The Magic of the DesignMyRoom SubReddit
In a world leaning toward artificial intelligence, a community of normal people giving realistic design advice feels radical.
Welcome to The Trend Times, a column that explores design fads in the age of doomscrolling.
Sometimes, it feels like the internet exists to remind you what you don’t have. Social media is awash with endless highlight reels, and when it comes to design spaces, "aspirational" is taken to new heights. Designers share handmade tiles they had custom made for a bar backsplash; the focal point of a dining room is a massive travertine table imported from Italy that requires a crane to install. Even in the DIY corner of the world, the focus is often putting in a bunch of time and energy to make something that resembles the out-of-reach inspo, just for less money. Is a photo of an Italian Villa on Pinterest really going to help someone design a 300 square foot studio apartment with zero counter space in rural Ohio?
The problem with this kind of design content is that while it may help very loosely with "inspiration," the reality is most people rent or own spots with limitations and quirks they can’t quite figure out—and no, they also can’t afford an interior designer, let alone to fully renovate. How to decorate a room with a weird platform in it isn’t a sexy design problem, though I suspect ones like this are more common than you’d think.
This specific prompt was one of the first posts I saw early on in my obsession with Design My Room, a shame-free Reddit community with 610,000 members where people crowd source design advice. The concept is easy: post pictures of your space with your problem and a bunch of random people (some professional designers, some not) will give you advice on what to do with it. Not every situation is as troubling as the platform. Questions include: Should I paint my fireplace a different color? What can I do about my sad kitchen situation? How do I make this living room more cohesive?
While a home renovation show would likely have you knocking down walls, the suggestions in Design My Room are always modest. Baked into the premise of the sub seems to be an understanding that you aren’t going to move, undergo construction, or buy all new stuff. People seek out simple advice like reducing overhead lighting, painting an accent wall, or getting a bigger rug. In a culture where more is more, it’s refreshing that the tips are all relatively small things you can do to massively improve your space. For once, it’s not about the desire to make an artistic statement or shocking change. It’s about tweaking.
If you would be terrified to post a picture of your house online—let alone publicly admit there’s a problem with it—you’re not alone. In other subs, this would invite cruelty. But Design My Room, despite being in the top 1 percent of subs on Reddit, is shockingly positive. The first two rules are "1. Be civil" and "2. Give constructive criticism." "As a community, Design My Room is very positive and people are always happy to help each other with their design and decor needs!," says one mod. "It requires very little policing on our part. We may have the odd rule breaker now and again, but nothing in comparison to other subs of similar size."
Similar, often private groups, also flourish on Facebook. But another interesting dimension to the sub is how Reddit’s anonymity, which typically encourages bad behavior, is what makes the sub so appealing. Because people aren’t writing under their own names, there is no way to know who is who. "There is definitely a mix of professionals and hobbyists, but their input is equally valued here," the mod continues. "We believe this mixed input helps empower people to make some significant and unique changes to their homes."
There’s a sense that the people giving you advice are just like you, that they aren’t judging, the way a design professional might in a formal context. As new tools emerge like Interior AI, which uses artificial intelligence to generate recommendations for what to do with your home, the back-and-forth of the community becomes the real competitive edge. In this before and after, we see how commenters both encourage the user’s work and push it forward. "The shelves are LOADS better!," one Redditor says. "Perhaps just moving it forward a little. Neutral lamp shade might make it stand out less if that's what bothers you. I think pillows would make it cozy," writes another.
Top Illustration by Colin Bigelow.
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