Working with VR

Blending interior design and virtual reality experiences.

I recently told a friend of mine that if I had to pick my ultimate dream job, I would be an interior designer. I would have my own line of pillows and rugs, and a wildly successful brand accompanied by a book deal. I absolutely love what I do now, but I still find myself in my most relaxed state when I’m making mood boards for my future home and browsing interior design blogs.The absolute joy I feel when designing spaces gave me an idea for my Critical Making project, that will carry over to be a cool and different portfolio project.

I spend a lot of time browsing Zillow in the Denver area. I love the amazing Mid Century Modern-style homes and dream of buying one someday. But what I noticed about Zillow (and other home browsing sites) is that a lot of the new construction homes are listed as a collection of renderings. This made me think: do people actually purchase homes that aren’t built yet, just because the renderings are high-quality? Regardless of this, I thought it would be an interesting project idea to create a VR walkthrough of an unbuilt home. I think this idea could be a cool way for future homeowners to literally get inside their unbuilt home and get a better understanding of how their rooms are laid out, how large the home is, etc. I think that bridging the gap between physical and digital would be beneficial for designers and clients alike.

Programs I plan on using

I really enjoy using SketchUp. I like the style of the models you can produce, and I think that I can get enough of a realistic feel for my project by using it. I still want to do a deep dive into possible photo-realistic rendering tools that I can also use on top of SketchUp. I’m also looking into the different types of VR software out there. I want to look into Oculus further, but right now I think I’ll stick with Modelo. I have a lot more research to do on the VR portion of this project, since I’m brand new to it.

Design Inspiration

I’d like to style my 3D modeled home with personal style inspiration. I love earth tones, textures, patterns and greenery. I’d like to bring a lot of myself into this project so that future clients can see who I am as a designer and how I draw inspiration from my architecture and interior design background.

I’m really glad that we’ve been encouraged to pursue a project that we feel passionate about this semester. Not only will I really enjoy this project and learn a new software type, but I’ll have a kick-ass individual project to add to my portfolio.