One of my projects in 2015 was designing a space station. Not for NASA or any other agency–I’ve been world-building for the sf novel I’m writing. 

And in the course of gazing into the future through the collective wisdom of the Internet and entertainment media, I’ve discovered some odd things about the places we apparently think we will live, in the future. 


1. They will be either blindingly white, or very dark. And either way, they’ll be cold. 
It appears that in the future very few of us will live in normal lighting. If we are very wealthy or on a spaceship, our homes are likely to be all white. 

From Prometheus 2, via Flavorwire. As if it wasn’t cold enough, they added a snow scene in the background!
Curves that make impractical use of space, and blinding white: from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, again via Flavorwire.

If we are poor and live on the wretched Earth, or on a different kind of spaceship, our homes will be dark and tiny. 

The dark side of the decor: Deckard’s apartment from Blade Runner, via Bladezone.
Murky lighting, odd color schemes, and hard furniture: how relaxing can you get? From Star Trek: Insurrection, via the Memory-Alpha Wiki.

2. There will be inexplicable things on the walls. 
It appears we will not care about the dust collected by 3D wall textures. We also won’t have paintings (as an artist, this bums me out) or photos of loved ones on display, because there won’t be room for them.

More of Deckard’s apartment from Blade Runner, via Bladezone. What is up with the funky wallpaper?
House Atreides Frigate from Dune, via Flavorwire. Is that a robot-face at far R?

3. Doors and other architectural features will be odd shapes.
In addition to the examples above, consider the practicality of the following:

From Battlestar Galactica, via Flavorwire: triangular doors? Really?
Another view from Prometheus, via Ben Procter. Octagonal doors and rooms: Sure. We all love living in places where the walls aren’t square to each other.

4. All the seating will be uncomfortable.
Couches and chairs will have no arms, there will be no throw pillows or afghans, and there also will be no recliners, no chintz, and absolutely no lovingly-restored antiques.

Even the actors at R look uncomfortable (from 2001: A Space Odyssey, via Flavorwire).
Harsh lighting, a knee-bumper table and an oddly retro rolly-chair combine to make this one of the least comfortable-looking offices I can imagine. Plus, his back is to all the action (or potential snipers) outside that massive window. An Elysium concept, via Moviefone.

It also apparently won’t matter how many hundreds of years we are from now: the Future Design Ghods have decreed that once these design principles have gone into effect, we will henceforth always have to live in cold, dark, cold bright-white, or oddly-shaped interiors, with illogical openings and uncomfortable furniture. 

Here’s to the future! Happy New Year! 

IMAGES: Many thanks (as attributed above) to Flavorwire, as well as Bladezone, the Memory-Alpha Wiki, Ben Procter, and Moviefone.