Publish on: June 14, 2020
There are a lot of unique elements that need to be part of an interior designer’s skillset.
You need to be highly creative, but also pragmatic and willing to compromise to match a client’s vision and budget.
Interior design and build is challenging but also exceptionally rewarding, and there is a tangible home, office or establishment that can be enjoyed for years to come.
However, getting into interior design is expensive, and so for people who want that creative challenge without the expense of actually buying a property, tools, materials and manpower, here are some of the best virtual interior design experience you can buy right now.
The Sims
The starting point for many an avid interior designer, the Sims is not entirely about interior design, but it does play an astonishingly large part of the game, with thousands of different types of furniture, decorations and house designs to play with.
The most recent expansion for the most recent game in the series even allows you to play as an interior designer, allowing you to transform spaces for other people, complete with before and after images and differing reactions.
House Flipper
One of the few games all about interior design, House Flipper brings in every element of the interior design experience, from cleaning to renovating and finally to selling the property at the end, ideally for a profit.
Ultimately it shows both sides of the spectrum when it comes to interior design, including work for clients who want little tweaks and adjustments, as well as full house flips where an unloved property is given a new lease on life.
There are also repairing and gardening elements to the game.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The bizarre village life simulation Animal Crossing has many different features to it, such as fishing, bug catching and upsetting your neighbours, but one major feature that has endeared it to interior designers was the Happy Home Academy.
The HHA gives a score to each house in the game based on their interior design skills, such as matching colours, matching furniture, use of space and Feng Shui.
Beyond this, the game has a pattern creation tool, which has been used to incredible effect to help design some incredible homes.
Minecraft
On the first impression, the infinite adventure about crafting a world of blocks may seem too simplistic as an interior design tool. However, once you scratch the surface and get used to the deceptively broad creation tools, you can make some truly incredible homes.
Because the game is simple and rewards simple designs, fans of minimalism, japandi and hygge will find plenty of different textures and room to create the home of their dreams, even if people playing the game tend to opt for a home dug out of a cave.
Home Design 3D
The final piece of software on this list is less of a game and more of an easy to use tool for visualising interior design ideas.
Its best and worst feature is its simplicity; it is easy for people to design dream homes without much issue, but if you wish to take the next step into 3D design or interior design, you may need a more complex tool.
