Why Should You Take an AI Course as an Interior Design Professional? 6 Honest Reasons
"Why should I take an AI training course, anyway?"
Ever since I started teaching AI courses, I’ve been asked that question regularly. And rightly so. Why invest time and money in something you might not need?
In this blog post, I'll give you my honest answer. Six reasons, including the less glamorous ones.
Below, you can find out how to join one of my final live AI Masterclasses of the year.
1. Rendering wherever you are
For 3D modeling, you still need a program like SketchUp. But for rendering, you no longer need to rely on resource-intensive software like D5, Enscape, or V-Ray, or a powerful (Windows) desktop computer.
With AI, you can render in the cloud—on your laptop, no matter where you are. Super fast and stunning.
And you're not limited to just one 3D program. You can actually render anything, even a sketch you've drawn by hand.
2. Present your ideas more quickly and in a more engaging way
Every day, your customers see highly polished, photorealistic images on social media. And with ChatGPT, they’re now creating them themselves.
You'll want to rise above that.
With AI tools like Midjourney and Magnific, you can bring your creative ideas to life much more quickly. No more abstract mood boards with Pinterest images—just visuals where your client can already picture themselves living.
You’ll also save time on your 3D model. For anything that isn’t already in your model, you can simply tell the AI tool what to do during rendering. Of course, you’ll draw the custom elements yourself.
Because customers want one thing above all else: to see as soon as possible what will happen to their home or business.
3. Customize renders while your client is present
Everything is moving faster. And customers expect the same from you.
Suppose you're presenting your preliminary design. "Could the floor be a little warmer?" "What if the lighting were different?"
Back in the day, that meant: going back to your 3D model, making all the adjustments, and rendering it again. A week later. After which your client might just say, “Oh no, never mind.” 😉
Now you can adjust your flooring, lighting, and materials directly in the render with just a few clicks—while your client watches.
And no, your design won’t change without you noticing. Tools like Nano Banana now do a good job of preserving the geometry of your space, provided you use them correctly. That’s exactly what I’ll teach you. Of course, you can simply adjust your customizations within your model.
4. One platform for your entire workflow
Platforms are now emerging that give you access to countless AI tools, which you can combine in smart ways. That way, you don't have to keep switching from one platform to another.
In my training sessions, I use Magnific. Not because I have a partnership with them—I don’t. But because, based on my tests, it’s the most comprehensive platform for our industry. Within it, you can generate images for your mood boards, render and edit 3D scenes, transform photos of an existing interior into a completely new one, create 3D models for SketchUp from a photo of your favorite piece of furniture, animate images, and elevate everything to hyper-realistic quality—all within a single project.
With Magnific Spaces, you can do all of that on a single screen. And something new is added almost every week.
Learn it right the first time, and you'll be in the right spot on the AI train for years to come.
5. AI is being integrated into everything
What's really turning the world upside down right now: AI can be integrated into just about anything.
The changes to my website this week? I had Claude make them in my browser while I was eating in another room.
Want to look up exactly what was agreed upon in a project between the client, contractor, and suppliers? Find the right documents, compare emails, and draft a response? AI can do that, too, while I’m working on something else.
That’s changing our industry. Customers can do more on their own and expect faster service. Those who discover now what AI can do for their business will be able to adapt their business practices and revenue model in time. Above all, that requires an open mind.
6. Craftsmanship + AI Is the Real Benefit
And yet I continue to emphasize this: right now, more than ever, personal contact, attention, creativity, experience, and craftsmanship are becoming more valuable.
That's why, in my training sessions, I always encourage people to invest the time they save with AI back into the process.
Get to know your customers well and find out what they need. Invest in meaningful partnerships with suppliers. Go to that cool trade show and meet other interior design professionals. Take an afternoon off to flip through magazines, recharge, or learn something new.
Because there’s also a downside to it, in my own experience. You suddenly become so productive that it’s hard to keep things in check. You’re communicating at lightning speed on those platforms all day long, while your brain has to keep track of everything. That takes more out of you than you think.
Learn about AI from a fellow interior design professional
A little over 2.5 years ago, I jumped on the AI bandwagon myself. Since then, I’ve been endlessly testing AI tools and platforms to see how useful they are for our industry. And I’ve been teaching other (aspiring) interior design professionals how to work with them.
Tired of all that AI overload? Then let me show you how to integrate AI into your own work.
This fall, I'll be teaching the last three live AI Masterclasses of the year:
October 27 – Amsterdam, Fosbury & Sons, Prinsengracht 769
(Parking: P+R RAI, €6 for the entire day; then 2 stops by metro and a 6-minute walk)
October 29 – Rotterdam (exact location to be announced this week)
November 4 – Utrecht (exact location to be announced this week)
From 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., in small groups of up to 10 people.
Cost: €297, excluding VAT
For those who’d like to grab a drink afterward to get to know each other better!
What You'll Learn
Create photorealistic images that will help you attract the best projects
Super-polished mood boards featuring images you've generated yourself
Create 3D models in a flash for your 3D software
Rendering SketchUp scenes and sketches photorealistically and editing your renders
Visualizing a new interior design in an existing space
Make Your Presentations More Impressive with Moving Images
Outsource tedious tasks to ChatGPT or Claude
Book before October 20 and you'll get:
Free, lifetime access to my AI Workflow Course, valued at 297,- (excluding VAT), where you can review everything on demand
Includes all future updates to the AI Workflow Course
Have you signed up for my newsletter? If so, you'll also receive 2 weeks of online support after the masterclass
Will I see you soon?
Best regards, Marielle van Essen Interior Designer & AI Trainer
