Havenly or Spacejoy for first apartment design
If you’re designing your first apartment, Havenly is the better choice for most renters who want affordable, guided help without making the process complicated. Spacejoy is a stronger option if realistic 3D visualization is your top priority and you want to see furniture, colors, and layouts before buying. Your apartment size, budget, and need for designer interaction should decide the final pick.
Havenly vs. Spacejoy at a glance
| Factor | Havenly | Spacejoy |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | First-time renters who want straightforward guidance | Renters who want detailed 3D visualization |
| Starting design price | From $159 per room | From about $299 per room |
| Designer | Real designer | Real designer |
| 3D rendering | Included with current Full package | Included with packages |
| Shopping list | Yes | Yes |
| Revisions | Unlimited on current Full package | Package-dependent |
| Video collaboration | Included in current Full process | Available with higher packages |
| Paint recommendations | Yes | Yes |
| Window treatment guidance | Yes | Yes |
| Furniture shopping | Curated shopping list | Curated shopping list |
| In-person option | Available in eligible U.S. ZIP codes | Primarily online |
| Best fit for a first apartment | Excellent | Very good |
Pricing and package details can change, so check the current package before purchasing.
What matters most when designing your first apartment
Your first apartment is different from designing a permanent home. You may have a limited furniture budget, a smaller living room, rental restrictions, and furniture that needs to move with you later.
That makes layout, flexibility, and budget control more important than simply choosing the prettiest design.
A good first-apartment design service should help you answer questions such as:
- What size sofa actually fits?
- Should you buy a dining table or use a smaller drop-leaf table?
- Where should the TV go?
- How large should your rug be?
- Can you fit storage without making the apartment feel crowded?
- Which furniture pieces are worth spending more on?
- What can you take with you when you move?
- How can you make a rental feel personal without permanent changes?
Both services can help with these decisions, but they approach the experience somewhat differently.
Havenly: Better for a simple first-apartment experience
Havenly makes sense if you don’t have much design experience and want someone to help turn your ideas into an actual room plan.
Its Full package covers one space up to 400 square feet. The process includes designer collaboration, a design concept, revisions, a 3D rendering, and a shopping plan. The service also includes live video collaboration as part of the Full process.
That is useful for a first apartment because you don’t need to understand interior-design terminology before getting started.
You can explain something simple, such as:
“I want my living room to feel warm and modern, but I need a comfortable sofa and enough storage for a small apartment.”
Your designer can then translate that into furniture, layout, colors, and decor choices.
Why Havenly works well for first-time renters
The biggest advantage is simplicity.
You can start with a style quiz, share photos and measurements, discuss your preferences, and work with a designer on the room. The online process can move fairly quickly, although the actual timeline varies by project.
Its Full package also uses a flat per-room price rather than hourly billing. That makes it easier to separate your design budget from your furniture budget.
For someone furnishing an apartment for the first time, that can make planning less stressful.
Spacejoy: Better if you need to see the room before buying
Spacejoy’s biggest strength is visualization.
Its service emphasizes photorealistic 3D designs, and its packages include a shoppable product list. The typical design timeline can vary depending on the package and project.
This can be especially useful in a small apartment where a few inches can make a major difference.
Instead of wondering whether a sofa, coffee table, rug, and media console will work together, you can see the proposed room before purchasing the pieces.
Why Spacejoy can be valuable for small apartments
Small spaces are unforgiving.
A sofa that looks reasonably sized online can overwhelm a 10-by-12-foot living room. A coffee table can make walking paths uncomfortable. A large rug can consume more visual space than expected.
Spacejoy’s 3D approach gives you a clearer way to judge those relationships.
Its packages also vary in the amount of designer involvement, with higher tiers providing additional design concepts, consultations, revisions, and support.
Havenly vs. Spacejoy pricing for a first apartment
The design fee is only part of your apartment budget. You still need to pay for furniture, lighting, rugs, artwork, and other items.
Current published pricing makes Havenly the lower-cost starting point.
| Service | Starting point | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Havenly Full | $159/room | Lower-cost professional design |
| Havenly In-Person | $499 first room | More hands-on service where available |
| Spacejoy Delight | About $299/room | One-room design with 3D visualization |
| Spacejoy Bliss | About $399/room | More concepts and designer interaction |
| Spacejoy Euphoria | About $599/room | Higher-touch design experience |
Prices and promotions can change, so verify the current price before purchasing.
For a first apartment, the difference matters because you may be better off putting an extra $100–$300 toward a sofa, mattress, rug, or storage piece rather than spending it entirely on the design service.
Which service gives you better help with furniture?
Both services provide curated shopping recommendations, so neither requires you to spend hours searching for every item yourself.
Havenly’s Full process provides a curated product list and lets you review the concept before the final 3D rendering.
Spacejoy similarly provides a designer-curated shopping list and allows you to shop products associated with the design.
For a first apartment, pay close attention to total furniture cost, not just the design fee.
A $159 design package is not necessarily inexpensive if the recommended room requires $8,000 of furniture. A slightly more expensive design service can be better value if it helps you create a room using furniture that actually fits your budget.
Which is better for a small apartment?
For a genuinely small apartment, Spacejoy has an edge if you’re nervous about furniture proportions and want strong visual confirmation.
Havenly has an edge if your main problem is simply “I don’t know where to start.”
Consider these two hypothetical renters.
Example 1: You have no idea how to furnish the apartment
Imagine you’re moving into your first one-bedroom apartment. You own a bed, a desk, and a few personal items, but almost everything else needs to be purchased.
Your main questions are:
- What style should I choose?
- What furniture do I actually need?
- How should everything be arranged?
- How do I keep the budget reasonable?
Havenly would probably be the better starting point.
The lower design fee and guided designer process leave more room in the overall budget for furniture.
Example 2: You already know what you like but fear buying the wrong size
Now imagine you have saved several inspiration photos and know you want a modern, warm living room.
Your problem is different: you’re worried that the sofa, rug, TV stand, and coffee table won’t fit.
Spacejoy may be the better choice.
Its emphasis on photorealistic 3D visualization can make it easier to evaluate the room before committing to purchases.
What you should prepare before hiring either service
You will get more useful results if you prepare your apartment information first.
Have these ready:
- Room measurements — Measure wall lengths and ceiling height if possible.
- Door and window locations — These can dramatically affect furniture placement.
- Photos — Take pictures from several corners of each room.
- Existing furniture — Identify anything you definitely want to keep.
- Budget — Set a realistic furniture budget before the designer starts.
- Inspiration images — Save rooms, colors, furniture, and layouts you like.
- Rental restrictions — Mention rules about painting, drilling, lighting, or wall-mounted items.
- Lifestyle needs — Explain whether you work from home, entertain guests, have pets, or need extra storage.
The budget is especially important.
Don’t simply say, “I want an affordable room.” Give the designer an actual range, such as “$2,500 for the living room furniture and decor.”
That gives the designer a much clearer target.
Which one should you choose?
The simplest decision is this:
| If your priority is… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Lowest professional design fee | Havenly |
| First-time design guidance | Havenly |
| Straightforward designer collaboration | Havenly |
| In-person design option | Havenly |
| Strong 3D visualization | Spacejoy |
| Seeing furniture in the room before buying | Spacejoy |
| More visualization-focused planning | Spacejoy |
| More premium designer interaction | Spacejoy |
For most first-apartment renters, Havenly is the better overall starting point because it provides professional help at a lower entry price and keeps the process relatively straightforward.
Choose Spacejoy instead if visualization is the thing you’re struggling with most. If you’re worried about scale, layout, or whether several pieces will work together in a small room, its 3D-focused approach can be worth the higher starting fee.
How to avoid overspending on your first apartment
Don’t try to make every room look finished immediately.
A better approach is to prioritize the pieces that affect everyday life.
For a living room, that might mean:
- Sofa
- Rug
- Lighting
- Coffee table
- Media storage
- One or two decorative pieces
You can add artwork, accent chairs, plants, side tables, and other accessories later.
This approach also gives you time to live in the apartment and discover what you actually need.
For example, you may think you need a large bookcase before moving in. After a month, you may realize that a smaller cabinet provides enough storage while leaving the room more open.
Are Havenly and Spacejoy worth it for a first apartment?
They can be, especially if you’re likely to make expensive furniture mistakes without professional help.
The value isn’t just the mood board or 3D image. A good design plan can help you avoid buying furniture that is too large, choosing pieces that don’t work together, or filling a small room with unnecessary items.
However, neither service replaces careful budgeting. The design fee is separate from what you spend furnishing the apartment, and both services ultimately depend on the furniture budget you give them.
If your apartment budget is extremely tight, start with free inspiration and basic measurements before paying for professional design.
Frequently asked questions
Is Havenly or Spacejoy cheaper for a first apartment?
Havenly currently has the lower starting price, with its Full online design package listed at $159 per room. Spacejoy currently lists packages starting around $299 per room. Prices and promotions can change, so verify the current price before ordering.
Which is better for a small apartment layout?
Spacejoy is a strong choice if you need detailed 3D visualization to understand how furniture will fit. Havenly is better suited to renters who mainly need affordable, straightforward guidance from a designer.
Can renters use Havenly or Spacejoy?
Yes. Both services can be used for furnishing and decorating apartment spaces. Renters should tell the designer about lease restrictions and focus on movable furniture, lighting, rugs, artwork, and removable decor rather than permanent modifications.
The bottom line
For most people furnishing their first apartment, start with Havenly if you want affordable, practical designer guidance. Its lower entry price leaves more of your budget for furniture, while the Full service provides designer collaboration, revisions, a shopping plan, and 3D visualization.
Choose Spacejoy when seeing the finished room before you shop is your biggest concern. Its 3D-focused approach is particularly useful when you’re working with a small space where furniture size and layout matter.
Whichever service you choose, measure your apartment carefully and set the furniture budget before the design begins. That one step can prevent the most expensive first-apartment mistake: buying beautiful furniture that doesn’t fit your space or your budget.
