Augmented reality is a new technology that is making its way into many modern business models. It was first introduced for mobile games but since then has become part of the retail space and other industries as well. One industry benefiting from the advancements in augmented reality, or AR, is interior design. Here we will go over some of the primary advantages of AR and how it can help interior designers and clients.

Virtual vs. Augmented Reality: What’s the Difference?

How does augmented reality differ from virtual reality? The big difference is that AR takes digital elements and uses them to enhance or change the view of real world surroundings. While it doesn’t literally change or add components to your surroundings, using your smartphone camera or other devices you can experience an “augmented” view. Virtual reality is completely immersive—you get an entirely new environment to interact with rather than a modified version of your own. Also, where virtual reality requires specific hardware, augmented reality only requires a modern smartphone.

How Can Augmented Reality Benefit Interior Design?

Here are a few ways AR technology is helpful in interior design contexts:

• Visualization – AR technology lets you see the results of an interior design project before it’s finished. Even better, it lets you see it in your existing space. Rather than just see a model or concept of what the result will be, you can actually see the changes happen in your environment. You can view new paint colors on your walls, new furniture in your rooms and new curtains on your windows. This makes it easier for clients to decide about end results and easier for designers to communicate and set expectations.

• Easy Edits – Say you get through the initial design planning stages and decide that you want a completely different color scheme. Normally, this would cause significant delay in the process and require gathering brand new materials, samples and other resources—not to mention paying the designer for additional time. With augmented reality, you and your designer can change the plan instantly. Change the color scheme of a room with the tap of a button or instantly swap out one light fixture for another in a different finish. This saves time, money and resources for the entire transaction.

• Remote Convenience – Using AR technology in your interior design project means you can make all of your major decisions from your own home. Rather than having to visit a designer’s office or material warehouse in person to browse options, you can get an instant view of the possibilities without leaving your couch. This makes it easier to maintain safe social distance as well as increases accessibility. While you will definitely want to sample certain elements directly (who doesn’t want to feel how soft the carpet is before buying it?) most of the work can be done remotely, increasing the convenience of the entire process.

Augmented reality, while becoming more popular all the time, is still relatively new technology. Some issues it may present currently might be solved in the future and some advantages may become even more beneficial. Overall, interior design can make great use of the technology we currently have in order to achieve a better client experience and more successful business.