My Experience with Havenly : free, online design help from a professional

Raise your hand if you feel like you have zero decorating knowledge- yep, me too. I love my house and its current style, but if I'm being the least bit honest with myself- I'm not responsible for it. I am incredibly blessed to have ridiculously helpful family, who are incredibly skilled at decorating. Outside help is a must for me. I know what I like but I am terrible at implementing it, and finding products to match --- enter Havenly. Keep reading to see the awesome design ideas they suggested and how I plan on implementing to totally update my style!

Havenly is an online service that matches you up with a designer, who after reviewing a picture you submit sends you ideas for products and suggestions for improvements. When I was approached about posting for them, the first space I thought of was my bookcase. My bookshelf to me is kind of a big deal!  Even though there is a television and entertainment center in the same room, my eyes always gravitate towards my bookshelf- naturally : ) 

The process was super easy and convenient

I went to Havenly.com and clicked on "design quickie" - This opened a chat feature where I was able to easily upload a picture of my bookshelf, and answer a few quick questions about what I liked/ didn't like about my bookshelf currently.

I liked the open design of the bookshelf and I felt it fit well in the room. I loved that there was room under neath for my dog to sleep and toy basket for my son. But, I don't love that every time I look at it, it feels cluttered. I have a lot of books ( obv) and my natural inclination is to have them fill my shelves- but before the consult even began I felt like maybe that wasn't the best idea. It also, I felt, lacked character. It's just a bunch of books shoved on some shelves! Help!

Super convenient process - Of course my son woke up about twenty minutes after I uploaded my photo. The process of the decorator reaching out to you has an estimated wait of an hour, they are real people after all :) - thankfully, they have a texting option! So I popped in my digits, and headed out the door with my son. About four hours later, I got a text on my phone, and yay! It was Elyza with Havenly. I was able to text with her about my bookshelf while I cooked dinner. Are you kidding me?!

Smart, helpful suggestions - Elyza said exactly what I thought she would regarding the number of books on my shelves, and suggested that I cut the number of books by 30%. It was super helpful to have an idea of how many books specifically she thought needed to be removed. Elyza felt that cutting the number of books would make the shelves feel more curated and styled - which sounds great! After we chatted about that, she let me know that she had posted a list of items that might look good on my bookshelf for me to browse - fun! 

Here are some of my favorites

The suggestions were easy for me to find after logging back into Havenly. And they are there for me to go back and review or purchase whenever I want ( *cough* as soon as I get paid *cough* :)

My only frustration with the process was that many of the items she suggested weren't my style. For example, I said that I preferred that the items on the shelf not to be black or acrylics, but there were several black or acrylic items suggested as items to purchase. To be fair though, she did a pretty good job considering how little information I gave her! I really struggled with the questions at the beginning when Havenly assesses your current style. My tip would be to think about your style before starting the chat, and have pinned images and other suggestions to show your designer to help guide them.

Overall I was most impressed by just how easy the process was for me and I would absolutely so it again! Having a toddler, I seriously can not imagine getting him to sit while I spoke with a design professional in person, not to mention that that certainly would not be free! I love that the designer, Elyza, was able to text me so that I didn't have to wait around my computer for someone to respond, or email back and forth with a designer for several days. And I like that her ideas will be easy to implement,  and the products she suggested were reasonably priced.

Have you given Havenly a try? Let me know about your experience below! Thinking about trying Havenly? Why not! A quick chat with a design professional is free! Give it a try and let me know about your experience and new design plans!