This study examines the effect of interior design elements on prospective occupants’ perceptions of amenity and efficiency in a residential space. Thirty-one prospective occupants participated in a survey using virtual reality environments that consist of various combinations of interior design elements. In this study, occupants’ perceptions were discussed in terms of affordance and satisfaction, and the relationship between them is interpreted statistically. The spatial factors affecting overall satisfaction at a detailed level were discussed. The causal relationship between the interior design elements and space were determined under the elaboration of perception processing. Multiple linear relationships between a limited number of spatial factors and virtually created space were analyzed. The perceived affordance of interior design elements was influenced by priming and concrete behaviors in a space. The materials, surfaces, and colors were weak contributors to clear perceptions about space. The occupants’ evaluative perception processing elaborations were not effectively activated in the assessment of spatial design adequacy (SDA) in terms of materials, surfaces, and colors in a space.

The best spatial design condition to satisfy the occupancy needs of amenity and efficiency is determined through analyzing the spatial design adequacy (SDA). In this study, the relationship between the space design elements and space on future occupants’ perception are analyzed. The thirty-three participants reported their self-evaluated SDA that describes the quality of eight alternative housing living rooms with different spatial factors. The occupants were guided through the perception processing elaboration in order for them to evaluate the actual perception in the real space. The findings demonstrated that the spatial size (e.g., width, depth, and height) is significantly correlated with the overall satisfaction of amenity. It is also found that the spatial shape (e.g., the width-to-depth ratio, the height-to-area ratio, and room shape) may significantly influence the overall satisfaction of efficiency. The findings also demonstrate that the causal relationship between the spatial factors and space is clearly present in the occupants’ perception, reflecting the time-sequential characteristics of the actual experience divided into amenity and efficiency. This result indicates that the correlation between the spatial factors and space of SDA under the occupants’ perception processing elaboration can be a useful guide to predict the occupancy satisfaction of amenity and efficiency in real spaces.