For our second interview at Trim Mag, I had the honor of speaking with Professor Bogdan Ionescu—a respected academic voice in interior design from Bucharest. With decades of teaching and mentoring behind him, Bogdan offers a precise, thoughtful perspective on how design evolves through education, culture, and generational change. His responses blend academic clarity with a personal warmth that speaks to his years of engagement with space and learning.
What are the key factors you consider when designing residential spaces that truly feel like “home”?
A home must reflect habit and memory. It’s about rhythm, familiarity, and quiet function.
How do you approach balancing aesthetics and functionality in commercial interior projects?
Function is structure, aesthetics is interpretation. A designer must not let one overpower the other.
With hybrid work on the rise, how is modern office design evolving to meet new professional needs?
Offices are transitioning from rigid work zones to adaptable ecosystems. The emphasis is on modularity and mental comfort.
How do you see AI transforming the early-stage space planning process in interior design?
AI accelerates the schematic phase, but it must be rooted in human insight. Algorithms alone cannot sense context.
What makes a hotel interior not just beautiful but also memorable for guests?
The answer lies in intentional transitions—from public to private, from bold to calm. A good hotel tells a spatial story across thresholds.
How has AI-powered rendering changed the way you present ideas to clients?
It has created a new literacy. Clients now expect photorealistic previews, which shapes how we communicate possibility and process.
What trends are currently shaping furniture and decor choices in interior design?
Material honesty is in resurgence. Visible joinery, natural wear, and non-synthetic tones bring back a sense of grounded realism.
When renovating an old space, what is your process for blending heritage with modern functionality?
It begins with restraint. Knowing what not to touch is just as crucial as knowing where to intervene. Contrast is key, not mimicry.
How do you differentiate the interior design approach between restaurants, cafés, and bars?
Each is a container for time. Bars compress, cafés expand, and restaurants hold—each one demands unique spatial pacing and acoustic logic.
How can AI help designers create more personalized and emotionally resonant spaces for users?
If used carefully, AI can decode behavior patterns that inform layout or lighting. But the soul of personalization still lies in human interpretation.
In your opinion, what role does lighting play in shaping the mood and functionality of a space?
Lighting defines tempo. It’s the first tool for setting spatial tone—subtle contrasts, shadows, and gradients guide movement and emotion.
What sustainable practices or materials are you most excited about in today’s design landscape?
Adaptive reuse. It’s not just a sustainability tactic but a cultural one. Spaces with layers tell better stories than anything new can.
How do you select color palettes and materials to enhance spatial identity?
Context is king. Colors must reflect light, function, and culture of the user. Materiality should never be decoration alone—it must serve a narrative.
Do you use AI tools for generating visual content? If yes, how do they support or challenge your creativity?
I use them occasionally for compositional studies or layout iterations. They’re powerful, but I avoid aesthetic dependency—they’re tools, not taste-makers.
Have you experimented with AI-based 3D modeling tools? How accurate and time-saving have they been?
Yes. For basic forms and massing, they are efficient. But for anything requiring nuance or ergonomics, manual refinement remains essential.
How have interior design preferences evolved across generations, and how do you adapt to these shifts?
Design has moved from permanence to customization. Each generation brings its own spatial anxieties, and we must read them carefully.
How do economic trends influence material choices and client expectations in your projects?
Cost awareness is rising, especially among younger clients. The challenge is to deliver depth with constraint—material storytelling on a budget.
What are your design strategies when working with limited or unusually shaped spaces?
I treat them like poems. Constraint becomes rhythm, and oddity becomes signature. These are the spaces that often teach us the most.
What are some overlooked or rarely discussed challenges that interior designers face today?
The erosion of deep attention. Quick trends, social media visuals—they’ve shortened the life span of thoughtful design. We must push back with patience.
Where do you see the future of interior design heading in the next 5–10 years?
Toward hybrid intelligence—where human intuition and computational analysis coexist. Designers will be translators, not just creators.
