Crate and Barrel introduces 3-D room-designing tool in stores

Northbrook-based Crate and Barrel has launched its 3D Room Designer, a furniture and design tool that converts a customer-supplied digital photo of a room into a 3D room model. Developed in partnership with NedSense, the new application will be available at Crate and Barrel home stores beginning Wednesday, June 27, with a consumer web and an iPad version coming soon.

The Crate and Barrel 3D Room Designer — winner of the Moxie Award for Best Corporate Digital Innovation — allows customers to transform their space using 3D models of Crate and Barrel merchandise, trying out different products, materials and colors, pairing them with current furnishings, and ensuring that the products will work for them and their space prior to purchase.

“At Crate and Barrel we continue to invest in the latest technical tools that enhance the overall shopping experience. Through the 3D Room Designer our customers can discover and explore the many decoration solutions Crate and Barrel offers for their home,” said John Seebeck, Crate and Barrel VP of eCommerce.

Customers can bring in or email their room photos to the store and with only two measurements — height of the room and the width of an object on the wall. The 3D Room Designer then transforms the image into a 3-D environment.

More than 2,000 Crate and Barrel products are incorporated into the 3D Room Designer, including items from the current furniture collections and key furniture accessories, viewable in all materials and fabrics available.

The 3D Room Designer will be incorporated into the Crate and Barrel website in the fall and added to its iPad version in early 2013.