Here we will explore the very important concepts of scale and proportion in design. Together, they are one of the key design principles. Other posts have covered the design elements of Line, Shape and Form, Pattern and Texture, Light, and Color.

And, we have explored the design principles of Rhythm, and Balance in previous posts.

I always like to say that the design elements are like the ingredients used in a recipe. But the design principles are the means of combining those ingredients artfully and skillfully to arrive at a highly pleasing aesthetic. 

Why are SCALE and PROPORTION important?
Scale and proportion is a design principle that homeowners often have difficulty getting correct. How many times have we gone into homes that have small pieces of wall art hung above a sizable sofa? Or, the end table is really petite and looks ill-proportioned?

The homeowner was likely at a store, found a piece they liked, and bought it without considering the scale and proportion relative to their room or their other pieces. The price was right (probably because it was fairly small-scale!), so they made the purchase. They don’t have the luxury of an AutoCAD wall elevation to check the proportion of a wall art piece relative to the furnishings that will be against that wall, or the ability to draw out how a 5’ x 8’ rug would look on their living room floor plan relative to existing furnishings. So, it's no wonder they get it wrong a lot. Getting scale and proportion right takes some consideration.

As a long-time interior design educator, I have many thoughts on how AI will reshape our industry. My feelings are a mix of cautious trepidation and genuine optimism—specifically regarding the potential to eliminate the cumbersome "grunt work" of procurement, digital drafting, and rendering.

Interestingly, when I ask my students (generally ages 18 to 25) about their outlook on the impact of AI, they seem undaunted. Unlike those of us with decades invested in tried-and-true methods, these students, and people of their generation, are naturally agile. They are in a perpetual state of learning and absorbing. And they have never known a world without "whip-quick" technological shifts.

Certainly, they are concerned with the elimination of jobs and opportunities. That has always been the main focus of all college students: willI be able to get a good-paying job that fulfills me? Nothing new there. But they view AI as just another tool in their kit.

From "Dumb Lines" to Dynamic Models

I have taught Revit for fifteen years. Every semester, I begin by explaining that AutoCAD, while revolutionary in the 1980s, is essentially just a digital version of manual drafting. An AutoCAD drawing is a large collection of “dumb lines”—digital marks on a workplane that require manual manipulation. You need to modify the lines as you draw, just as you erase and re-draw with a pencil.

Along came Revit in the early 2000s, changing the game by making those lines "smart." Place a door in a wall, and the software automatically splits the wall lines. Programs like Revit, SketchUp, and Chief Architect possess the true power of parametric modeling: the ability to automatically project a two-dimensional plan into a three-dimensional rendering.

The Cost of Realism

As I write this, my students are agonizing over a deadline for a 10,000-square-foot warehouse conversion workspace. Some are working until the wee hours of the morning just to finalize their Revit models and produce photorealistic Enscape renderings. Despite the power of the software, it remains painstakingly time-consuming to input all the details and produce all the digital elements within a Revit model file. It takes loads and loads of human hours to produce those lifelike renderings of a space.

Yet, here is the marvel…

The topic everyone is talking about or thinking about: AI and its impact on business. There is endless information you can find on the topic, and it changes daily, because the technology and tools are improving and expanding so quickly. We’re finding out in real time the effects AI has on our work, our clients, our brains, the world, etc. 

When I think about the interior design industry specifically, not just what I’m seeing as a business consultant to interior designers but also as a homeowner who hires interior designers (we are currently working with a designer on a massive renovation + addition + furnishing project), there are a LOT of thoughts flying around. 

• Creativity can't be replicated.

• Relationships are king.

• Human touch is where the value is.

And I agree with this. The results I’ve gotten in my own homes from working with interior designers could never have been achieved by AI. It is night and day.

But there are also large parts of business that are changing or going away, in part because the client base is changing (interior design clients are now ones who grew up with access to the internet so they have very different expectations than the older client base who grew up in an analog world with fax machines and magazines or mail order catalogs) and also in part because AI has removed the ‘elusiveness’ of some parts of the process. 

So, here are some predictions I’m exploring about the future of interior design. 

NOTE: I say ‘exploring’ because I’m not a research analyst or futures strategist or economist or political know-it-all. These are loose ideas based on my specific experiences and what I’m seeing in my tiny corner of the world.

AI is not going to destroy interior design. Far from it in fact. But it is going to eliminate a specific tier of interior design, and that tier is where a significant portion of working designers currently live. 

😩

The middle.

The generalist who does good work for a reasonable fee, who sources from the same vendors everyone else has access to, who relies mostly on non-custom trade items or retail, who bills hourly for research and procurement.

That designer is in real trouble. Not eventually. But likely they are already seeing it/feeling it in their pipelines.

The designers who come out on top over the next decade are going to look very different from the average successful designer of the last one. And the gap between those two business types is going to be wider than it is now.

As you’ve surely heard the phrase, “AI has lowered the floor but raised the bar.”

Meaning, anyone can get into interior design now (heck, even some of your clients think they’re designers because they know how to get ChatGPT to make them a moodboard 🫠🫠🫠) but this means the bar for what is valuable has gone way up.

The Interior Design Services & Business Models That Will Go Away

01 | RETAIL ONLY FURNISHINGS DESIGN GOES TO AI & RETAILERS

Retail-only furnishings design is the most obvious casualty. If your value proposition is helping someone pick pieces from Pottery Barn and arrange a room, AI can do that now, and it will do it better and cheaper by the month. Imagine in a few years. So if you charge a design fee to source retail, it’s time to learn how to sell custom.

02 | HOURLY BILLING FOR RESEARCH & SOURCING GOES AWAY

Hourly billing for research and sourcing will get even more scrutiny from clients and will likely go away entirely. Here's my thinking:

This billing model was built on information asymmetry. You as an interior designer knew things your client didn't. The vendors, the lead times, what was available at trade and what wasn't. That knowledge gap was real, and it justified the billable hour. You were charging for access to information clients could not get anywhere else.

But that gap is closing.

A client can now go to ChatGPT, describe exactly what they want, and get a reasonable starting list in about 45 seconds. They can search Houzz, online showrooms that sell a variety of vendor lines, and 1stDibs in ways that used to require industry access and insider knowledge. So this “new client type” is arriving at your first meeting having already done a version of the research. Not an experienced interior designer’s version, but a version, nonetheless.

So when they then get your invoice and there are multiple hours billed for sourcing and they know it only took them 10 minutes to find something, even if your work is better, there’s friction because the math will feel wrong to them. And when there’s friction, there’s pushback and loss of trust which can derail an entire project. 

03 | PRODUCT MARKUP AS THE ONLY REVENUE SOURCE IS EVEN MORE OUT THAN NORMAL

If you’ve been here more than a minute, you know I do not recommend markup as your only revenue source. But there are still some designers who will give away their expertise for free in the hopes of making the sale.

😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

But product markup as a primary revenue model is even LESS sustainable than it was before AI. As procurement becomes more transparent and clients become more sophisticated, the margin-on-furniture model alone becomes harder to defend.

04 | JUNIOR DESIGNERS & DESIGN ASSISTANTS HAVE A DIFFERENT PATH

The original path for a junior designer or design assistant has them finishing school then spending a few years at a firm doing research, sourcing, preliminary drawings, and admin. With AI tools taking over those tasks, that traditional path becomes more compressed which changes hiring, training, and the number of people working at firms. 

I think this will impact what is being taught in design school - almost a specific course teaching designers how to utilize AI throughout certain parts of the process. Or perhaps there is an opening for a new business → post design school, pre-client facing AI training. Almost creating AI experts out of up and coming designers. Something to explore more with Gloria (a tenured professor) from my team.

05 | THE GENERALIST GETS SQUEEZED OUT

And the generalist … oh, the generalist. The interior designer who does anything for anyone, residential and commercial, new builds and pillow fluffs, high-end and middle market, full service or only floor plans. This interior designer gets squeezed from both sides. If you fit here, you’re likely already seeing this in your pipeline.

This interior designer isn’t distinct enough to command premium fees from clients who want a specialist but they’re also not cheap enough to compete against AI-assisted firms working with higher volume at a low price.

This has never been a good place to be in business, but it’s especially tough right now and we’re seeing these firms close their doors. 

So what business models will stay? What new business models and niches will emerge? 

So many. And again, I say this not just thinking about how AI will shape our future, but also how people, human behavior, and expectations are changing overall. Some due to what’s happening in the world right now, some due to money, some due to the new generations of homeowners who have had internet access since the day they were born.

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In this post, we will explore the design principle of RHYTHM. The design principles are the strategies that pull together chosen elements into a cohesive, pleasing, and unified completed space. If the design elements (line, shape, pattern, texture, color) are the ingredients—as in a recipe—the design principles (balance, rhythm, scale and proportion, emphasis, and unity) are the way that those ingredients are artfully combined to create a pleasing composition. 

Rhythm is a tool that designers and homeowners often utilize instinctively by repeating certain elements within a design. But when used very intentionally, rhythm can be the means of creating visually stunning and memorable spaces. 

Borrowed from musical vocabulary, rhythm is the underlying repetition of elements that anchor a design’s composition. Much like a drumbeat that maintains the tempo and holds a piece together, repetition of an element in an interior space supplies cohesion to the overall design. Rhythm punctuates the composition of a room in the same way that a drum beat adds an underlying structure to a musical composition.

We designers often repeat a certain color or motif throughout a space. Or we may replicate certain shapes or lines, such as a drum-shade pendant over a round table or a gallery wall with several rectangular framed pieces.

In architecture and interiors, the repetition of elements creates harmonious, aesthetically pleasing coherence and unification. Related visual elements seem to satisfy a basic human need for visual consistency. Randomness, on the other hand, seems incongruous or unsettling to us. Simply put, the repetition of identical or slightly modified elements establishes rhythm, and rhythm provides order to our visual experience. 

In the images below, the repetition of architectural and design elements provides a unified and pleasing aesthetic to these spaces. If, on the other hand, the lighting, furniture, and wall placements in the restaurant on the right were random and highly varied, we would not see the same level of visual cohesion and unity. 

In previous posts of The Design Brief®, we have covered the Design Elements as they relate to interior design: LINE, SHAPE AND FORM,  PATTERN AND TEXTURE, LIGHT, and COLOR. 

I use the analogy that the design elements are like the ingredients in a recipe. Choosing to add specific amounts of ingredients (the elements) is how a designer effectively and creatively composes a space. 

If the design elements are your raw ingredients—the flour, salt, and spices—then the design principles are the culinary chemistry that determines whether the final dish is a masterpiece or a mess. Think of design principles as the sensory experience that emerges when the elements are combined.

Just as with a well-executed recipe, a thoughtful blend of design elements can result in a savory masterpiece; conversely, a poor combination can yield something bland or even unpalatable. And while a strategic pairing of ingredients can create a harmonious sweetness, an unskilled combination risks a finished product that tastes bitter.

It is in combining the design elements (ingredients) to achieve desired levels of the design principles (interactions) that a designer exercises creative expression and mastery.

In previous posts, we covered a variety of historical periods in architecture, interiors,  and furniture design:

Historic French ArchitectureFrench Furniture Styles

Historic British Furniture and Architecture

Historic Italian Architecture

Historic Architecture from Spain

American Historic Furniture Styles

The last post listed above covered furniture styles that were strictly American, but it did not include a critical period: the architectural and furniture design movement that took place from about 1930 to 1970, called Modernism. 

The Modernist movement included innovations in art as well as architecture and furniture, including abstract expressionism, pop art, and surrealism. But that is a topic for a different post. And music of the time also took innovative turns in the 20th century as well, including Blues, Jazz, and Rock and Roll. But here, we will explore what transpired in architecture and furniture design during this period.

Let me also clarify some terminology. I sometimes hear people say that current designs look really modern. That is a misuse of the term. Modern design is really of that period of about 1930 to 1970, the topic of this post. A more appropriate term for designs being produced at the current time would be contemporary.

By the early to mid-20th century, the American landscape was undergoing a profound transformation. At the beginning of the century, most people didn’t have indoor plumbing or electricity in their homes, and transportation relied on horses and buggies. Just a few decades later, in 1969, the United States sent astronauts to the moon. 

nd a newly expanded network of highways. In 1950, only about 9% of American homes had a TV; by 1959, that number had soared to nearly 90%.

Simultaneously, the social fabric was shifting: women were entering the workforce in record numbers, and the pace of daily life quickened as new technologies reshaped the home and the office. Following decisive victories in both World Wars, the United States emerged as a global superpower, fostering a national sense of security and supremacy. Together, these forces acted as a catalyst for a radical evolution in American lifestyle and material culture.

So it was no wonder that the architectural style of the times took on a distinctly new flavor. Unlike the previous styles of Beaux-Arts, Art Nouveau, and Victorian—all of which were ornate and featured many embellishments—modern architecture was quite simplistic. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe famously said “Less is More,”  meaning that stark simplicity is better than elaborate ornamentation. Modernists embraced minimalism and clean lines.

Why Interior Designers NEED to Know the Residential Codes

It is critical that designers who are producing residential floor plans understand the relevant code requirements. Codes are the law, and the requirements must be followed. 

Most often, if a designer draws a floor plan or lighting plan that misses code compliance, the licensed plumber or electrician, or the experienced carpenter or installer will recognize the deficiency, and make a correction on site or during installation. Within their specialty, good contractors are well aware of the requirements and keep up on any code requirement changes. Or, during a plan review for a building permit application, a code deficiency might get tagged for revision. And, even if something is installed or constructed incorrectly, a building inspector should catch it during an inspection (but then, of course, there may be a hefty cost to the homeowner to reconstruct the element per code requirements!!!)

This is all very comforting to designers. Mistakes and improper applications get caught and fixed along the way during plan reviews and construction. So, the real risk when a designer is ignorant of the codes is that they lose credibility with contractors and installers. AND, that gives the entire industry a bad name. 

Can you almost SEE the contractor rolling their eyes when they see a designer’s plan that has missed a basic requirement???

Can you almost HEAR the men on the job site chuckle over the silly designer’s scheme that misses the mark with plumbing, electrical, or life safety codes?

Yeah, right. This is why some designers get a bad rap.

And this is also why we at Dakota Design Company have developed the Residential Codes Handbook, which includes summaries and diagrams of ALL codes related to single-family homes. Additionally, we update it every three years when the International Residential Code (IRC) and the National Electrical Code (NEC) are revised, and we send all purchasers an update to keep them informed about any code changes.  

But in this post, we will cover the key areas where designers might miss the mark when it comes to code compliance. 

Interior designers excel at maximizing the visual elements within a space to achieve optimal solutions. We all recognize that a beautifully composed interior space is the result of meticulous planning and creative intuition. Designers manipulate visual elements to trick the eye, evoke specific moods, and enhance how people function within a space.

For instance, designers manipulate line to direct where one’s eyes should focus. Color is used to add visual interest and as a spatial corrector: by using colors that make elements advance or recede visually, to create a sense of balance and unity, or to create focal points and areas of emphasis. Texture and pattern add visual weight and interest to a space. Lighting is a sculptural tool that adds variation, creates depth, and highlights architectural features. Designers rely on symmetry and balance by organizing objects to provide a sense of order and reduce cognitive clutter.

Designers are skilled at all of these manipulations, and more. But all of these strategies rely on visual perception: what the inhabitants of a space can see visually. 

Although interior design is clearly predominantly a visual endeavor, this is not to say that designers ignore the other four senses, which are (in addition to sight): smell, touch, hearing, and taste. After all, design isn't just about what would look good in a photograph; it's about how a space feels when someone is actually experiencing it.

What is Multi-Sensory Focused Design?

Sensory-focused Design, also known as Atmospheric Design, focuses on ways people can experience interior spaces through their other four senses, in addition to sight. Intentionally adding elements that trigger smell, touch, hearing, and taste can greatly impact the experience of being in a specific space, making it emotionally resonant for the person.