5 of the Best Online Interior Design Services

15 Comments

1. Anyone have experience with a gym like Equinox? I want to motivate myself to work out and think it would be fun to attend the classes. Not sure if it would be worth the cost though or if some of the perks would wind up being gimmicky.

   1. I belonged to a (much smaller than Equinox) private gym before it went out of business in the pandemic, and I loved it for the small classes and personal attention. I still have close friends I made there. It would have been even better if there had been, say, a sauna or hot tub or whatever.

      If you can do a month-to-month membership or a trial period, give it a try!

2. I’d love to know if anyone has any recommendations specific to a historic home or someone generally not looking to keep up with contemporary trends.

   1. If you Reddit the century homes and old houses subreddits are great. Otherwise there is a huge restoration community on Instagram. Personally a big fan of Daniel Kanter and the craftsman blog. Just be warned those communities (rightfully IMO) are generally against things like LVT or other poor quality plastic renovation.

      1. Old home Instagram is pretty connected. Check out renovation husbands, old town home, the grit and polish, Wilfred house for more ideas. Daniel Kanter is my favorite – just chaos all the time in the best way.

3. I looked at using HomePolish a while ago but I guess it closed. I wound up using curio design and really liked their work!

4. I would love to read a first hand independent account of Modsy and Havenly. etc., with before and after pictures. Like, I could use help making my living room/dining area feel a bit more put together but can’t tell if it’s worth the bother for something like this. Kat/Kate – this would be a great feature vs. “here’s a service, maybe try it.”

   Alternatively I’d love to find a reasonably priced “regular person” decorator in NYC.

   1. I used Modsy for my living room! I thought their rendering of the room was excellent and the 3D design was great since I’m bad at visualizing how things will look in my actual house. You also have the ability to edit yourself after you receive the design, so that’s cool.

      As far as the design itself, however, I found it to be pretty generic and not my taste, despite sending lots of inspiration images and very detailed notes. Their design was a little sparse too– I have a very large living room and the layout they provided was just one seating area and then nothing on the outer edges of the room. I also asked specifically for lighting suggestions because there’s currently no overhead light and I struggle to light it adequately with floor lamps. Their design had two table lamps, one of which was directly in front of the TV (?????) and that was it.

      For context, some of the inspiration I provided was Eva Chen’s country house, kind of a modern farmhouse/hudson valley chic/antiques mixed with new things type of look – https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/inside-sartorial-sensation-eva-chens-charming-connecticut-abode

      What I got back was very blah IMO – https://ibb.co/XXCkRbh

      They do allow infinite edits, but after two rounds of feedback I gave up.

      1. Thanks! This is very helpful and kind of what I was afraid off.

      2. This was exactly my experience

   2. I used Havenly for my bedroom and it was a great experience! Other than my daughter’s room, I had never done any intentional design really – it was use what you have, get what you need, often second hand, and paint the walls a fun color. This is a much more adult seeming space. It is a little generic, and I made some changes from the design given (found a great comfy chair and a half at Costco, so used that instead of the delicate fancy chair), but it really helped me stop overthinking every little step and just get it done. If you go in circles obsessively hunting each piece and then get overwhelmed, this really helps narrow the field.

      1. I agree. I used Havenly for my bedroom, and I knew what I wanted the layout to be but needed some furniture with very specific dimensions (i.e., a dresser that would fit exactly in a nook) and wanted everything to look cohesive. I also wanted a paint color that wouldn’t clash with my art. I had to go a few extra rounds with my designer to end up with something I liked, but I’m really happy with the service and have recommended it to several friends. There are just way too many options for everything out there–the Havenly designer picks 3 or 4 dressers/chairs/rugs/lamps/whatever, and if you like one you can pick it, and if not you can tell the designer why you don’t like it and ask them to try again. I ended up getting two lights, a night stand, a dresser, and a plant, and I’m really happy with all of it. The lamps are black with bronze accents, and I never would have thought of that combo but it looks amazing with the rest of my stuff. The prices are not marked up to allow for the commission the designer gets, they’re the same prices as on the normal websites but some of the specific models are unique to Havenly. It’s a standard set of shops: Home Depot, Pottery Barn/West Elm, Wayfair, and a few others, so if you’re looking for high end, completely unique furniture this is not the service for you.

5. I used Modsy for our oddly shaped finished basement and had a great experience with it. You measure and send photos, including of furniture you already have and want to use, and then do some automated “mood board” type things. We only ended up buying two of the things they recommended (and then, for example, bought a Room and Board couch similar to the cb2 one they suggested, etc.), but the suggested layouts and how to make the most of a kind of weird space were really valuable.

6. I used Havenly for my bedroom and it was a great experience! Other than my daughter’s room, I had never done any intentional design really – it was use what you have, get what you need, often second hand, and paint the walls a fun color. This is a much more adult seeming space. It is a little generic, and I made some changes from the design given (found a great comfy chair and a half at Costco, so used that instead of the delicate fancy chair), but it really helped me stop overthinking every little step and just get it done. If you go in circles obsessively hunting each piece and then get overwhelmed, this really helps narrow the field.

7. I was abo it to hire Maria Killam based on recs from here … then she went in an epic rant in support of the Canadian truckers. . .

   I switched and got comparable help from Kylie M interiors instead.

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