Virtual kbb design services are not just a short-term fix for the pandemic and have long-term value, says Lauren Sutton head of Design Hub at CAD supplier Virtual Worlds 

Speaking exclusively to Kitchens & Bathrooms News, she said the remote design service for retailers was in the pipeline before the pandemic and the company always had a long-term vision for its use.

In fact, Lauren Sutton explained the Design Hub is now broadening its services: “I see it as so much more than just kitchen and bathroom design. There was always more in the future.

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“We wanted to create an umbrella of services and also to connect designers.”

Virtual Worlds is now extending its virtual design service to create showroom space for retail and manufacturer brands and has recently completed a project for Bathroom Origins.

Sutton said: “I’m working with brands as well as retailers, creating virtual showrooms. These are for retailers or brands that need additional showroom space.

“Having a virtual space means it can be replenished as frequently as they would like. We can change tiles; we can change decors and they can display much more product than they can do in a physical space.”

However, Sutton said the virtual showroom has not been designed to replace the physical store but to create a hybrid environment using the company’s 4D Theatre.

Speaking about the impact of technology in kbb design Sutton said: “We are becoming more virtual, and showrooms need to have the support to drive consumers into them.

“In the kbb industry, we can be very stuck in our ways, and I think the pandemic has forced us to take that giant leap forwards and just consider a different way of working and living.”