How Interior Designers Can Use Artificial Intelligence Tool Midjourney

Let's face it, interior designers have relied on outdated processes for years.

And if you're a professional, you know what we're talking about (take old school 3D modeling software, or even regular sketching).

Full transparency: we're not here to come after the paper and pen. But we'd love to present an alternative solution that just might make your life easier.

It's time to embrace the power of technology and elevate your design game to the next level. With the interior design industry constantly evolving, we believe it's critical to stay ahead of the curve and utilize the tools that can make your life easier (and your projects more successful.)

(image created in Midjourney by AURA)

You might've started to hear inklings about the benefits of artificial intelligence (ChatGPT being the most notable). Listen, we acknowledge that as a professional interior designer, you may have some concerns about incorporating new tech like artificial intelligence into your design process.

And hey, it's natural to feel wary. But it's important to understand that AI is not meant to replace your creativity and expertise. Instead, it's meant to enhance your skills and help you stay more efficient.

So in this post, we'd love to enlighten you about a new artificial intelligence tool available to the public called Midjourney (and at the time of writing this, it's free to use). This cutting-edge platform can revolutionize the way you brainstorm interior design projects.

(image created in Midjourney by AURA)

We'll keep reiterating in this post that there is limited functionality with Midjourney right now. But with that said, we also see some really cool ways that professional interior designers can use Midjourney to their benefit. 

We'd absolutely call Midjourney an inspiration engine, as it can dream up whatever you'd like. If you want to see what a modern futuristic living room will look like in 2060, Midjourney will spit out an image for that (below is what we got back)

(image created in Midjourney by AURA)

Let's say you're working with a client who has a dated studio apartment that needs to be redesigned. Instead of staring in front a blank paper pining for ideas, you could actually use Midjourney to come up with a few preliminary thoughts. 

For example: 

Prompt: "design me a bohemian studio apartment with natural light and green plants" 

Output from Midjourney: 

(image created in Midjourney by AURA) 

Now this is cool. Let's say you're starting a project and you just need some preliminary thoughts based on seasonal trends (for example). You can actually use Midjourney to pull together pieces of a mood board. Here's one we created that's a mood board based on spring, inspired by art deco design:

So we need to be candid, too. Midjourney is a newer tool. And we'd be lying if we said that there weren't some limitations of using this tool that we all just have to acknowledge. 

When it comes to using the tool for interior design, here are some limitations you should expect going into Midjourney:

• Limited customization due to copyright concerns: while users can upload a photo to modify in Midjourney, the platform is trying to walk a fine line so they don't get sued (to put it bluntly). Therefore, if you're uploading a current 3D model or photo, Midjourney will likely distort to photo so as not to get into any legal trouble, leaving you with a variation of what you originally uploaded (that may or may not be usable)

• Lack of hi-res output: once again, the artificial intelligence platform landscape is constantly evolving. One area that's lacking is hi-res imagery from Midjourney (as you can probably see from some of our examples here). Some users have discovered tools that claim to make images look more hi-res, but we've found them to be just OK.

(image created in Midjourney by AURA)

Go to Midjourney and click Join the Beta

This will then take you to Discord. Discord is a chat platform that Midjourney is built on. 

Once you accept the invite, you'll be taken to a chat room. To create in Midjourney on Discord, you'll want to click on one of the newbie chat rooms.

After you click into one of the newbie channels, you'll have the opportunity to start creating your own Midjourney images. 

Wondering why you might be seeing other people's creations? That's because all of your Midjourney creations are public. But don't worry! It doesn't mean that someone is going to steal the designs that you create. In fact, most people aren't even paying attention to what other creators are making.

(also, if you really don't want people to see what you're creating, you can also pay $30/month for a private channel).

To get started, use the chat at the bottom and type in the following:

You'll want to start writing your what you want to create after the word "prompt". 

Here's an example: 

Once you click enter, you'll wait for Midjourney to give you four different options of photos, like so: 

To move forward with one of the images, you can click U1, U2, U3, or U4 (images go clockwise). The U means that one of the images will be created in a higher resolution, or an "upscale".

If you decide you like one of the images but it's not perfect, you can click the corresponding V button to get a variation of one of the images. 

If you're not a fan of any of the images, you can click the circle to the side for a full redo. Or, you can always try rewriting your prompt, because when it comes to creating AI imagery, your prompts are everything.  

Prompts in Midjourney are what you type into Discord to get an image created. 

It's true that getting great images requires great prompts. Here are a few that we've tried that have worked well for us:

•  Starting with "a magazine quality shot of..."
• Starting with "Interior Design, a perspective of..."
• Starting with "a mood board, inspired by..."

We should note: don't expect that you're going to get a perfect image back after one try. It might take multiple iterations to get the exact image you want to achieve. Your patience may pay off, but understand that Midjourney is still a fairly new tool. 

We hope it's clear by now that Midjourney is an incredibly valuable tool for professional interior designers of any level. This AI tool empowers all types of creatives to develop stunning interior designs with ease.

There are even rumblings of AI video coming soon, which could completely revolutionize architecture and home tours as we know it.

But if you're creating imagery in Midjourney based on this post, shoot us a chat message and show off what you're creating. We'd love to see your creations.