Just line online dating, virtual design/staging tools with 3-D images help both buyers visualize themselves in a new home and sellers who want the biggest bang for the buck while preparing their homes for market. Just match your needs, style preferences, timetable and budget based upon a questionnaire or phone call and buyers/sellers get lots of visual options without having to buy or rearrange a thing.
RoOmy, a relatively long-time virtual design stand-by, has shifted its focus from creating models of furniture for manufacturers to 3-D visual staging. Users upload photos and dimensions of the space/room into the app and then add furnishings they want in their preferred styles. Each staged photo costs approximately $110; packages are available for brokerages and individual salespeople.
The IXA (Interiors X Art) creates pop-up showrooms outside the showroom where “the latest in original art and home furnishings are brought together in architecturally significant properties. IXA hosts private dinners, talks and networking events in Los Angeles and San Francisco for clients (mostly millennial) “experience” cutting edge design trends, original international art and technology.
DecorAid hosts 250 designers throughout the country on its platform. The designers work with clients on the home site. Clients receive courtesy designer discounts on furnishings and products purchased through the designer. Fees are currently $150/hour in a package of 5 or 10 hours with one hour of free consultation.
Decorist has some 400 designers from which to choose. Clients are offered two different “concept boards” of options for any room based upon questionnaires and dimensions and photos of the space. Clients are offered 1 of 3 packages from $300 – $1,300; price variance reflects the designer’s level of expertise. For those having difficulty visualizing, the company offers 3-D rendering for an additional $200 fee.
HomePolish serves the nation with 500 designers. If a client lives in an area where there is no available designer, the client is served through video consultations. The designer creates shopping lists and floor plans for all price points. Currently, there is a 10-hour minimum at $130/hour.
Kitchen Visualizer was developed by Quote Countertops in conjunction with Colonial Marble and Granite. Users envision with virtual staging how appliances, cabinets, countertops, backsplashes, etc. would look in their homes. The company includes pricing information to help estimate the cost to create a new or update an old kitchen. Users cannot, however, upload their own photos or “imagine”: materials or appliances not carried by the company.
