Interior design startup Modsy uses 3D models to let you see furniture in your space before you buy it - here's how it helped me make the most of my small apartment

Mara LeightonOct 4, 2019, 22:56 IST

Modsy is a service that makes 3D models of the rooms you want to decorate based on pictures you send and its basic dimensions.
The company's interior designers will create two versions of the room, decorated with furniture from popular home stores that you can actually buy through Modsy, and which match your tastes and budget specifically.
For as low as $49 (but typically $199), you'll get two draft designs of your space, plus two updates from your designer and communication with them via email.
For $129 (typically $299), you'll get more features, like one-on-one time with a designer via email or phone and unlimited rounds of updates to your two original drafts.
I've used Modsy for my last two apartments, and I recommend it to anyone who can comfortably afford the service. You can see what my bedroom redesign process was like with Modsy.

If you've ever bought a piece of furniture online and realized only after the setup that it either didn't fit the space physically or aesthetically, you can already name at least one time when you would have benefited from a service like Modsy.

Modsy is an online company that lets you upload photos and dimensions of any room and then creates a 3D model, complete with recommendations from an interior designer on how to fill it using furniture from popular home-decor and furniture stores. If you've already got a nightstand or bed frame, you can pay $15 and Modsy will make a 3D model of it as well, so you truly never have to wonder about what something will look like once put together. You also don't need to crawl around your house with a tape measurer.

The furniture the Modsy designers use is all chosen to fit your preferences. If you're not sure if you like "traditional" or "urban" design, as I wasn't, or if your style has changed over the years, as mine had, there's a quiz you can take to help identify what you like.

Once you get your designs, you can then buy anything from your model at a discount through Modsy, which matches the lowest advertised price on the day you place your order, including any applicable sales and promotions. So, you could save on top of sales at other retailers and potentially pay for the service itself with the discount.

There are four pricing options, with most shoppers probably deciding between the first three. The Luxe option will be the closest resemblance to traditionally hiring an interior designer for your home.

Modsy package options and pricing

Modsy

My experience with Modsy

I've used Modsy twice - once immediately after college, and again for the apartment I moved into immediately after that one. In my experience, the value is definitely worth the price. The 3D designs are extremely helpful and also allow me to be more creative with my space.

The first time I used Modsy, I was moving to a new place after college and wanted to take furniture shopping more seriously, but didn't have a natural gift for interior design. I could appreciate when things looked put-together, and I knew what I liked, but being on the other side of things is never easy, particularly with the visualization (which Modsy takes care of for me). Not being able to imagine all of the furniture, light fixtures, and rugs together also had me buying more basic furniture simply so that I would know it would go together. Modsy allowed me more freedom and creativity.

The second time around, it helped me find a way to blend my past taste (mid-century modern) and furniture with my new taste (eclectic). It also helped me become better at visualizing the possibilities elsewhere in my home, even without using Modsy again on those areas.

Modsy

In terms of price, I find the unlimited drafts with a designer help justify the higher price of the premium option. If you're indecisive, it's probably worth splurging. If you're only looking for a few tweaks, you can get by with the cheaper tier.

Even if you can't afford all the items Modsy uses to fill your space (although they do customize the selection to your budget), it's still a great way to get ideas from experts at an affordable price. I pay a lot in rent so that I can enjoy where I live, and I felt like Modsy was a valuable tool as an extension of that. ke the most out of my apartment and made sure I did so without wasting money on furniture I would later hate.

If you're moving and don't have the mind of an interior designer but want to love your space, I can't recommend the service highly enough.

Try Modsy, starting at $49

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what it's like to use Modsy.

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Getting started

To begin, head to the Modsy homepage and click "start your project" to begin the questionnaire.

Select which room they'll be creating a 3D model of for you.

And select what the reason for the redesign is.

If you're moving and looking to completely revamp your space, or just want to update your living room, Modsy will be able to help.

Describe how "finished" the space is.

For me, I worked with a room that had a few pieces I owned already in it. You can pay $15 and have the Modsy team make a 3D model of any item you own and want to be incorporated into your designs. As an alternative, Modsy can find a similar item to stand-in from their curated catalog.

Choose your service level.

You choose between the classic, premium, and luxe (most like the experience of hiring your own interior designer) — whichever best suits your needs.

Complete your profile.

You'll send in photos and crucial measurements of your design space, have the option to continue the design quiz and set budgets for items you really want to buy, and tell the Modsy team more about your vision for the space. If you have existing furniture to add, this is where you can add it.

Take the style quiz.

Take the style quiz and get a nuanced report of your personal style. If you don't agree with the results, you can retake the quiz.

List your budget.

You won't be getting a room filled with exorbitantly priced things you can never buy for yourself (unless you're purposefully going that route).

Get your designs.

Modsy designers took my room measurements and pictures and created a 3D rendering that they dropped personal recommendations into. They also included 3D renderings of furniture I already owned so I could visualize it in the space, like my The Inside bed frame, for $15 per addition.

You can find a curated shopping list of everything in the room to the immediate right, and you can search and swap in alternative products yourself, too.

Once you see the initial design, request adjustments.

If you don't love something in the design, request adjustments to be made. However, it'll take two to three days to get anything back.

Play around with your design.

I played around with the designs inside the Modsy 3D rendering tool, which you have access to, so I could swap in different products and recommend different layouts and items to my Modsy designer. This was also a good way to feel productive in the days I was waiting for my adjusted design to come back, and something my designer referred to later on.

Get the final result.

I requested a different furniture layout, and asked them to refer to the room I had done most of my personal adjustments in.

They also helped curb my worst design habits, and answered my questions regarding texture and colors so I could make better design decisions outside the platform. I also bought some of the furniture suggested by Modsy, and I actually saved money on shipping by buying through the site. They also alerted me to sales prices on items in my designs, which saved me money, too.

All in all, my designer helped me make the most out of my space and was helpful throughout the process. She offered up recommendations that helped utility look fashionable, provided stand-in products for things like gallery walls that I wanted to configure, and Modsy itself helped me be more imaginative and excited about the purchases I was going to make.

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