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Interior designers interviewed by Livingetc say clients increasingly bring AI-generated room images that show furniture, layouts or construction details that cannot be reproduced as pictured. The report describes a growing challenge for designers and clients: distinguishing visual concepts from completed, workable projects as AI images circulate online.
A Livingetc report on AI-generated interior images says designers are increasingly asked to recreate rooms that may be physically unbuildable or contain products that do not exist. The development is complicating the relationship between online inspiration and real renovation work, as clients and designers try to distinguish a visual concept from a finished, workable project.
The report draws on the experience of Kelly and Graeme Smith, co-founders of the interior design studio SPELK, who say clients now arrive with AI-created images alongside — or instead of — traditional mood boards. Some images are generated from a photograph and a prompt. A room may look coherent on a screen while including a door that cannot open, drawers with no room to slide out, or a layout that does not meet building regulations. In other cases, the pictured furniture cannot be bought because it was never made.
The designers told Livingetc that clients do not necessarily know an image is artificial. They have also found AI pictures on clients’ inspiration boards that the clients had pinned without recognizing how they were produced. The mismatch can leave designers explaining why a particular image cannot be translated directly into a real home, then working out which parts of its look can be achieved safely and within the constraints of the property.
The report also describes pressure on designers to keep their online portfolios active, despite interior projects taking time and money to complete. It says AI imagery can be tempting for newcomers with few completed commissions, though the designers stressed that posting such images is not always intended to mislead. SPELK says it labels AI or 3D concept images, while recognizing that viewers may scroll past captions. The studio now uses construction-stage photographs, on-site video and images that include designers or ordinary signs of use to show that a project exists in the physical world.
When Inspiration Cannot Be Built
AI room images can set expectations before a designer has checked a home’s measurements, building rules, budget or available products. If a client treats a polished image as a blueprint, the gap between what appears possible and what can actually be delivered may lead to confusion, extra design work or disappointment. The report does not quantify how widespread those outcomes are, but the designers describe explaining the limits as a new part of their work.
The issue also touches on how clients judge professional experience online. A finished image can communicate a style, but it does not by itself show that a designer has coordinated trades, sourced materials or managed construction. For readers planning a renovation, the practical distinction is between an image used to express an idea and evidence of a completed project that can inform decisions about a real room.
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From Mood Boards to Prompts
The designers describe a shift in the material clients bring to consultations: from clipped magazine pages to Pinterest collections and now to AI-generated room visuals. The images can be persuasive because they present a complete-looking interior, even when the objects or construction details were produced only for the image. The report frames this not as robots independently designing homes, but as a change in how people visualize and communicate their preferences.
Making a room is also different from rendering one. As the Livingetc report explains, a finished project involves practical work such as procurement, budgets, scheduling and compliance with building regulations. SPELK says its approach begins with how people use and live in a room, rather than with an image alone. Its methods for showing real work include filming a photographer on site and documenting construction before a project is finished.
“design for real rooms and real lives, not for trends or quick impact”
— Kelly and Graeme Smith, describing SPELK’s approach in the Livingetc report
How Often Images Mislead
The report offers designers’ experiences but does not provide data on how many clients encounter AI-generated interiors, how often the images are mistaken for real projects, or how frequently a proposed design proves impossible to build. It does not identify specific accounts or posts alleged to have passed AI images off as completed work, and it notes that many people sharing such images may not intend to deceive.
There is also no reliable visual test described as conclusive. The report says metadata may sometimes help identify an AI image but can be removed, while social platforms are beginning to use detection systems and ask users to label AI content. It says those labels remain optional. The source material mentions a legal backdrop in the EU but supplies no details about the relevant law or how it applies, so no specific legal effect can be established from the report.
Showing Work Behind the Image
The report does not announce a formal industry rule or a scheduled policy change. For now, the designers’ response is to make the process more visible: share construction-stage photographs, on-site video and lived-in details, and clearly label AI or 3D visualizations. For clients, the next practical step is to ask whether an image shows a completed project or a concept, and to discuss what can be built in their particular space.
Whether platforms make AI labels compulsory, and whether reliable detection becomes more common, remains unresolved in the source material. The immediate test for a proposed room is still a designer’s assessment of its dimensions, products, budget and construction requirements—not how convincing it looks on a screen.
Key Questions
What is the report’s main finding?
Designers interviewed by Livingetc say clients increasingly bring AI-generated interiors that may include nonexistent products or unworkable details. Designers then have to separate the visual idea from what can be built.
Can an AI-generated room image be built exactly as shown?
Not necessarily. The report gives examples of furniture that cannot be purchased, layouts that conflict with building regulations, and doors or drawers that could not function as pictured. Each design needs to be checked against the real property and available products.
How does SPELK show that its projects are real?
The studio says it uses mid-construction photographs, on-site video and images that include people or ordinary signs of use. It also says it labels AI or 3D concept imagery.
Can viewers reliably spot AI interior images?
The report does not offer a definitive method. It mentions that metadata may be removed and that platform detection and self-labeling are developing, with labels described as optional. Visual oddities may raise questions but do not establish how an image was made.
Source: rss
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