Interior Designer Tries and Reviews Havenly: See The Results
As a designer who primarily works online with her clientele, I’m very aware of my competition — platforms like Havenly and Decorilla. I’ve shared my thoughts on these services before (read here if you’d like the scoop). However, to truly give a fair evaluation of these online interior design platforms, I felt it was only right to actually test one out myself.
Now, I’ll admit, this felt like a bit of a sneaky endeavour — and writing a blog about it feels even sneakier. But what I really wanted to do was compare the results I received from Havenly to my own design approach and abilities. 👋🏼Hi, if you are new here, I am Dee, the person behind Spaces by Dee.
So, I went ahead and tested Havenly’s online interior design platform with a living room project. Keep reading to hear about my experience — and to see how their results stack up against those of an independent interior designer (me). Keep reading, It’s going to get juicy.
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Havenly Case Study – Organic Modern Living Room
For this experiment, I decided to use one of my client’s living rooms as a case study. As you’ll see, this space could definitely use some updates. Here’s the “before” picture:
It’s a room with a lot of potential, but the fireplace isn’t quite hitting the mark. For this redesign, I noted that the fireplace would be updated with a white stucco finish to help set the tone for an organic modern feel.
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So, this is the foundation we’re starting with. I’ll also share a photo of the room layout. Keep in mind — this is just a hand-drawn, amateur sketch. I intentionally kept it simple because I wanted to give Havenly the kind of information the average person might provide, nothing overly polished or professional.
Anyhow, here’s the layout:
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Starting My Design Experience With Havenly
I hopped onto Havenly and started my online interior design experience on September 8, 2025. The process of requesting a project was straightforward: the platform asked which room I wanted to decorate, what style I preferred, my budget, photos, and dimensions. Then — boom — the platform matched me with a remote designer.
Project Specs
- Budget: $10,000–$12,000
- Objective: Create a cozy living room for enjoying the fireplace and entertaining guests.
- Style: Organic modern with high contrast and bold pops of colour. A photo of inspiration below.
I went ahead with the first designer the platform recommended, paid the $99 fee, and the project initiation was complete. The only drawback? My assigned designer wasn’t scheduled to start until September 16, 2025. That meant waiting eight days just to get things underway. Which, I felt, was kind of a setback.
Comparing Havenly to an Independent Interior Designer
Waiting eight days for my Havenly designer to deliver the first concept boards felt like a long time — it dulled some of the excitement of working on an interior design project. Now, to be fair, eight days is not unreasonable. However, when I compare this to what independent interior designers (like myself) offer — same-day consultations and much quicker turnaround times — it highlights a key difference.
What this indicates to me is that Havenly designers are likely very busy. Considering the low prices on the platform, there’s naturally high demand, which means the designers are juggling multiple projects at once.
The downside, however, is that when a designer is too busy, delivery times increase. This can be a particular issue for online interior design, where speed is often a major selling point. Additionally, creativity can be affected: when designers are racing against deadlines, the focus shifts from thoughtfully creating the best results to simply meeting the timeline. This can diminish the overall quality of the design.
Anyway, let’s move onto discussing the next steps in the online design process.
Havenly’s Concept Boards
Eight days after project initiation, my designer delivered three concept boards. The objective of these boards was to select the one that best reflected the style I wanted to achieve. As mentioned, the desired style for this living room was organic modern with high contrast and bold pops.
Here are the three design boards that were delivered to me:
My critique is as follows: the first two boards, titled “Earth Minimalist” and “Warm Transitional,” were pretty aligned with the organic modern direction.
The last board, titled “Cozy Cottage Vibes,” felt completely out of left field — I honestly have no idea why this style was proposed.
I provided my designer with feedback and then awaited the next deliverables, which included the refined concepts and a floor plan.
An Independent Interior Designer’s Concept Boards
For the sake of comparison, I’m sharing what my approach for this space would look like. I created two concept boards that I believe closely align with the desired style.
When I design, I prefer to refine options thoughtfully rather than create multiple options just for the sake of it. If needed, I iterate further on these refined concepts. Here’s what I came up with:
I’ll let you be the judge of who delivered the better concept boards. That said, design is subjective — some people may prefer what Havenly delivered, while others may resonate more with Spaces by Dee’s approach.
Havenly’s Design Concept and Floor Plan
On September 18th — 10 days after project initiation, and after I provided my online interior designer with feedback — I was presented with a floor plan and design concept, which I’ll share below.
As a designer, here’s my critique: the overall concept is visually pleasing, and it’s undeniably a nice-looking space. However, there are some functional issues I noticed — for instance, the recommended sectional would partially block the window. The coffee table also feels off-scale; it appears too small for the space. Additionally, the sideboard placement in the corner seems awkward and doesn’t quite serve a clear purpose.
At this stage, it wasn’t clear exactly which sectional the designer had in mind (this was just a conceptual suggestion). It could be a lower-back or chaise-style sectional, in which case the layout might work. Personally, though, I wouldn’t furnish the space this way.
For the purpose of this case study, I went along with it — I didn’t want to blow my cover as an interior designer by giving too many critiques.🫣
How an Independent Interior Designer Would Plan the Space
To continue this comparison, I’ll show you how I would space plan this living room and how I would present a conceptual design/mood board to my client.
And the layout…
As you can see, I’d choose furnishings that feel more unique and tailored to the space. I wouldn’t place any furniture that blocks the window. Instead, I’d create additional seating with accent chairs.
Overall, my approach to this space is a bit bolder and has more personality — if I do say so myself.
Havenly’s 3D Visualization
Now that we’ve gone through the concept, mood board, and floor plan, the final piece to review is the 3D visualization.
Below, I’ll share the final room rendering that Havenly delivered to me.
In terms of quality, the rendering is quite strong — it’s a clean output, looks professional, and gives a solid sense of the space.
But what about the overall design? I’ll share my full thoughts after showing you Spaces by Dee’s 3D visualization for comparison.
Spaces by Dee’s 3D Visualization
Here’s the 3D visualization I created.
Now, I will let you be the judge on which online interior design platform delivered a better visualization and design.
When it comes to design, the budget dictates a lot — so, let’s talk numbers.
Design Budget Comparison
Havenly’s Budget
Havenly sources items directly for you to purchase (as do most independent online interior designers). The total cost of the main items came to around $8,000 — and this does not include decorative pieces, installation, or other extras.
So, overall, it landed right on budget for what they offer.
Spaces by Dee’s Budget
My design came in a little under budget — approximately $5,000 for the main items. I intentionally kept it lower to account for additional elements I recommended (like custom shelving, decor, etc.).
So, in terms of value, Spaces by Dee offered the more affordable option.
An Interior Designer’s Final Thoughts on Havenly’s Design
What are my overall thoughts on Havenly’s design and process? Let me break it down:
Design & Functionality Critiques
- First off, I would not have placed a sectional in a way that blocks the window. That stood out immediately.
What’s particularly odd is that I didn’t provide the window height, so I’m not sure why the designer didn’t verify that info — or simply avoid blocking the window altogether. - I also never suggested a TV for this space — in fact, I specifically said it wasn’t going to be an element here.
And placing a TV on a freshly refinished fireplace feature? Definitely also a no for me. - The console table placed to the left of the window also doesn’t work — it feels awkward and doesn’t serve a clear functional purpose.
- And finally, the coffee table is too small for the scale of the seating area.
Rating for functionality/design layout: 5/10
Style Critique
- Style-wise, it’s not bad, but it feels very cookie-cutter. There’s nothing especially unique or notable about the design — it’s just… nice.
- The style I requested (organic modern with bold accents) wasn’t really captured here.
Rating for style: 7/10
Havenly’s Service Critique
- My main critique here is the speed of the design process.
If you’ve been following this blog, you know it took over a week just for the designer to get started on my project. - Once things got going, the entire process from initiation to final delivery took about 15 days, which isn’t bad.
However, that initial delay felt like a lack of bandwidth on the designer’s part — they’re likely juggling too many clients at once.
Rating for service experience: 6.5/10
Overall Havenly Rating: 6/10
So, what’s my final verdict on Havenly?
Considering the design, service, and overall value — I’d rate my experience a 6 out of 10.
The process felt a bit impersonal, the layout choices weren’t optimized, and while the style was decent, it lacked the wow factor.
Am I being harsh as an interior designer? Maybe. But if you’ve read this far, I think you can tell I’m just being honest and transparent.
A Better Alternative to Havenly?
Trying out Havenly was definitely eye-opening for me.
There were some things I liked about their platform — and a few things I didn’t. But overall, it reinforced what I’ve always believed:
You get what you pay for.
So, if you’re shopping around for online interior design services, here’s my advice:
- Don’t get lost in Reddit forums.
- If you’re considering Havenly — proceed with discernment.
- And if you want to play around with AI-generated designs, that can be fun — but it won’t replace a real designer’s eye.
Instead, I’d suggest working with an independent online interior designer.
Here’s why:
- No frustrating design apps
- A personalized experience tailored to your project
- Affordable services from an actual human designer
- Support a small business
- Faster turnaround times
- Save yourself the stress and get it done right
So there you have it — an interior designer went undercover, hired Havenly, and spilled all the tea.
Let me know in the comments: Should I try out the Havenly app next?
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