Every time a new year rolls around, I envision my future: picturesque settings in the form of beautiful, awe-inspiring lands; minimalist yet purposeful design; and squeaky-clean presence. Sometimes artificial intelligence can help set the picture of your hopes — like a freshly designed bathroom.
I recently spent time in the Bay Area in an Airbnb housed in a three-story 1910s house, nestled in a second-floor corner en-suite that was chosen for accessibility and affordability. I was ready for the room to meet my basic needs, but I was still overwhelmed by the design of the bathroom and overwhelmed by its fluorescent lighting. As a digital nomad, I've spent many nights in different Airbnbs for different needs, from last-minute stays to specific design-focused choices.
Partly out of imagination, partly out of curiosity, I turned to Artificial intelligence revampedan application that uses artificial intelligence and generative models to create and recreate design-driven worlds. For me, navigating to its location felt like entering a very specific corner of SimsNation, created for architecture and interior design enthusiasts and experts.
After spending far too long staring at the moving hole on the home page — somewhere between a trance experience and an art therapy session — I began the process of temporarily redesigning my temporary bathroom to test whether you can actually use this app to get started. renovating your home.
The original, irresistible bathroom.
The Renovate AI process
Renovate AI has a free plan, and paid plans range from $8 to $60 per month. Since I only planned to redesign one space, I didn't miss not upgrading it. However, if you're interested in interacting with the site beyond the trial run and plan to seriously use Renovate AI to help with ideas for more than one room, a paid plan is necessary to get the most out of the tool.
After registering and logging in, I went to the Bathroom image as part of the Residential tab. (There are external and commercial tabs, too.)
After several attempts to capture the entire space, I was able to upload a picture of my Airbnb bathroom to the site. From there, I was able to decide the extent of my redesign, including Grooming, Improve, Renovate and Transform. Since I was on the free plan, I only had the option of using Renovate or Transform once before I needed to top up.
Renovate it includes style themes and layout changes and gives your space major furniture updates in hopes of creating a fresh, new ambiance. Transform provides complete interior reinventions and provides structural modifications and design changes that create a whole new living environment. I held on to Renovate.
From there, there's an option to choose which type of room to redesign, or you can have the AI automatically detect it based on the details in your image.
I was excited about the next step, where you can add the stylistic influences that the AI will use as a template for the redesign. I chose Japanese (Japanese mixed with Scandinavian), Zen and urban style. I envisioned a bathroom design that exudes warmth, simplicity and refinement.
The final three steps involve deciding whether you want to preserve objects from your photos and choosing color tone and descriptors that will influence the AI-driven outcome. I added descriptors like minimalistic, warm and refined. From there, I clicked on the last button, which read renovate, and waited for the newly generated image to appear.
Renovating the AI gave me three options based on my stylistic choices and words to describe. My favorite was the redesign which featured warm lighting cascading over the mirror and which featured a trim that enhanced the refined look I envisioned.
My favorite AI bathroom redesign — although there were some quirks.
Sure, there were some oddities. A basket instead of a toilet, for one. A bamboo screen inside the shower for another (not sure how long that will last), and a round rug that looks more like a platform or a lazy susan. Definitely less boring, though – and it will point you in the direction of the vibe you want during your remodeling project.
There's no in-app option to “redo” (so I essentially had to stick with one of the three designs on my free plan), but for the initial test run, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Even through the lens of AI, good — or upgraded — design can really make a space feel bigger.
Who should use Renovate AI?
Design can be exhausting to learn if it's not your area of expertise, so I appreciate how AI can expand the scope of users to include people who have no design experience but want to be immersed in the possibilities of design.
I've always had a hard time determining what type of design I like, so I was immediately excited to find a platform that offered the ability to “redesign” a space in response to uploading an image and selecting a “style.” . (Who doesn't like to see visually stimulating things?)
Whether you're someone like me who simply wants to reimagine their Airbnb or someone who wants to remodel a room or the entire house, in my opinion, Renovate AI is thoughtful and inclusive.
In addition to the “renovation” of the design, the platform also offers virtual setup and 3D renderings, along with the ability to change the colors of the interior and exterior paint and to increase the resolution of blurry images.
I imagine that if someone like me enjoys the experience of such a tool, people in the industry will find it fascinating – if for nothing more than insight into how design choices affect data, or to quickly get a feel for different designs.
I am interested in anything that can help refine or organize the process and enhance communication in a visually stimulating way. Everything to reimagine any world, in seconds.
Isn't that what dreams are about?
For more tips on how AI can help you redesign your living room or even create pictures of you on social networkscheck out CNET's VI Atlas the home page.