In the case of integrating Augmented Reality (AR) technology, heritage values appropriate for the educational process in furniture design were investigated. This research intends to investigate how such AR overlays assist students in translating culturally appropriate design adaptations of traditional furniture features, namely proportion systems, carving motifs and construction detailing inherently pertaining to the heritage context. Within the presentation of Malaysian heritage furniture traditions, the research then interrogates whether AR is helping to increase the fidelity of design translation between cultural contexts and at a particular local stage or studio of practice. Using the qualitative multiple-case study method, this research is based on formal semi-structured interviews with interior architecture and furniture design students designing AR-assisted heritage reinterpreted projects; studio lecturers supervising the design development process of such projects; and both heritage craft practitioners or culture experts familiar with traditional furniture typologies. The findings were triangulated by collecting further data from design artefact analysis, studio observations and reflective journals. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes associated with spatial thinking, proportional reasoning and abstraction and culture. Research findings show that AR overlays provide significant assistance in helping students know the concepts of scale, proportion and pattern placement and errors in translation when they adapt designs were lower. Furthermore, AR-based visualization urges an intensive contemplation of symbolic meanings along with material logic of creation in relation to cultural knowledge during the modern interpretative process. It contributes to a curriculum in furniture and interior design education as it advocates an AR-Mediated Studio model compromise between facilitating technological advancement while preserving heritage. It also provides implications for educators who are trying to raise culture-sensitive and digitally-capable designers in a rapidly changing design education landscape.