By George Nicola (Expert Stager)
What are some things a virtual interior designer does differently from its counterpart?
How can a virtual interior designer help me design my home?
These are some of the top questions people constantly ask regarding virtual interior design.
A straightforward answer is that virtual interior designers are real people with similar skills as onsite interior designers, and many prefer hiring them for various reasons.
Read on to know more about why you should hire a virtual interior designer and a virtual renovation designer, what they do, and how their services can help you transform your home.
Who/What is a Virtual Interior Designer?
A virtual interior designer is a professional interior designer who has an online-based business that provides interior design services, especially through a website. They can satisfactorily serve their clients without physically meeting them or visiting their homes.
If you a the DIY type, have time and wish to get your hands dirty, are not scared of steep learning curves this one is for you.
On many occasions, the virtual designer comes up with digital forms of interior design briefs based on the client’s visualization and preferences, which are detailed using online questionnaires.
Why Hire a Virtual Interior Designer?
Hiring a virtual interior designer is more accessible because most onsite interior designers are remotely located, and their complete design services are pricier.
One such practice is when you can virtually renovate your entire house, ensuring an ultimate plan before going into construction, we’ve explained how that works here.
Other five key reasons include:
Timing
Generally, virtual interior design can be completed faster than engaging an onsite interior designer to do it the traditional way.
Budget-friendly
Virtual designers are cheaper than onsite interior designers because you also help in the design process by taking pictures, measurements, etc.
Flexible schedules
Since virtual designers don’t have to be physically present in your home, you can conduct all meetings online effectively and for happy endings.
Expert sourcing
A virtual designer can help you source the right furniture for furnishing every room even before you buy them from your preferred vendor.
Floorplans and layouts
A virtual designer will ensure every piece of furniture fits perfectly in your room. They effectively use your floor plan to ensure the layout looks best.
How to Prepare for a Virtual Interior Design
Even if you have already pictured how you want the interiors of your home to look, just like many homeowners, you might struggle to explain everything to your contractor, especially if you do not trust them fully.
If you are already in bad luck with your contractor, it’s worth checking this article, where we’ve explained how to spot a bad contractor and protect yourself from them.
How do I experience the functionality of my space?
Keenly assess your current space to identify any missing functionality.
Maybe your family has grown and you lack enough seats, maybe you lack enough storage, and so on.
Take photos and videos, measure the rooms, and make a list of what you need to be fixed in the space.
What elements do I like?
Before calling a designer, it is crucial to figure out your preferred aesthetic by curating the photos and samples of elements you love in a mood board.
This will inspire your discussions about elements, such as colors, textures, paint palettes, fabrics, finishes, etc
What is my budget?
Keeping the money topic alive is a large part of the house designer’s responsibilities.
Create a budget detailing your projected expenditure to help you express your expectations to your virtual interior designer. This will also help you reduce costs in some specific areas.
What to Expect/Workflow of a Virtual Designer?
To ensure that every client is satisfied, virtual interior designers follow specific workflows. The following are the 5 typical workflow stages that they use:
Submission of briefs
The virtual interior designer prepares and sends a brief to a virtual staging studio. The package usually contains photos of the clients’ space, 2D drawings, and room measurements.
Recreation of the space in 3D
Here, 3D software is used to recreate the rooms by ensuring the walls, floors, ceilings, and other relevant elements match the original interior space.
Selection of Furnishings and Décor
This stage involves the furnishing of rooms with 3D furniture and accessories, setting up colors, textures, etc.
3D rendering process
3D rendering is all about seeing things from multiple perspectives. From lighting and mood to texture and color, 3D rendering breathes life into the design.
Post-production
Here, the virtual interior designer will cut-paste the furniture set from the 3D visualization into the photo of the original space. All elements should look organic as visualized by the client.
Who/What is a Virtual Renovation Designer?
A virtual renovation designer is a professional interior designer who has an online-based business that provides remodeling services for houses that require a lot of renovations or unfinished houses but the owners cannot reimagine how it would look after a real-world renovation.
Virtual renovation does not refer to a complete digital renovation as if in a game but refers to the process of creating a plan and a design scheme for a planned interior renovation in a 3D environment.
The virtual renovation designer helps in updating structural elements such as flooring, ceilings, walls, painting, drywall, backyard improvements, etc.
Virtual Interior Designer versus Virtual Renovation Designer?
Both virtual interior design and virtual renovation designer are for individuals who want to give a facelift to their homes but they are not certain about how it would look afterward.
In most cases, a virtual renovation designer mainly focuses on renovating older and unfinished houses, while a virtual interior designer focuses on modernizing new and fully constructed houses.
In addition, a virtual renovation designer focuses on both the interior and exterior of the homes, while a virtual interior designer only works on the interior spaces.
How to Prepare for Virtual Renovation Design?
To ensure that you are satisfied with the outcome of the process, virtual renovation designers will subject you to specific workflows. The following are the 3 typical workflow stages that they apply:
- Choose a style – Depending on your home, the virtual renovation designer will provide you with a list of different design styles to choose from. The most common house style renovations include contemporary, modern, traditional, glam, farmhouse, etc.
- Upload photos – The virtual renovation designer will instruct you on how to upload HD photos of your home for further action.
- Delivery of the renovated home – Depending on the complexity of the project, the virtual renovation designer may take at least 24 hours to deliver your images to your inbox.
What to expect from a Virtual Renovation Design?
Virtual interior design is the most cost-effective type of interior design. Mainly design projects are calculated per room.
- After the designer receives your details about your preferred styles, layouts, furniture, budget, and photos of the room/spaces.
- The designer will provide you with two initial design concepts within the first 14 days. After that, you can request revisions until you are satisfied with the final design.
- Finally, the designers will prepare your plans and 3D renderings, and the products for your shopping list.
Useful interior design software apps
What to do next?
Do you have an interior design project and you need a helping hand? Follow these steps:
- Take photos and videos of your home/rooms
- Measure every room
- List what you need to be fixed in the space
- Call a virtual interior designer
- Discuss your budget, timelines, styles, layouts, furniture, etc.
- Get your home revamped!
So why not give it a try today? You might be surprised at how convenient and fun it is!
If you have any queries feel free to reach out to us at tallboxdesign.
