Toronto interior designer Ali Budd says she and her team are experimenting with AI technology at their firm.KC ARMSTRONG/Supplied
A friend recently used ChatGPT to design a bunkie – which, in cottage country, is the term used for a separate building that handles the overflow of guests.
Jim Garner’s cottage is a quaint, historic property on Lake of Bays, Ont., built in 1920 of stone and wood. He uploaded three photographs of the existing cottage and gave ChatGPT detailed prompts: two bedrooms, a bathroom, as well as a walkway connecting the old and new structures.
Within minutes, the technology produced a rendering.
“I was blown away with what it came back with,” says Garner, who was impressed by the quality, speed and how intelligently AI took his wish list and turned it into something inspiring. “This image might have taken weeks and cost me several thousand dollars if I’d hired a professional designer.”
ChatGPT also provided a floor plan, a project schedule and a budget. The latter, says Garner, was the one disappointment. “The images were aesthetically everything I could have dreamed of, but the real cost – with quarried stone, architectural windows, a cedar roof et cetera – would be far more than we want to spend.“
“But for me, it was a great starting place,” he says. “I loved the ideas AI gave me but turning those into a workable plan, with a realistic budget, is not quite as simple.”
An AI generated image of a ‘bunkie’ in Muskoka, Ont.Chat GPT/Supplied
That gap between inspiration and execution is becoming increasingly important as artificial intelligence makes its way into interior design.
AI design tools are now everywhere. Homeowners can upload a photograph of a room, type in prompts and, almost instantly, see their space transformed: modern farmhouse, contemporary minimalist, French country or turn-of-the-century Muskoka. Some popular apps include Home Visualizer AI, Remodel AI, Planner 5D and ReimagineHome.
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For homeowners, the appeal is obvious. Toronto interior designer Ali Budd says AI helps people visualize possibilities, narrow down styles they like and communicate their ideas more clearly.
The downside, Budd adds, is AI can sometimes create unrealistic expectations. Often, it includes custom millwork, luxury finishes, designer lighting or high-end furnishings without an understanding of what those choices cost in real life.
“We had a client recently who showed us an AI rendering of a gorgeous kitchen renovation, which ChatGPT estimated would cost $250,000,” says Budd, host of a popular Home Network TV design show called House of Ali. “We had to tell him it would cost substantially more than that.”
At Budd’s boutique design firm, Ali Budd Interiors, she and her team are also figuring out how to use the nascent technology. Two years ago, they started working – and experimenting with – ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Nano Banana and MyArchitectAI.
The technology, she says, has helped her firm become more efficient and productive. “It allows us to do professional-grade photography, swap out objects, insert different paint colours and fabric swatches.”
But when it comes to the actual interior design, Budd and her team still do the draft on AutoCAD (software for creating technical drawings and designs). “We use AI primarily to better communicate our designs to our clients versus doing the work for us.”
The reason is simple: AI is very good at generating a beautiful image, but it often struggles with scale and functionality. “A design might look fabulous at a glance, but then you look more closely and see sofas too close to a fireplace, dining tables you can’t walk around, lack of storage, electrical outlets or accommodations made for an HVAC system,” Budd says.
Budd says AI can help people visualize possibilities, but it can also create unrealistic expectations.KC ARMSTRONG/Supplied
In other words, AI is good at big picture, less so at details. “Interior design is more than creating beautiful images,” she adds. “It’s planning, budgeting, co-ordinating trades and specialized vendors, and dealing with mistakes and emergencies that often come up during construction. AI is not going to cover the bill if it messes up on the job site.
“There has to be a human connection with the people you’re working with,” Budd says. “Designing someone’s home is personal. AI is great for producing thought-provoking ideas and communicating design intent, but implementation is a completely different conversation. That is where a professional designer’s input is critical.”
There is also the question of whether AI actually has good taste. Budd says many of the AI renderings she sees on social media have a sameness about them. “The technology can produce a room that looks good on the surface, without necessarily being a space that has character or has that indefinable something that makes it memorable.
“Knowledge and experience is still important to what interior designers do.”
Still, the technology is evolving fast and may be capable of figuring out those nuances soon.
“I think AI is the blessing and the curse of every industry, not just my industry,” Budd says. “At this point, I don’t think we can comprehend where it is going to go and what it will be capable of.”
The ChatGPT rendering of the Garner bunkie is a dream to aspire to. However, Garner says if he builds it, the quarried stone will likely have to go. They may even opt to get a less expensive prefabricated cabin and then incorporate some of the design elements AI provided, such as the walkway with room for a table and chairs for dining al fresco.
“AI gave me a clearer sense of what I like,” Garner says. “Turning it into a workable, realistic plan is when the real work begins.”