These Designers Show How Interior Design Changed Over Time And How It Might Evolve In The Future

Interior design is a big part of our lives. Our homes show a lot of things about our personalities and who we are as a person. However, the way we choose to decorate, place, and portray our homes doesn't only depend on us, but also on the fashion, technology, and trends of the decade we're living in.

American Home Shield decided to look back and create a project where they show how much interior design has changed. As examples, they use the typical home from the 1800s, 2000s, and guess what homes will look like in the 2100s. These concepts show that every decade had a unique pallet, furniture aesthetic, and very different technologies.

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"The kitchen stove may seem like ancient technology, but it was unknown before the 19th century. Prior to industrial revolution-era innovations, the temperature knob was non-existent. Americans cooked on open fires, controlling heat by raising or lowering the pot to the flames.

However, the modern temperature knob is just a temporary visitor to our homes. The stove of the future will be controlled by an AI ‘Bot Chef’ kitchen assistant with a robotic arm. You’ll look like Tom Cruise in Minority Report as you gesture at the digital dashboard in our future kitchen. Adjusting settings with a wave of your hand will save you from spreading mess from surface to surface."

The whole project took about 2 months to complete. We asked the designer of this project what inspired them to create it in the first place: "We started working on this project after discussions about some interior trends that were around only 30 years ago that we would never revisit. This led to a discussion about how far interiors had come in such a short period. We looked at some historic homes and compared them today and thought it would be cool to put the time into one image. But as we started to do this, we thought it would be great to see if we could try and predict where home interiors would be in the future. So we then started to research patents and trends and worked with an interior designer to predict the future."

"The dining room was a formal affair in Victorian-era America. Colors were soothing, and you would eat by daylight or candlelight – which feels idealistic in an age of eating by the flickering light of the television. Our contemporary dining room design features repurposed school chairs that are light and convenient, reflecting how today’s dining room is rarely a place to linger after the last bite.

If you enjoy the new ritual of “dinner-party-by-Zoom,” you’ll love the option to invite holographic guests who live far away into your dining room of the future. Arranging projectors rather than chairs around the table is also a perfect compromise between the TV dinner and candlelight. Your friends will be both the entertainment and the light source."

They told us why they chose these specific decades: "We wanted to show a stark difference between the homes in a short space of time, so we looked at the 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s. We then decided to swap out the 1900s for the future to show where we could be headed."

"Do you remember ‘books’? Historically, the bookshelf has been a practical way for homeowners to store their (paper-based) home media while communicating a sense of identity to visitors. But modernism and the anti-clutter movement have hidden our books, DVDs, and other loose bits and bobs behind push door cabinets, giving our ‘present’ living room a calm, streamlined look.

However, today’s sleek storage solutions have been counteracted by unwieldy media players – from the stackable hi-fi to the stadium-sized widescreen. The living room of the future will virtualize much of this hi-tech clutter. Furniture will deflate when not needed. One central device will process and protect your digital media needs. Your furniture itself will act as speakers, and 3D games and movies surround you, projected from this multilayered volumetric video screen (leaving more space in the living room to display your books.) Sounds a bit energy-intensive? Check out the solar energy panels on the balcony."

"Our researchers spent hours and hours looking at predicted future trends as well as patents, so whilst we'll never know if it will come true or not (perhaps our grandchildren will!), what we do know is that it is a good prediction based on what we know now," shared the designers when asked how accurate the future interior design is.

They also shared more about the team that worked behind the project: "It was a collaborative effort between researchers, graphic designers, and interior designers. All credit should go to American Home Shield who commissioned the project. American Home Shield founded the home warranty industry in 1971 and remains the industry leader. Together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, the company services nearly 2 million customers in all 50 states. The companies operate five customer service centers, employ approximately 1,800 employees, and have a national contractor network made up of more than 15,000 independent home service contractors and more than 45,000 service technicians. American Home Shield is a business unit of Frontdoor, Inc. (NYSE: FTDR), the nation’s leading provider of home service plans. About NeoMam Studios: NeoMam Studios is a creative studio based in the UK. We are on a mission to create digital content that online audiences will want to share."

"To some, the four-poster bed is a symbol of opulence. But in fact, the design was created to protect the sleeper from the cold (in cold countries) and insects (in warm countries). The four-poster appears in artwork from 300BCE or earlier, and Cleopatra had one. But they have fallen out of fashion in the west since the development of central heating.

Modernism begets minimalism, and the peaceful atmosphere of our present-day bedroom is down to the lack of clutter. In the future, there will be even less clutter when a media wall (disguised as wallpaper) replaces both the television and the mirror. You can model clothes virtually, without putting them on, and robot arms will fetch them from your wardrobe, saving space and hassle. And the bed is equipped with a sleep monitoring system to quantify your nighttime self, and even record your dreams."

We asked the creators of the project what they think is the main difference between the decades: "Technology is the most noticeable difference in the rooms. We know in the 1800s they didn't have any sort of technology and then in the 2000s, we think we have all the latest gadgets and gizmos, but this will be just the tip of the iceberg as in the future the way we live will most likely revolve around technology."

"Today we’re used to the seamlessly fitted bathroom, but traditionally bathroom furniture has been just that: furniture. Separate, wood-built pieces would stand freely in the bathroom, and even the water would be brought in manually, having been heated on the stove.

The contemporary bathroom is sleek, bold, and bright. But the media bathroom of the future can be adapted to match your mood. Relaxing, sensual, or invigorating animated presets will appear on the video walls. The multi-directional shower promotes water economy and your smart mirror includes a scanning system for body metrics - so you can check out your ‘vital signs’ while brushing your teeth.

While design trends and technology have changed over the years, the need for a plan when parts of your systems and appliances wear out has not. With American Home Shield home warranty plans, you’ll have the peace of mind to keep your home in working order – no matter when an unexpected issue arises or how complicated and intricate the appliances and the systems of the future might be."

"It was so much fun to work on the project, the team had a great time coming up with the concept. We're excited to see what people will think and wonder which rooms they would love to live in."

What do you think of these designs? Which one is your favorite? Tell us in the comments down below!