Goodness gracious, followers on FB and Pinterest can’t get enough of high end interiors, fantasy magnificent exteriors (many of them AI design renderings!), and classic timeless decorating inspiration. The audiences are quite different across channels so it’s curious. Blog followers are mostly from the USA and tend to engage with all or mostly white interiors and French inspired homes. FB followers are an international crowd who want sophisticated, warm, richly layered rooms with wallpaper and traditional style. Pinterest peeps seem to care about the details (i.e. is that bleached eucalyptus or dried lunaria?) within each image and are more DIY oriented. Here’s a sampling of what is resonating with design hungry friends across the globe.
Magnificent Exteriors & Interiors Trending on my Channels
I’ll also sprinkle in some of the most repinned quote pinnables in case you’re curious. Folks need to laugh these days more than ever, and I can’t seem to create enough funny tweets and humor quotes for the internet.
I know you’re probably hearing a lot about artificial intelligence in the news, and did you realize that it has turned the design world upside down? This kitchen is AI design:
The images are getting better which is wonderful for designers communicating with clients and demonstrating what is possible.
Magnificent Exteriors That Are AI Designs
It is quite easy to be fooled these days since the 3-D renderings are so realistic. I threw out a question on my FB page recently which asked whether folks thought AI generated interiors would get better as the technology learns how to add imperfection to rooms so they appear more real.
I’m not sure if followers just don’t take time to read commentary in posts so they missed the question or if they have no clue what I’m talking about!
But I know Y’ALL know what I’m getting at. When an AI image is too perfect and lacking things like patina, accessories, wrinkles in fabric, etc. it is missing an aliveness that real rooms reflect.
And does it make you feel a little sad when you learn that a magnificent exterior or interior does not truly exist and was generated by a robot? (This next one is AI design.)
Because I’m hearing disappointment from some followers, and it’s an interesting sort of cognitive dissonance to disentangle.
What Happens When “Real Enough” is Enough?
I have been pondering AI seriously since about 2015 when I began thinking about what it means when something is real vs. “real enough.”
Younger people in the culture have grown up with so much “real enough” that they don’t question it in the same way older generations do.
While we understand well the dangers of misinformation and spreading of untrue stories online, what are the consequences as we consume more and more design that has no physical counterpart in real life?
There are so many psychological and cultural ramifications of an internet saturated with idealized perfection, yes?
It’s one thing to be able to upload a photo of your space and be able to see how a particular paint color will look on the walls.
But it’s quite another to see a steady stream of beyond (and maybe impossible) gorgeous architecture and costly designs and feel discouraged or envious.
Will AI Images Create More Demand for Beautiful Design?
Will it have the sort of effect where professional interior designers, architects, contractors and builders are busier than ever as demand for their expertise increases?
And will there eventually be a pendulum effect where minimal, natural, real, and scaled back become all the rage?
Because I wouldn’t be surprised if people get fed up with design perfection and lean into pared-back simplicity.
While traditional style is appealing to throngs of folks at the moment…
there are plenty of factors that could lead to a downward trend.
Economic woes, dissatisfaction with virtual everything, sustainability and environmental concerns, and a move away from complex and fussy styles…
all of these factors may begin to affect current appetites.
Will AI Design Become a Bore?
I wonder if admiration for white and bright will begin to rise at some point with all of the over-saturation with colorful AI design!?!
Wouldn’t that be interesting? I guess I’m thinking about how at this point in the technology, it’s not easy for AI to get tone on tone interiors looking believable. For them to convey beautifully, it’s all about nuance, light, and texture (and not so much about contrasts).
Psst. When I spotted this next image from floral designer Sarah Winward, I wondered immediately about its authenticity and whether it was AI! By golly those doors from the early 17th century are totally real!
Is your brain exploding yet? Have any predictions about the future of AI with regards to design? Do you feel sad when you see an exterior or interior image that appears real and then learn it doesn’t exist?
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Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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love the images, real or not, someone with means can hand one over to a contractor and say “this is what I want” and get it. I prefer country simplicity, smaller and cozier, but always fun to see what someone or something can come up with. I am not likely to have anything extravagant, AI or real, so not an issue for me. keep them all coming.
Author
Yes – so helpful for design conversations. And hopefully it is a springboard for discussions about the reality of craftsmanship and labor to achieve what we see in an image. Even the most simple of built-ins are pricey and tricky, and not everyone admiring AI is educated about such matters. I suspect simplicity is on the horizon for the mainstream. 🙂
I think you have so many points that are spot on! I think all of these posts all over the net of these lavish interiors have a tendency to add to the general feeling of “ not being good enough”. I realize that is up to the individual to control envy and discouragement but it is worrying. I do think that they will be able to copy the worn real looks eventually. Right now the designers are going crazy with it. I also understand it can be a tool for a design presentation. But this is totally nuts. Which, as you said, may lead to a backlash to simplicity. It kind of reminds me of France when the royals were doing these outrageous things and Marie Antoinette said “ let them eat cake”! As much as it’s fun to look at these amazing interiors, it’s kind of tone deaf considering how things are for a great many people. Sorry this is so long.
Author
Write more, please! It’s a rich discussion and we need your wisdom. My post was just stream of consciousness last night and the topic deserves much more thought and research. That perception of “not enoughness” is important to address as it relates to AI’s ease at creating architecturally unrealistic designs that only .5% of the population could even consider. There’s “aspirational” which always sells some idea of ‘you’ve made it’ or ‘this’ll make you content’ and it’s just stimulates the economy and keeps property values climbing.
AI hurts my eye – seriously – yet, “if you can imagine it, you can achieve it” – forget the fairy dust, just sprinkle authentic dust – puff! reality!
Author
Hahaha. If the technology inspires creativity and execution, it seems helpful. Yet it is also simplifying what can take a lifetime to create (a curated interior that evolved over years). I wonder if all the grey area and confusion about real vs. unreal will exhaust the public. Maybe it will inspire authentic interiors with original art and a calm mood that isn’t flashy enough to draw eyeballs to it online.
All very good and valid points about AI. I have only really just begun to take notice of AI. It can be disappointing to see something so perfect only to learn it is AI generated. However, it also gives me the seed of an idea at times. So much to still understand about AI and its uses as far as design goes. Happy Sunday.
Author
And I bet the technology is training itself so interiors don’t look so perfect – it will get increasingly difficult to distinguish real from generated. I agree – it’s helpful for ideas. There are just so many layers to the implications of it and of course so much room for manipulation. I can see how helpful it is for designers, builders, and architects because it eases communication with clients who may have trouble visualizing. Thanks so much for reading and adding to the discussion.