My clients used to bring magazine articles and pictures of homes and buildings they really like when we started a project. No more. The internet has changed that and especially with sites like Houzz. It has truly accelerated and improved the process (it can also tend to exaggerate trends, but that’s another topic). One part of the process though that this does not effect is how such design decisions and styles are melded together for a particular client.

I was recently having a fun meeting paging through photos with a client and discussing interior detailing. She expressed a keen interest in a combination of several of the classic styles with some slight departures from particular orders. To really see how such detailing might fit in her project, I suggested some perspective views and since we were using Revit for the project, she could walk around and get a good view of it.

This goes way beyond what a contractor can typically just ‘mock up’, and shows how design professionals can show a client what they desire and what really works, saving money and effort.  Contractors don’t necessarily want to mock up something this complex unless you’re pretty close to knowing what you want. To reveal both the strengths and weaknesses of Revit, I’ll show you some interior mock ups that I did for a client recently.

Sometimes, it may look cool in one space, but doesn’t fit yours. Not only that, scale and proportion are highly subjective. In this case, I thought it would help to show the detailing style that she had wanted but in her space, then reduce from there. I utilized a column/pilaster style from another larger project, and as you can see, the molding for the interiors started out pretty much dominating the rooms. After a couple iterations, we landed on a look that better fit the space and style the clients wanted.

Revit is great for many aspects of design, but interior rendering is not it’s main strength. To give credit, these are just screen captures, not complete ‘photo realistic’ renderings by Revit. Compared to what is out there, Revit is still a bit half-hearted when it comes to serious visual renderings. However, as a tool that does so much of what we need in architecture, I often find I’m able to provide much more than what most architects offer to clients. Being able to show a client what certain details will look like in their own space is the most optimal solution.

And for those of us that need to have greater consistency in the expression of design elements, I’ll tell you that I hope to bring back the arch for the passageway on the left.