How to Decorate a Room Without Hiring an Interior Designer

Whether you've moved into an entirely new space or have decided it's time for a spring clean, decorating your home can feel like a lofty task. If you're not ready to go it alone, you can always seek out the counsel of seasoned interior designers to help you create the space you've been dreaming of. However, the cost of an interior alone may be enough to deter you from beginning your project.

If you've done any research, you're probably familiar with the sky-high cost of employing an interior designer. It starts with a flat fee, then hourly rates, and additional purchases—all of this can quickly add up. According to HomeAdvisor, the national average for a design project in 2020 was upwards of $7000. Of course, this depends on your personal budget and tastes.

Nevertheless, if you don't have thousands of dollars to spare, there are a number of alternative options. First up, the apps. There truly is an app for everything these days, the interior design included. However, if you can't imagine styling your space with home decorating apps, there's another affordable way.

Enter Modsy, the interior design service that creates realistic 3-D renderings of any room and fills it with shoppable pieces of furniture and décor from brands. Think of it as trying on a sofa or wallpaper before taking the plunge. The service starts at just $159, making it a seriously affordable interior designer alternative. Keep reading to find out exactly how to use Modsy to create the home you've been dreaming without shelling out your life savings.

How It Works

Alessandra Wood, Modsy's Vice President of Style, explains that all it takes is a few simple steps to start using Modsy and finding the pieces that will work best in your home. First, you submit images and measurements of your space and indicate what you need. Then, you take Modsy's style quiz in order to provide more information about your project, layout, existing furniture, and budget.

Once you're done with these steps, Modsy designers create two custom-designed 3-D plans of your room for you to see. The plans all include completely shoppable products from familiar brands like CB2, West Elm, Pottery Barn, and other more under-the-radar retailers. You can even play around with the designs yourself by rearranging the layout and choosing new products as much as you need.

Who It's For

"Modsy is for both homeowners and apartment dwellers," according to Wood. They can accommodate all types of living situations, making the service accessible to most people. Additionally, low price points make it ideal for those looking to decorate on a budget. As Wood points out, traditional interior designers can charge anything from $50 to $200 an hour—which makes Modsy quite a bargain.

"Customers have access to their designs for life and can keep coming back to make changes," she adds. Plus, you'll also save on costly mistakes, like return shipping, and won't waste time fretting over products that look different in person than they did online, the style expert points out.

What It Does

"Modsy can help you do everything from properly style a small space, easily transition rooms from one purpose to another—like a breakfast nook to a nursery—and much, more more," according to Wood. You can get the same personal touch of an interior designer by working one-on-one with a Modsy stylist, but you also gain access to smart technology that makes experimenting with new designs easy to do on your own.

Additionally, the service recently launched a new package that even lets you work on two rooms (or more) at once with your Modsy Designer. Starting at $269, it's a cost-effective option for redecorating more of your space as a whole, as opposed to working room by room. 

Modsy also now offers a Live Swap feature that lets customers swap furniture in their 3-D model in a flash. "This groundbreaking tool allows customers to visualize and easily shop products all within an exact replica of their space, truly allowing customers to take control of their design process," Wood says.

Why It's Different

While there are many interior design apps and services available that make decorating with the help of a professional stylist affordable, Modsy stands out for a few reasons. It uses cutting-edge 3-D technology to help users truly visualize their space and avoid the pitfalls of underestimating scale while also offering a seamless retail experience. Of course, there's also helpful, personalized style advice and recommendations from Modsy stylists, allowing you to feel like you still have your own interior designer.

Still on the fence? Let us help you decide if you should work with an interior designer or not.