I regret not reaching out to AI for my interior design requirements sooner.
Artificial intelligence excels in certain areas while lacking in others. Identifying how AI can enhance your workflows or elevate your everyday experiences can be challenging, particularly without sacrificing quality.
I’ve discovered that AI chatbots such as Gemini or ChatGPT are fantastic at assisting with specific queries that require tailored context. Earlier this year, Gemini aided me in caring for my plants; I could have resorted to a search engine for suggestions, but none would have considered the actual appearance of the plants.
For those lacking a green thumb, I found another application for mobile AI while wrestling with a design layout for my apartment. After a year of rearranging items, acquiring new furniture, and perusing ineffective online articles, I finally grabbed my Google Pixel 9 Pro XL in a moment of exasperation and sought Gemini’s assistance. My expectations were low, but I was amazed by the ideas that Google AI generated.
Here’s how I leveraged AI to tackle a complex interior design challenge, and how you can utilize it for your own issues as well.
Providing Gemini with the right foundation
The challenge with my apartment is straightforward: it’s quite spacious, yet it has only one window in the living room, kitchen, and dining area. This window is a sliding glass door, flanked by walls with double doors, which restricts furniture arrangement. With just one source of natural light, an improper layout could make this elongated and somewhat narrow living area feel dim and uninspired — that’s why I needed AI’s guidance.
AI operates poorly without clear direction, and excels when it receives sufficient context and detailed prompts. Rather than offering Gemini a vague, generic request, I located the precise floor plan for my space to provide context and outlined my objectives clearly. The prompt doesn’t have to be lengthy, but it should be thoughtful and specific.
In this instance, after sharing the floor plan, I asked Gemini how to arrange the living room to maximize sunlight.
Gemini’s customized and precise assistance
Gemini promptly provided general advice, such as avoiding blockages of the light source, utilizing reflective surfaces, and opting for light colors. These tips were helpful, but giving Gemini insight into the floor plan yielded personalized results. The chatbot recognized that “the living room is a central, elongated space with a significant window at the far end.”
It may seem simple, but Gemini’s basic understanding of the layout gave it a significant edge over search engines or interior design sites. For instance, one website I checked suggested renovating the room to alter the positions of windows and doors, which was absurdly impractical for a renter.
Gemini offered three in-depth recommendations, and I chose the “open flow” arrangement. This entails floating a sofa in the center, facing the glass door, fostering an open concept in the room. To avoid chaotically moving items around, I asked Gemini to create examples of what this would look like in my space — something I couldn’t have accomplished without AI.
Another fantastic aspect of using AI for problem-solving and brainstorming is the ability to ask additional questions along the way. If you have specific requirements, such as a TV placement, Gemini can consider that and only suggest solutions that fit this need.
AI also presented ideas and solutions that hadn’t even occurred to me — like placing mirrors around the room to mimic extra windows and enhance natural light in the area. After a ten-minute exchange with AI, I had an interior design plan that resulted in the following:
If you ask me, it’s a quite bright and open space, which is the atmosphere I’ve genuinely spent a year trying to cultivate — and something I was able to realize solely with Gemini. This was accomplished using the standard Gemini chatbot, and you could receive even more personalized support by utilizing Gemini Live’s multimodal live video feature.
How you can use Gemini to address life’s challenges
You can leverage Gemini to resolve issues in your daily routine by concentrating on three aspects: context, prompting, and refinement.
Context is the essential starting point. If you don’t supply an AI chatbot with sufficient context, it relies solely on its training material, which may lead to unhelpful outcomes. You can provide context in various ways, such as sharing AI photos or screenshots, as I did with my apartment’s floor plan. Alternatively, you can use features like Gemini Live that transmit your surroundings through your phone’s camera, offering additional context.
Next, ensure you compose a detailed prompt that accurately outlines your goals and what you require AI to accomplish. Utilize complete sentences for optimal results, but steer clear of lengthy paragraphs. Finally, remember that you can refine your prompts throughout the process and guide the AI chatbot accordingly.
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