Modern design retailer Design Within Reach has launched a new online 3D modeling tool that enables shoppers to visually sample furniture and accessories in their homes and offices before making purchase decisions.
Shoppers are invited to upload blueprints of their interior spaces to the 3D Room Planner, which will be converted by a team of in-house designers into workable floorplans within a few hours. Users can then alter the colors, textures, patterns and dimensions of walls, floors, doors and windows to resemble their existing rooms in both 2D and 3D.
From there, shoppers can begin sampling hundreds of models of Design Within Reach furniture to reimagine their space. When they’re finished, a high-quality, 3D design is rendered within about two hours. Users can then share the design via email, Facebook and Twitter, or with the sales representatives at their local Design Within Reach studio. Items used in the rendering are automatically saved to a shopping list on Design Within Reach’s website.
Those who need a little more design help, or simply want to explore the tool can map out imaginary floorplans with the 3D Room Planner, or browse and edit rooms shared publicly by other users.
For now, the tool is available only on a designated section of Design Within Reach’s website. The company plans to outfit its new store in Stamford, Connecticut, with a “design bar” so that shoppers can explore the 3D Room Planner with sales associates, and continue to tinker with layouts when they return to their home computers. If successful, design bars will be integrated into other Design Within Reach retail locations, bridging the online and retail experience in a highly useful fashion.
The 3D Room Planner is powered by mydeco.com, which will continue to upgrade the product for Design Within Reach as well as for its own website. Soon, mydeco.com CEO Nicole Vanderbilt says, the tool will enable users to sample and adjust interior and exterior lighting.
More About: design, design within reach, home, interior design, mydeco.com
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