design layouts and floor plans of interior spaces.
You can intuitively select and edit objects in 3D, and measurements remain on display when working in 2D.
Bring your interior design ideas into reality using Homestyler, a 3D home design platform that can be used by anyone irrespective of their skill levels and experience in architectural or interior design.
Developed in March 1999, the Homestyle app is a “one-stop” DIY service for home design rigged with furniture and decor from more than 200 brands
Not only does Space Designer 3D help you create 3D interior design projects for your home but lets you share your creations with professionals, family, and friends.
Developed by a France-based software development company known as Asynth, it aims to offer intuitive design tools for the DIY market. The software helps you visualize and modify your 3D projects in real-time.
Home.by.me is a reliable virtual interior design app with a user-friendly interface that allows users to build a room starting with 2D and then convert it to 3D design to incorporate it with furnishings and decorations.
The web-based software allows 3D planners to switch from 2D to 3D with a click of a button and export 360-degree views and even VR.
Havenly is supported by more than 200 professionally trained interior designers who work behind the scenes to help you bring together various interior design ideas at an affordable rate.
Always pick an interior designer after taking a style quiz to ensure that your ideas have realistic outcomes. The algorithm will pick the most suitable interior decorator as per your taste.
Click here to read more about 22 Best DIY Virtual Interior Design software.
The Future of 3D Interior Design for Homes
Designer-Client Feedback Loop will be Shortened Further
Before the internet and 3D technology were invented, interior designers made sketches and sent them to clients for feedback.
Pinpointed changes would take many days or weeks. However, with 3D rendering, this process will be shortened further in the near future because there is no need to meet clients with sketches.
Eco-friendly Designs Becoming Trendsetters
In recent years, eco-friendly designs have become a trendsetter among homebuyers, home sellers, designers, and manufacturers.
As interior designers increasingly become cognizant of the environment, investing in energy-efficient materials will be more cost-effective in sustainable designs.
More Smart Interior Designs in Standard Homes
Even with the increased construction of smart homes, they are still common among the wealthy and tech-savvy.
In the near future, it will be normal to come across standard homes with innovative interior designs, such as intelligent lighting, smart switches, intelligent security systems, intelligent HVAC systems, etc. Soon, such smart interiors will be pre-designed into standard homes.
Designing Home Interiors in Virtual Reality
The rapid adoption of VR within the interior design industry has the potential to result in a bright technological future.
3D interior designers can effortlessly walk potential homebuyers through assorted designs of their previously created living spaces through VR. Interior designers will also use VR to design real homes in the metaverse, which can expedite the process.
Interior Design Joining the Tiny House Movement
The Tiny House movement is an architectural and social movement that promotes living in cost-efficient and environmentally friendly smaller spaces not exceeding 400 square feet.
With rising house prices and daily-living expenses today, interior designers will downsize living spaces by designing multifunctional furniture, among other emerging design inventions.
Key Takeaways
- Today, the property market has a new breed of savvy and style-conscious first-time homebuyers.
- 3D interior design allows homebuyers to practically design the interiors of their envisioned homes
- 3D interior design allows homebuyers to virtually decorate and furnish interior spaces with furniture, lighting, colors, textures, appliances, etc.
- Outlining a 2D floor plan is the typical starting point for creating a 3D interior design
- In the future, there will be more smart interior designs in standard homes
