The Future of Interior Design: How to Stay Ahead in the Age of AI

Interior design has always been a world of quiet revolutions: small shifts in taste, technology, and business models that gradually reshape the industry. But right now, we are standing at the edge of something far more dramatic. The rate of change has never been so fast, and it will never be this slow again.

For those who have spent years building an interior design business, the transformation we’ve already witnessed - where once-guarded trade secrets have been prised open by the internet - has felt seismic. But compared to what’s coming, that was merely the prelude.

In the coming years, agentic AI - intelligent systems capable of completing complex, multi-step processes without human intervention - will upend the industry in ways that are difficult to predict but impossible to ignore. A new generation of automated design services, powered by machine learning and vast product databases, is already on the horizon. The question isn’t whether they will arrive. The question is how we, as designers, will respond.

Looking Back: A Business Built on Gatekeeping 

My first role in interior design was in a London studio with a bricks-and-mortar retail outlet. Or, as we called it then, a shop.

It was an Aladdin’s cave of fabric books, trimmings, and paint pots, a miniature Chelsea Harbour before the Design Centre even existed. Clients would drop in, sift through samples, and work with our in-house designers to pull together schemes. If they wanted to order fabric, we had a system: we’d relabel every sample with an alias known only to us, ensuring that if a client wanted to purchase, they had to come through our business. The ledger that held these aliases was, in many ways, the most valuable asset the studio owned.

This was the foundation of the traditional interior design business model: low design fees, offset by profit from product supply. The system worked because it was opaque. Clients had no way of independently sourcing trade-only materials.

The arrival of the internet didn’t shatter this model overnight, but it began to erode its foundations. Online suppliers offered discounts, transparency increased, and pricing structures had to evolve. Designers had to pivot, shifting their value away from supply margins and towards expertise.

And now, we stand on the brink of the next major disruption.

The Next Wave: Intelligent Design on Demand 

Agentic AI is coming.

Imagine an AI-powered interior design system capable of processing a LiDAR scan of a room, analysing a design brief, and generating a fully resolved concept, including space planning, furniture selections, and colour palettes. It’s not difficult to see how global furniture brands could develop proprietary design platforms to funnel customers toward their own product lines.

But it’s not just the retail giants we need to watch. The real disruption may come from nimble, independent tech teams, those ‘kids in a garage’ who develop systems that don’t just recommend in-house stock but trawl the internet for the best options, integrating with suppliers and even facilitating bespoke production. Aided by sophisticated behavioural tracking, these AI services could create immersive, hyper-personalised presentations, 3D animations complete with cinematic storytelling and even a rendering of the family pet lounging in the finished scheme.

What happens when this technology enters the mainstream? The first effect will be market expansion, interior design services will become accessible to more people than ever before. But accessibility cuts both ways: while it creates new opportunities, it also threatens the lower and mid-tier market where price-sensitive clients once relied on human designers.

The Crucial Divide: Who Thrives and Who Fades? 

Even now, the industry is undergoing a quiet split. A minority of designers are stepping forward as the visible face of their business, while others remain in the shadows...or hide themselves away completely. 

I regularly review interior design marketing, and I estimate that at least 10% of designers still operate without publicly sharing so much as a first name, never mind a face. These faceless studios, without a clear niche or personal presence, will struggle to differentiate themselves from AI-powered services. From the outside, they will look indistinguishable from the algorithmic competition.

The future of interior design isn’t about competing with AI on speed, efficiency, or technical execution. It’s about making the case for what humans do best.

Future-Proofing: The Skills That Will Set You Apart 

If we assume that AI will take care of the time-consuming mechanics of design—space planning, sourcing, CAD drawings—then what should designers focus on?

The answer lies in deepening the aspects of business that machines cannot replicate, here are some suggestions of what these might be:

 • Elevating your positioning – Moving your business up-market and out of direct competition with AI-driven services.

 • Mastering design excellence – Refining your eye, your taste, and your ability to create layered, nuanced, and truly exceptional interiors.

 • Developing niche expertise – Becoming the go-to authority in a specific style, period, or market sector.

 • Building personal branding – Making yourself the unique, irreplaceable face of your business.

 • Strengthening sales and communication – Converting clients through human connection, storytelling, and trust-building.

 • Media presence and visibility – Becoming a confident speaker, whether on social media, in print, or in live settings.

 • Understanding client psychology – Navigating the emotional complexities of home transformation and making the process feel effortless for clients.

The Window of Opportunity 

This isn’t about panicking or resisting change, it’s about positioning.

We are in the messy middle of a transformation. The trailblazers are still a small minority, and there is time to develop the skills that will keep you ahead. But the distance between those who take action now and those who wait will only grow. Eventually, it will be too vast to bridge.

The next decade will redefine interior design. The only question is: will you be leading the change, or struggling to keep up?

There really is no time like the present.