Out of curiosity, I downloaded a game called Redecor.
Apparently immensely popular — 10 million plus downloads. The gameplay is simple: start with a blank canvas, decorate the room, submit it and compete against other submissions from around the world. Voting takes place, and after a few hours you can come back and see where you landed.
Something like this:
I have a fairly good sense of aesthetics. I am competitive in online games. This seemed simple enough — submit good design, hit the top ranks.
After a few rounds I gave up. I got to number 2 once. I almost never cracked the top 8.
I looked at the designs that were voted above mine. Some were gaudy. Some were truly atrocious — colour themes and material palettes I would never set my home in. And yet they were voted far more superior than mine.
My ego got hurt. The world doesn’t seem to regard my design as good.
Here are the top 2 entries, in the eyes of the many who are on the app.
For the past year and a half, we have been actively styling and rendering interior and exterior spaces for various clients. The process involves multiple people — interior designers, 3D modellers, stylists, colour consultants, renderers. A lot of expertise, a lot of coordination.
The part I dread most is when the render drafts come back for review and everyone starts commenting excitedly. Someone says the carpet isn’t looking nice. Someone else wants a white coffee table instead. Someone thinks a pink curtain would be nicer.
It sounds exactly like playing the interior design game.
Would I do this purple living room for my own home? No. I don’t buy into this aesthetic. But it was designed by interior designers who have worked on many real Indian homes and who know their audience far better than I do.
I have visited homes where my first instinct is to quietly question every design choice — that lighting doesn’t match the vibe, the sofa is too loud, the sculpture in the corner is unsettling. And yet the homeowner is extremely proud. “I’ve got a good designer. I’m very happy.”
Who am I to judge? A designer made those choices. A happy homeowner is living in the space. Maybe this is what the majority want from design. Maybe I am just the elitist snob who thinks the world doesn’t understand what good design is.
In a recent research trip, an architect told me she would rather not do residential projects. Institutions, commercial spaces, restaurants, malls — fine. Just not residential.
“Design decisions can literally change between breakfast and lunch. It’s too painful to deal with that.”
Beyond the four walls of a home, everyone feels entitled to play designer. What is good design is too subjective to defend.
And maybe that’s not the problem. Maybe that’s just the truth.
