Augmented reality for interior design
Try before you buy!
Growing up, my parents loved IKEA furniture. However, one of the main issues is that no matter how carefully we made measurements or tried to match colors, there were always cases where the shelf was too big, too small, or just didn’t look right.
Now, augmented reality is here to help!
Remember back when everyone played Pokemon GO and (if you had the function on), there could be Pikachus sitting on your desk. Entrepreneurs are just starting to leverage the same technology for interior design.
Decor Matters
Founded by Farris Wu in 2016, Decor Matters is an augmented reality startup that helps users visualize furniture and interior designs before buying the product.
Much like Pokemon Go, the Decor Matters mobile app (free by the way) can project a piece of furniture into your room or office. You can then decided if the piece is the right fit and purchase from the app directly.
The app also hosts a store where partnering retailers can post products- along with dimensional specifications. Customers can then select products from the store to ‘project’ into their homes. Since the app itself is free, Decor Matters’ revenue comes a service fee charged to retailers for each purchase of their products.
On Decor Matters’ website is a section where people share their projects. I was impressed browsing some of the very inspiring and beautiful projects that people have completed using the app.
Two main issues I anticipate here are projection accuracy and product diversity. For one, the technology is simply not there yet for high accuracy size measurements on a phone camera. Even apple’s newly released AR-based measure app has an error margin of over 10% in some cases.
This could mean that the sofa doesn’t really fit into that space, or that table is actually too small for your TV.
Another potential issue is product diversity. Since Decor only offers furniture from partnering retailers- it’s success hinges on having a diverse selection for it’s customers. If shoppers don’t find anything they like, they will likely just move on to something else.
Modsy
You may have already heard of this high profile San Francisco-based startup before.
Modsy is an online decorating service that provides professional advice on household interior design. Although also utilizing augmented reality, Modsy takes a different approach by providing crafted designs for an entire room instead of just one furniture.
First, Modsy gives you a quick quiz to determine your “style.” Then you are asked to upload a variety of photos of the room or space that is being designed. After some waiting time, Modsy sends you a few options for potential room designs that matches your style.
In addition to Modsy’s selection of furniture, there is also an option to sub in any individual piece for one that is available from an online retailer (or even pieces that you already own). This feature does come at a price however. Modsy charges 10$ for each custom piece rendering and $59 overall for the complete design.
The plus package features video or phone consultations with a Modsy designer for a total of $149 per room. More information can be found on Modsy’s website.
The advantage here is that super lazy and artistically-challenged people (like myself) don’t have to go furniture shopping piece by piece. Additionally, I would expect that the renderings would be more accurate due to multiple photos taken at different angles.
The cost might be a potential issue, however. While $60 may not be that significant in the grand scheme of furniture shopping, it is still an hefty addition on top of actually having to buy the furniture selections.
Bottom Line:
While online retail has taken over many industries, furniture has been one of the most difficult businesses to make this online translation. Customers tend to want to see the item in real life, try it out, see how it feels. Augmented reality (AR) and the applications described here are taking steps toward moving us closer to that goal.
