FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE:

YOU CAN FIND ELLIE’S VIRTUAL REALITY GUIDE HERE

FOLLOW ELLIE ON INSTAGRAM  @ELLIEREDDERSINTERIORSSTL

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WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THE EPISODE:

THE BENEFITS OF USING VR IN YOUR PRESENTATIONS TO CLIENTS

HOW ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS, AND OTHER TRADES ARE BENEFITING FROM VR

THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF VR ELLIE PRESENTS TO HER CLIENTS

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When you think of St. Louis luxury design and construction, you think of Ellie Redders. Ellie is the seasoned and endearing design leader behind her full-service firm, Ellie Redders Interiors. For over a decade, Ellie has earned a widespread reputation for her cutting-edge professional process, integrity in her partnerships, and her innate ability to design elevated yet comfortable family spaces. As a local household name, her work has graced the pages of House Beautiful, Elle Decor, and St. Louis Homes Magazine.

Clients ranging from surgeons to attorneys, professional athletes, and entrepreneurial families have relied on Ellie Redders Interiors to successfully navigate the ins and outs of the luxury new build and massive large scale home renovation process. As a seasoned entrepreneur and designer, Ellie has developed a highly organized process paired with the use of cutting edge technology to support clients in visualizing and helping them with their exact specific selections and furnishings before making costly decisions and mistakes. 

As soon as I saw Elli’s website, I knew I had to have her on the show! Ellie will share in today’s episode about how she is revolutionizing her presentations to her clients through the use of Virtual Reality.

Bringing virtual reality into her business was just another system that she developed that supported her, as well as her clients, builders, architects, and tradespeople. That is how her company views it. 

This is just one step further than the 3D renderings they had already seen as a game changer in her business. This allowed them to sell jobs so much faster and get everyone on the same page so much easier.

This idea really came from her 3D renderings, where you can do a walk-through on the computer. She started thinking about how to actually put yourself in that room. 

Ellie had an intern she was training on renderings, and she was interviewing her to hire her afterward, she expressed her desire to implement this idea into her business. Not coincidentally, her intern was already learning how to do this in her school!

This was her interns’ sole focus for the first 6-9 months in getting this VR off the ground.

Ellie is not technically trained in interior design or how to read floor plans. She taught herself how to do all this. She knows how she struggled with that and still does, so she understands the struggle her clients are going through in trying to understand the design presentations. So, using virtual reality in her presentations has helped with this immensely.

But to take it one step further for the new builds and renovations, she knew that being able to go this route and put on the headset and walk through a 3D version of their projects, people could really feel and see how much space you really do have between your island and your cooktop counter or in your bathroom between your shower and your vanity. To be able to put those types of things into perspective has been a game changer, not only for her clients but for herself as well.

“The second I put that on, I get ten times more creative in what I can specify for my clients, and lightbulbs go on for me where I can make that room or renovation or whole new build ten times more elevated than it would have been if I didn’t have that.” Ellie

Builders and architects are also starting to see the value in this and starting to promote Ellie and her company and bring them on earlier, which is so valuable.

So often, we are brought in after the plans are done, and we may have suggestions about the plan, so getting in on the front end can save time and money.

Phases of the Virtual Reality Packages

Ellie explains how the VR can come in phases so that it can suit each individual client’s needs precisely. Some need help in visualizing more, and others might not be interested in the complete 3D view of their project. 

The first phase is a basic floorplan situation. 

For example, they put boxes in for the cabinets, and it might not be anything like the color the client is going with or a placeholder for the table. 

The next level would be to get furniture measurements and put it in the rendering. 

Then, thirdly, they start to actually put in the pieces of furniture that they have sourced. Then there can even be more. So, as clients start with the first phase, they often ask to go to the next one to help them envision their project even more. It often grows because it is so helpful. 

This is a high technology, and yes, it comes as an added expense, but frankly, someone building a new home is already on board for a big expense.

“Clients doing a new build are so afraid of making mistakes, and this allows them to feel more comfortable,” Ellie says 

In today’s episode, we also chat about AI and how it might help the VR system in the future.

Ellie does think there is going to be a place for it. She says it still feels too animated, but as it evolves, it’s going to get better. And if this helps us convey a message to clients before their project is built, it’s always cheaper.

Virtual Reality is an amazing tool that can help verbalize our visions that sometimes we struggle to put words to – or we do put words to, and the homeowner doesn’t get it. I think this is something to really look into, and I don’t see a downside to having it as a part of your business.