How to create a Python tool for simulating and visualizing interior design projects?

Here's an outline on how to create a Python tool for simulating and visualizing interior design projects. This will not be an exhaustive tutorial, however this should give you an idea on where to start. We will use Plotly which is a python graphing library.

Install the Essential Libraries

First, you need to install all essential Python packages and libraries. You can do it as given below.

pip install plotly
pip install numpy

These are powerful libraries that we will use for visualizing and simulating interior design projects.

Creating the Basics of the Tool

In the first step, we should define all the needed functions. Here, we are creating a simple rectangular room.

    import numpy as np
    import plotly.graph_objects as go

    def create_room(width, length, height):
        room_corners = np.array([[0, 0, 0], [width, 0, 0], 
                                 [width, length, 0], [0, length, 0], 
                                 [0, 0, height], [width, 0, height], 
                                 [width, length, height], [0, length, height]])
        room_edges = np.array([[0, 1], [1, 2], [2, 3], [3, 0], 
                               [4, 5], [5, 6], [6, 7], [7, 4], 
                               [0, 4], [1, 5], [2, 6], [3, 7]])
        return room_corners, room_edges

This function creates a simple rectangular room divided into coordinates and edges.

Adding the Furniture

Assuming that the furniture is also a rectangle, the next step is to create a function for furniture.

    def create_furniture(base_corner, width, length, height):
        furniture_corners = np.array([[base_corner[0], base_corner[1], base_corner[2]], 
                                      [base_corner[0] + width, base_corner[1], base_corner[2]], 
                                      [base_corner[0] + width, base_corner[1] + length, base_corner[2]], 
                                      [base_corner[0], base_corner[1] + length, base_corner[2]], 
                                      [base_corner[0], base_corner[1], base_corner[2] + height], 
                                      [base_corner[0] + width, base_corner[1], base_corner[2] + height], 
                                      [base_corner[0] + width, base_corner[1] + length, base_corner[2] + height], 
                                      [base_corner[0], base_corner[1] + length, base_corner[2] + height]])
        furniture_edges = np.array([[0, 1], [1, 2], [2, 3], [3, 0], 
                                    [4, 5], [5, 6], [6, 7], [7, 4], 
                                    [0, 4], [1, 5], [2, 6], [3, 7]])
        return furniture_corners, furniture_edges

This function is similar to the above one but this time, we are creating a piece of furniture.

Putting It All Together

Now you can write simple scripts that call the above functions to create the room and furniture.

    #Create Room
    room_corners, room_edges = create_room(10, 10, 10)

    #Create Furniture
    furniture_corners, furniture_edges = create_furniture([2, 2, 0], 3, 3, 4)

    #Create Figure
    fig = go.Figure()

    #Add Room
    for edge in room_edges:
        fig.add_trace(go.Scatter3d(x=[room_corners[edge[0], 0], room_corners[edge[1], 0]],
                                   y=[room_corners[edge[0], 1], room_corners[edge[1], 1]],
                                   z=[room_corners[edge[0], 2], room_corners[edge[1], 2]],
                                   mode='lines',
                                   line=dict(color='blue'),
                                   showlegend=False))
    
    #Add Furniture
    for edge in furniture_edges:
        fig.add_trace(go.Scatter3d(x=[furniture_corners[edge[0], 0], furniture_corners[edge[1], 0]],
                                   y=[furniture_corners[edge[0], 1], furniture_corners[edge[1], 1]],
                                   z=[furniture_corners[edge[0], 2], furniture_corners[edge[1], 2]],
                                   mode='lines',
                                   line=dict(color='red'),
                                   showlegend=False))

    #Show figure
    fig.show() 

This script creates and visualizes a 10x10x10 room with a 3x3x4 furniture in it.

Please note that this is a very basic tool. For a professional tool, you'll want features such as GUI for designing, the ability to use various furniture models, import from model libraries, texture and color selection etc. Developing such a tool would take a significant amount of time and expertise in 3D modeling.