Four years of computer engineering courses at a top engineering school have contributed to my understanding of the limits of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when it comes to kitchen design.
AI does an amazing job in many areas. It can comb through huge amounts of information to perform better on tests than even human experts. It can combine different photos and drawings to rapidly create visual representations that would require hours for a human designer.
AI programs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are rapidly reducing the time required for a great deal of work in many professions.
Accountants, lawyers, and other information-based professions are already gaining significant efficiencies. However, AI is only as good at creative professions as the programming that it implements. Once again, the computer adage of “garbage in, garbage out” is very applicable.
For example, asking AI to combine kitchen styles will often produce something visually appealing. That doesn’t mean the rendering can actually be built. Homeowners often believe that because AI generated a kitchen that it’s possible to replicate in reality. I have yet to see one that can?! The last photo a customer showed me of his AI created island had over a dozen serious mistakes in it – and, that was just for an island!
Kitchen design decisions are not formulaic and cross many disciplines.
Design considerations for every kitchen remodel include construction, engineering, style, function, cabinet brands and pricing, appliance specifications, and countertop and fixture properties and their limitations. AI renderings only take into consideration a fraction of each of these major considerations. It takes every kitchen designer many years to understand the ramifications of each design choice. That is why Main Line Kitchen Design always has multiple designers look at every design before finalizing them for customers. When it comes to kitchens that actually work and can be implemented, AI’s limit is the substantial amount of information it can’t know and can’t weigh the importance of.
For example, for the AI created island mentioned earlier, AI included cabinet sizes that don’t fit the selected (and already purchased!) appliances and sink. The rendering also blocks opening the refrigerator and doesn’t provide enough room to sit comfortably at the kitchen table. It also reduced the number of people who can sit at the island but rendered the stools smaller to make it appear that they could fit. The countertop that was displayed was also actually impossible to fabricate. The list went on.
More and more inexperienced kitchen shortcut takers are using AI to show customers mythical kitchens that can’t actually be built.
Designers and homeowners who utilize AI images and recommendations without the knowledge and experience to understand why these visual representations are problematic will progress until they are confronted with reality. That is when the sh** will hit the fan, so to speak.
The takeaway from this blog is start with an experienced kitchen designer. NOT AI. We welcome all questions on AI and other design concerns. And for those out of our service area – MLKD Helps People from Outside Our Service Area.
