What to Expect from a Havenly Design Session: A Real Client Walkthrough
If you've never worked with an online designer before, it can be hard to know what you're actually signing up for. Here's a step-by-step walkthrough of what a Havenly session actually looks like—from the style quiz to the finished design.
Before You Start: The Style Quiz
Every Havenly session begins with the style quiz. It takes about 10 minutes and it's more useful than it might sound.
The quiz asks you about your aesthetic preferences (through visual choices, not abstract questions), how you use the space, what you want the room to feel like, and your general budget range. The answers do two things: they match you with a designer whose portfolio aligns with your aesthetic, and they give that designer a meaningful brief before they've even spoken to you.
Take it seriously. The more honest and specific you are, the better your matched designer will be. If you're a messy person who needs storage solutions, say so. If you have a 90-pound dog and a white sofa is never happening, say so.
Getting Matched with Your Designer
After the quiz, you'll see a selection of designers matched to your style profile. Each has a portfolio you can browse. Take a few minutes with this—someone whose work makes you say 'I want to live in every one of these rooms' is a better match than someone whose portfolio is technically polished but doesn't excite you.
Once you've booked with a designer, you can leave a message in the project chat before the official start date to share an extra inspiration image or flag any early questions.
Submitting Your Room Profile
Once you've selected your designer, you'll submit your room profile—the detailed brief your designer uses to create your design. This includes:
- Photos of your current space (every wall, from each corner, plus the view from the doorway)
- Room dimensions (length, width, ceiling height, doorways, windows, any fixed features)
- A list of existing furniture you're keeping, with dimensions
- Your furniture budget (separate from the design fee)
- Any specific requirements or constraints—rental restrictions, kids, pets, accessibility needs
- Inspiration images if you have them
The quality of this submission directly affects the quality of your design. A designer working with accurate measurements and clear photos will give you a better result than one working with approximations and dark photos. This is the fifteen minutes of preparation that pays off.
The Design Process
Once your room profile is submitted, clients on the Full Design Package can schedule a kick-off Zoom call with their designer, then use project chat throughout the process for questions, feedback, and additional inspiration.
Then, your designer gets to work. Havenly's designers are vetted professionals who've worked on hundreds of real rooms. They're not filling in a template—they're creating a design concept specific to your space, your style, and your constraints.
You'll be able to message your designer throughout this process with questions or additional thoughts. Most clients use this for small clarifications ('the sofa in my photo is actually more beige than gray') or to share one more inspiration they found.
Getting Your Design Back
You'll receive a design concept that typically includes:
- A design board, including 3D renders, showing all the pieces pulled together—furniture, rugs, lighting, accessories, often art and plants
- A floor plan showing how the furniture should be arranged in your specific room
- A personalized shopping list with direct links to every item, organized by category
- Designer notes explaining the concept and the reasoning behind key choices
Read the designer notes. They're not fluff—they explain why specific pieces were chosen and how they work together. Understanding the reasoning helps you give better feedback and makes you better at evaluating whether the concept is working.
Revisions
This is where the design gets personal. Your first concept is a starting point, not a final answer.
Give specific feedback: 'the sofa is great but the rug feels too small for the room,' 'I love the direction but the color palette feels a bit cool for the warm light we get in the afternoon,' 'is there a version of the coffee table that would work if we have kids crawling around it?' Your designer will adjust.
Multiple revision rounds are included in your package. Use them. The best designs come from back-and-forth, not from accepting the first concept because it feels rude to ask for changes.
Shopping and Implementation
Once you're happy with the design, you purchase items through your personalized shopping list. Havenly's marketplace covers hundreds of brands, and the ordering team is available to help with tracking, questions, or issues.
A few practical notes:
- Buy the foundation pieces first—sofa, rug, main light fixture—and let the room start to take shape before filling in accessories
- If a specific item is out of stock, message your designer; they can usually suggest a comparable alternative
- Havenly offers financing through Affirm if you need to spread larger purchases over time
- The Happiness Guarantee means if something isn't right, the team will work to fix it
What Clients Say
The consistent theme across Havenly reviews isn't just 'I got a beautiful design.' It's 'I finally understand my space' and 'I can't believe I waited this long.' The value isn't the design alone—it's the clarity that comes from working with someone who's done this hundreds of times and knows exactly what your room needs.