New research commissioned by Barker & Stonehouse, as it relaunches its interior design service, has revealed that 61% of UK adults have used AI for home decorating or interior design inspiration, rising to 88% among Millennials. The technology is most commonly being used to plan room layouts (35%), find inspiration (30%) and generate renovation ideas (30%).
However, the research suggests that while AI may be changing the starting point for interior design, consumers still see value in human expertise. Two-fifths (40%) would use AI as a starting point but make the final decisions themselves, while 34% say they would trust a combination of AI and a professional interior designer most to create a room that genuinely suits their lifestyle.
"The findings highlight a significant gap between AI-generated inspiration and real-world design," says the retailer. "47% of those who have used AI for home design have followed its advice only to discover it wouldn't work in their home, with users reporting unrealistic budgets, generic designs, impractical suggestions and furniture that wouldn't fit their space.
"Only 14% believe AI is good at understanding how people live, highlighting an important opportunity for the interiors industry to demonstrate the value of expertise beyond generating visual inspiration."
Alison Westaby, head of interior design at Barker & Stonehouse, says: “Because you're not designing a photograph – you're designing someone's home. We ask clients questions that might not initially sound like interior design questions – where they love to go, how they spend a Sunday, whether they entertain, where everyone naturally gathers.
“Those answers tell us an enormous amount about how a home needs to feel and function. Getting those foundations right frames everything that follows.”
Barker & Stonehouse says the relaunch of its interior design service comes at "a key pivotal moment for the interiors industry": "As AI gives consumers increasingly sophisticated tools to visualise, experiment with and create their own designs, retailers and designers face a new question – how do you demonstrate the value of professional expertise when consumers can increasingly generate the ideas themselves?
"As these technologies continue to develop, Barker & Stonehouse believes the answer lies not in competing with AI, but in championing the skills it cannot replicate – judgement, creativity, context, problem solving and an understanding of how people actually live.
"Rather than asking whether AI will replace interior designers, the more important question may be what the role of the designer looks like as AI becomes increasingly embedded in the creative process."
The retailer's research suggests consumers are not looking to relinquish control entirely – 40% would use AI as a starting point before making the final decisions themselves, while 34% would trust a combination of AI and a professional designer most.
Alison adds: “As AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, I don't think the role of the interior designer becomes less important – I think it becomes more about demonstrating the value of expertise. AI can generate ideas and help people visualise possibilities, but a designer brings curiosity, judgement and context to the process.
“Our role is to understand the person behind the room, ask the questions that technology can't necessarily ask and make hundreds of interconnected decisions that turn an idea into something practical, personal and achievable. For me, the future isn't about competing with AI – it's about understanding where technology can assist and being very clear about the value of the human expertise behind great design.”
The interior design service, which will relaunch on 22nd September, offers customers one-to-one support from professional designers who can take inspiration – whether generated by AI, found on Pinterest or gathered elsewhere – and translate it into "a realistic, considered and personalised interior".
"For the business, the service represents an investment in the human expertise that sits behind the products it sells, helping customers navigate increasingly complex design choices while demonstrating the value of professional guidance," Barker & Stonehouse concludes.
