Interior design templates are illustrative samples that give clients a visual representation of an interior design possibility. Templates are available in both hard copy and Internet formats, allowing designers greater mobility when presenting options to clients. Using interior design templates greatly eases the communication process between designer and client, and also allows a clear visual understanding of the desired finished product.
Most interior design templates are created to allow an easy visual reference for the designer, contractors, and clients. Prior to the advent of computers, design templates were miniature models of furniture and room components which allowed the designer to create a three-dimensional model of the finished product. Since building miniatures is a time-consuming and delicate skill, templates were created in a variety of styles and designs to allow designers greater ease in building models. Hard versions of interior design templates still exist and are available for purchase on the open market.
While some interior design templates are made from durable paper material, others employ more stable techniques to help secure the templates firmly. Some templates are crafted from vinyl and magnetized, allowing them to be easily moved but also securely placed. Magnetic templates also make changing design elements extremely easy. While properly crafting and illustrating a handmade paper template can take hours and quite suddenly be excluded from the design by the customer, basic magnetic building-block templates can be quickly added and removed.
Computers allowed the invention of a faster and more freely customized format for interior design templates. Graphics designers build programs that allowed the creation of digital models for furniture, accessories and design elements that could be placed into a virtual room. Using uploaded photographs, some virtual interior design templates can even create near-identical replicas of the design space, allowing both designers and clients to pre-visualize the finished product. Internet templates can be used for everything from choosing paint colors to designing house additions, and have become greatly popular in the wake of the Internet.
Using interior design templates can help designers be more efficient and concise in their representations of possible design schemes. Having a visual reference can help prevent miscommunication between the client and the designer by allowing for relatively accurate replicas of design plans. Additionally, using templates allows for fast and easy adjustments to the design; by showing changes instantly, savvy designers are able to see what an added or subtracted element does to the design as a whole.
