I Used AI to Redesign My Apartment

When my wife and I moved into our new apartment, I was thrilled about decorating. Moving from a studio to a one-bedroom felt like moving into a palace for us New Yorkers—we finally had a door to separate our living room and bedroom! We had our super help us move the heavy dresser and bed with the intention of rearranging them later. That was three years ago, and our go-to excuse is now, "It's too heavy to move on our own."

I’d seen people online using artificial intelligence to help decorate their homes. While dedicated tools like ReImagineHome and MyRoomDesigner offer virtual staging and room redesigns, they can come at a cost. Having used the free version of ChatGPT for fun things like trying out hairstyles and generating a baby book, I figured it could surely act as an interior designer for me.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Putting AI to the Test as an Interior Designer

I logged into my ChatGPT account, hoping it might use my past conversations—where it knows I'm a writer, traveler, and Australian—to influence its design suggestions. I started with the bedroom, which needed the most work. I took three photos and gave it a clear prompt:

"Here's our bedroom. It's spacious but not arranged well. Act as my interior designer and transform this room. I'd like the bed near the window. Add features that are missing. Swap out the bedding cover, add bedside tables etc."

The Bedroom Makeover: A Promising Start

Before generating any images, ChatGPT provided a list of ideas. This was incredibly useful, as it allowed me to give feedback first. I liked most of the suggestions and asked it to create a mock-up. The result was impressive!

It even tried to incorporate our existing wall art. However, it replaced our large, blue statement dresser. I pointed this out, and the AI, ever the people pleaser, agreed it should stay and regenerated the image with our dresser included. This initial success got me genuinely excited to rearrange the room.

The Living Room Challenge: Where AI Gets Creative

Next, I tackled the living room. The main problem was finding a place for our new TV without moving the couch from its cozy spot by the window. Here's the current, awkward setup:

My prompt was: "This is our living room. We like the look and layout but need to make improvements to the artwork on the wall above the dresser, as well as the ottoman and TV placement. We don't want to move our couch... Provide some style and placement options."

At this point, ChatGPT cheekily prompted me to upgrade to a paid plan to attach more photos. I had to start a new chat. The first visual mock-up it produced was stylish but impractical, placing the TV at a right angle to the couch.

Things got weirder from there. In subsequent attempts, ChatGPT started altering the fundamental layout of the room, moving a doorway where one doesn't exist and suggesting we place the TV stand in the path to the kitchen. It became a bit unhinged, even creating new doorways out of thin air.

Final Thoughts: Fun Inspiration with a Dose of Reality

Eventually, we landed on a concept that might work, but it highlighted a key flaw: AI can make items fit perfectly in a generated image, but reality is different. The final suggestion only works if we buy a smaller TV.

Overall, using ChatGPT as an interior designer was a super fun exercise. It gave me a fresh perspective and a bunch of new style ideas. You could even take it a step further by feeding it photos of furniture you're considering. The biggest lesson? Always measure everything to make sure the AI's beautiful vision can actually work in your physical space.