Last year, when I moved into a new studio apartment, it was my chance to live out my DIY YouTube girl dream and design it however I wanted. But it turned out to be harder than I thought. Since I couldn’t afford a real designer, I decided to try out some AI-powered generative design apps I’d seen online.
When ChatGPT suddenly appeared, artificial intelligence-based design tools began to appear. They come in different styles, from platforms where you upload a photo and write prompts for artificial intelligence to overlay new images on top, to platforms that suggest new styles for you to try.
I decided to try out a few straightforward AI chatbots (ChatGPT and Gemini), IKEA’s retail-based AI assistant, and three design apps (Spacely AI, Decoratly, and RoomGPT). I uploaded a photo of my apartment to the platform and wrote two prompts for those who have a prompt box: “Give me a storage solution for this area” and “Transform this photo into a mid-century modern living room” .
Below is a brief summary of each individual’s performance.
ChatGPT and Gemini are (obviously) not designed specifically for design, so what I’d most expect is some suggestions, maybe an edit of a photo, with some information about the project it’s chosen.
I got some of what I hoped for. Both ChatGPT and Gemini gave me storage suggestions, and ChatGPT told me what materials to look for to maintain the mid-century modern style of the room. Neither chatbot was able to change my photos or generate my own living room design in the style I chose.
ChatGPT is free for a limited number of messages; otherwise, it’s $20 per month. Gemini is free, but a Google One membership for the premium version with improved AI models is $19.99.
IKEA created a customized version of ChatGPT last February so shoppers could ask questions about arranging their living spaces and get advice on style and furniture. I uploaded a photo of a corner of my living room that actually shows a cluttered pile of gym stuff, vinyl records, bookshelves, and general knick-knacks, and checked it out for suggestions.
To store my yoga mat (and a travel pillow that was mistaken for a yoga mat), Ikea’s chatbot suggested I buy a storage rack and other “decorative items.” (It also suggested I add a bookshelf, even though I already have one in the photo.)
As expected, after proposing a storage solution, IKEA wanted me to purchase its products, so I roughly measured the location and told it that I liked items that evoked a mid-century modern feel but in dark wood. It responded with photos of the items and told me where to find them. Still, it feels more like a search tool than a design app.
A better option might be IKEA’s non-ChatGPT-based mobile app, which uses augmented reality technology to help you imagine what your space would look like by overlaying its products in your home.
IKEA’s customized GPT is free in the OpenGPT store.
Spacely AI is one of the most recommended artificial intelligence-based design platforms on social media. After uploading a photo or selecting from a template, users can redesign the space, decorate the empty room, or edit the photo with written prompts.
I asked Spacely to reimagine my space in a mid-century modern design, using mostly wooden furniture. Spacely is more customizable than other platforms, allowing me to control how well its models follow my cues (e.g. preferred style, color palette, etc.). However, customization options are very limited in the free version; if you want to do more than try it out, you’ll need to opt for a paid plan.
Spacely had a basic idea of what I wanted, but the images it produced didn’t really do what I wanted. For example, I happened to upload a photo containing two plastic containers and a lemon, and the AI generator transformed the two objects into… decorations, I guess. Plastic containers become wooden tubes, lemons become either stones or rotten fruit. (Unfortunately, it’s still common for interesting things to happen in AI-generated images.)
Spacely AI Pro’s annual plan is $20.75 per month, or a monthly subscription is $39, which provides unlimited prompts, watermark-free photos, and high-resolution downloads.
Decoration can also transform a photo into a specific style. It’s very limited for free users; before I subscribed, I could only upload my photos and hit the quick redesign button to produce a generic design full of white and black furniture and zero characters.
When I upgraded to a Pro account, I was able to use Decoratly’s “Build Tips” feature and its image filters, which let you dictate what you want the app to do. Unlike other AI prompt generators I’ve tried, Decoratly didn’t let me write my own prompts. Instead, I had to choose from a set of prepared words to describe the style, color, material, and texture I wanted to see in the converted photo.
I chose words like “mid-century modern,” “dark,” “gray,” “wood,” “metal,” “sleek,” and “neutral” for my room. The new photos it creates feel closer to the real room, with a unique style, than the ones I’ve gotten with other apps, although some of its choices can be weird – like putting a certain kind of desk thing on it that changes into the cylinder of my electric fan. Also, it put my monstera plant in a tiny pot and it collapsed within five seconds.
Decoratly costs $12/month and offers unlimited designs and additional features. 24-hour ($3) and 7-day ($6) trials are available.
Of the dedicated AI design platforms I’ve tried, RoomGPT is the most disappointing.
I felt like the app did the bare minimum to redesign my space. It did change some items to fit the brief – adding a sofa to a room that didn’t have one, for example – but it also completely removed my TV and media console and never changed the room to fit the style I wanted.
RoomGPT operates on a credit system, where each render is a credit. The free version offers two free credits. After that, there are three payment levels based on the number of credits or room designs: $9 for 30 room designs; $19 for 100 designs; and $29 for 200 points.
waiting for better
In short, none of the AI apps I tried really helped me design my place. The most they did was show me the kinds of furniture that fit the vibe I was looking for, which I could do with a quick Google search anyway. None of them were able to figure out a new style for my space or truly reimagine my apartment. Like everything else, artificial intelligence is not really ready to design our living spaces.
