“With VR, clients have more confidence in their buying decisions”: How mobile technology is impacting interior design

Homes have become increasingly advanced thanks to modern technology. The new wave of smart homes has made houses a shining example of how far technology has come. As this video demonstrates, homes can now adapt to meet all our needs, simplifying our lives and everything we do. However, though these homes are impressive, the modern technology used to first create these designs is arguably just as impressive if not more so.

Technology such as cloud computing and mobile devices have dramatically changed the world of interior design. COOHOM, the international arm of Chinese proptech company Kujiale, is an example of how technology can enhance design experiences and aims to provide designers with a cloud-based, interactive mixed reality platform for modeling inside spaces, reports Technode. The reason for this was clear, as Wang, the vice president of COOHOM, explains there are many instances when homeowners employ contractors to decorate their new properties and “they don’t know what they are going to get.”

Moreover, mobile devices have played a huge role in changing this process for the better. COOHOM believes that mobile devices are heavily impacting the design of interior spaces, allowing for functionality that it is not available on a computer. According to Wang, designers are utilizing mobile devices more frequently to create designs, mostly because of their portability.

This is a trend which is not unique to China. In the US, companies such as Decorilla, a company that combines traditional in-home interior design with technology, have adopted mobile technology to provide customers with more realistic taste of what they can expect from their new design. To do this the company send clients VR goggles so they can see their designs using VR on their phones. We spoke with Agnieszka Wilk, the CEO of Decorilla, to find out more about this process and what their clients think.

“What first inspired you to send VR goggles to your clients so they can see their designs using VR on their phones?”

Wilk – Decorilla has always been focused on merging the latest technologies with interior design to make it more accessible. So when we saw companies like Google and Oculus using VR technology we started investigating how we could use it as well.

From day one, we have always provided customers with photo-realistic 3D renderings of their spaces to help them to see what everything (including new and old pieces) would look like together in their new design. Thus, bringing that into a virtual reality world was a natural next step and the invention of Google Cardboard and other mobile-phone based VR goggles made the technology far more widespread and accessible.

“What has been the clients’ responses when introduced to this new technology to view their designs?”

Wilk – Introducing VR to clients has been in line with our customer service philosophy to always exceed expectations. This new technology helps us “WOW” our clients even more because they experience something that they never thought was possible.

We hear comments like:

‘It’s wild. With virtual reality, you can see how multiple pieces go together and from different views, as if you’re walking around.’ ~Kevin H.

‘This process was amazingly productive and fun. New house is gorgeous and I’ve recommended Decorilla to everyone I know!’ ~ Maura F.

Clients are thrilled with the experience and it’s exactly the kind of response we had hoped for. With VR, clients have more confidence in their buying decisions because they can see the piece in their virtual room, and they save a lot of time and money with the furniture discounts from our partner vendors.

Clearly, technology has brought interior design into the future, and as long as companies such as Decorilla and COOHOM continue to innovate, clients can become more confident and happy with their adventures in interior design.