The short answer
To start an interior render, send a furnished plan, the finish schedule, furniture references, the lighting plan and the camera views you need, plus where the images will be used. With these five inputs, the first colour render is usually close to final.
The interior rendering brief checklist
What do you need to start an interior render? An interior rendering brief answers one question for each room: what should the viewer see, and what has to be true for it to look finished? The checklist below lists the documents that answer it. You do not need all of them on day one, though every gap will be an assumption the studio makes for you.
- 01Furnished plan and reflected ceiling plan
- 02Elevations of feature walls and joinery
- 03Finish schedule with codes, or physical samples
- 04Furniture list with references or supplier models
- 05Lighting layout and fixture references
- 06Three to five mood images
- 07Camera views per room
- 08Where each image will be used, with sizes
What each item settles
| Item | What it settles | If it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| Furnished plan | Where things sit, how rooms are used | The studio places a standard layout |
| Reflected ceiling plan | Ceiling levels, coves, lights and fans | Ceilings are modelled flat |
| Elevations of feature walls | Panels, niches, joinery and wardrobes | Walls are plain |
| Finish schedule | Material and colour for each surface | Materials are assumed from references |
| Furniture list | Style, scale and brand of each piece | Generic furniture is used |
| Lighting layout | Fixtures and the mood of light | Light is set to a neutral default |
| Mood images | Atmosphere, colour and styling | The studio makes its own call on style |
| Camera views | What is shown and from where | The studio proposes views for approval |
The furnished plan and the ceiling plan
Interiors are judged by what a person sees at eye level, so the furnished plan matters more than the empty one. It shows where the sofa, the bed, the dining table and the wardrobes go, and how a person would walk around them. If the layout is not final, say which parts are fixed and which are open.
The reflected ceiling plan is the drawing most often forgotten. It shows ceiling heights, drops, coves, lights and fans as if looking up. In a render, the ceiling is often a quarter of the frame, so a flat ceiling in a room that was designed with a cove looks unfinished.
The finish schedule: what to list for each room
A finish schedule for an interior should be longer than the one for a facade, because the camera is closer. For each room, name a finish for every surface in view.
- Floor: material, pattern, colour and skirting
- Walls: paint colour, panelling, wallpaper, tiles or stone
- Ceiling: paint, false ceiling, cove and lighting position
- Joinery: wardrobes, kitchen cabinets, vanity and TV units, with material and handle style
- Counters: material and edge profile
- Doors and windows: frame colour, glass type, hardware
- Bathroom: tiles, fittings, mirror, glass partitions
- Soft furnishings: curtains, rugs, upholstery and cushions
Furniture and styling references
A furniture reference is worth sending when it tells the studio something a plan cannot: the style of a sofa, the finish of a dining table, the height of a stool. Supplier models or catalogue photographs give the studio exact shapes and proportions to model from. A brand name alone is rarely enough.
Keep the references organised by room. A set of fifty images in one folder asks the studio to guess which belongs where. Label each image with what you like about it: the shape, the colour, the material or the mood.
Lighting: the part that changes how a room feels
Lighting is what turns a modelled room into a believable image. A lighting layout tells the studio where fixtures sit and what kind they are, and a short note tells it the mood: bright and airy, warm and evening, or crisp and clinical. Without it, the studio chooses a neutral daylight setup.
| Lighting choice | What it does | When to ask for it |
|---|---|---|
| Daylight | Natural, balanced and clear | Residential rooms and offices shown in daytime |
| Evening with lights on | Warm and inviting | Living rooms, bedrooms and hospitality |
| Dusk view through windows | Mixes interior glow with a blue sky | Hero images and brochures |
| Spot-lit retail | Draws attention to displays | Showrooms and boutiques |
| Layered ambient lighting | Shows coves, accents and decorative fixtures | Hotels, lounges and restaurants |
Camera views: how many and from where
Choose camera views to answer the buyer’s or client’s question. A living room is judged from the entrance looking in, or from a corner showing the full width. A bedroom is judged from the door. A kitchen is judged from the point that shows the layout. Aim for one to two views per key room, planned around use, and let the studio propose positions at the camera stage for approval.
- Wide view from a corner to show the full room
- Eye-level view from the entrance to show how the room opens up
- A close view of a signature feature such as a wardrobe, a vanity or a feature wall
- A view with the window in frame, if the outlook is a selling point
- A detail shot only if it is part of the brief
Tell the studio where the images will be used
Use shapes the render, and the size must be known before the camera is placed. A brochure spread, a website banner and a pitch deck slide all want different crops and resolutions.
| Use | What to tell the studio |
|---|---|
| Brochure | Page size, cover or inside, text space |
| Website | Aspect ratio and maximum file size |
| Client presentation | Slide ratio and whether images sit beside plans |
| Physical size and viewing distance | |
| Social | Aspect ratios per platform |
What happens if something is missing
Missing finishes or furniture are assumed and shown at the white-model or first colour stage for your approval. Assumptions are fine early; they become expensive if they change after colour renders.
That is why a short note on what is open is as useful as a long list of what is fixed. “The sofa colour is open” is a sentence that saves a revision round.
A worked example: a brief for a two-bedroom home
Take an illustrative two-bedroom apartment (a made-up shape, not a real client). The brief folder holds a furnished plan, a reflected ceiling plan, elevations for the living room feature wall and the main wardrobe, a finish schedule by room and a furniture list with catalogue pictures.
It lists five views: living and dining from the entrance, kitchen from the door, master bedroom from the door, a bathroom and the balcony. It states that the images go into a brochure and onto a website. The living room feature wall has a note: panel finish is open, two options to be shown for choice.
With this folder the studio can propose cameras, build a white model, and move to colour with few assumptions. The open question about the panel is flagged, not buried.
Edge cases: when the brief looks different
- Show flats. The brief should include the exact furniture package that will be installed, so the render matches the physical flat
- Commercial interiors. Add branding, signage and colour rules, and say how many people should appear
- A design still in concept. Send mood images and a layout, and agree that the render is a design proposal and not a record
- Several finish options. Say how many options to show, and for which rooms
- Hospitality interiors. Lighting and styling carry more weight, so add reference images for mood
- An interior designer working for a client. Say who approves each stage, to keep feedback to one set of notes
Room by room: what to specify
Each room has its own points of failure. This table lists what a brief should settle in the rooms that appear most often in marketing and client presentations.
| Room | Settle in the brief | Common gap |
|---|---|---|
| Living and dining | Sofa layout, TV wall, dining set, curtains, floor finish | Wall finishes and the curtain style are left open |
| Kitchen | Layout, cabinet finish, counter, backsplash, appliances | Appliances and handles are not specified |
| Master bedroom | Bed, headboard wall, wardrobe, bedside units | Wardrobe finish and interior are missing |
| Other bedrooms | Bed, study table and wardrobe | Furniture is assumed to be the same as the master |
| Bathroom | Tiles, fittings, vanity, glass partition | Fittings and tile layout are left to the studio |
| Balcony | Railing, flooring, furniture and the view | The outlook is generic |
Gaps that cause rework, and the question that closes each
Most rework starts with a question nobody asked in the first week. These are the usual ones.
- Which finishes are final and which are still being chosen?
- Is the furniture layout fixed, or will it change after client review?
- What time of day and lighting mood should each image show?
- Are there pieces of furniture or art that must appear in a particular spot?
- Does the image need space for text, a logo or a caption?
- Who approves each stage, and how are comments collected?
How to review the first interior render
The first colour render is the point where most feedback arrives. Review it against the brief, not against a general impression, so the feedback is specific.
- 01Check the layout against the furnished plan before looking at finishes
- 02Check the finishes against the schedule, surface by surface
- 03Check the furniture against the references
- 04Look at the light: is the mood the one you briefed?
- 05Collect everyone’s notes into one document and send them once
Use this checklist as a download
The same checklist is part of the rendering brief checklist on the homepage, where you can run through it before you contact a studio.
How 360 Space approaches it
We review every interior brief against this list and flag gaps before modelling. The studio builds one 3D model from your CAD, BIM, SketchUp or PDF drawings, proposes camera views for your approval, and moves through a white model, colour renders and revisions with your sign-off at each stage. Two revision rounds are included, each on consolidated feedback. An NDA is signed before drawings are shared, and images are delivered in 4K, print and web formats.
See 3D interior visualization, or read how interior rendering differs from design in interior rendering vs interior design. When your pack is ready, send it with the view list.