We are testing out a new AI interior design shopping assistant

As someone who has worked in interiors journalism for over a decade, I have what might be a slightly surprising confession. I have a love-hate relationship with decorating my own home.

Spending over eight hours a day looking at beautiful homes, I will never be short of inspiration. But when it comes to translating the stunning designs I see into my own space, I ricochet between having boundless enthusiasm to get going and crippling decision paralysis.

My home office redesign has been pending for two years while I hunt for the perfect desk to match my vision of a scheme that fuses Mid-century clean lines, with Arts & Crafts-esque pattern. My bed is slowly falling apart as my hundredth Google search for a low-profile bed with storage, proves fruitless.

If only there was a way someone else could find exactly what I need, and show me the options. And no, I don’t have the budget for an interior designer.

However, a chance email in our editor Heather’s inbox may well have the answer. It was from a company who has invented the answer to interior shopping dilemmas. Enter Lila – the free interior shopping assistant who can fit in the palm of your hand (or screen of your laptop).

Lila is an AI interior shopping assistant – built to help you discover furniture, lighting, art, and decor, get expert interior advice, and receive personalised recommendations tailored to your space.

You can browse freely by describing what you’re looking for, or ask Lila for help – their assistant curates the perfect pieces based on your needs. Want even more personalisation? Simply upload a photo of your room, and Lila will find the ones that match your unique style and space – surfacing only the most relevant options.

This makes it unlike other AI interior design software we have tried which either tries to just replicate products from an existing room set, or depends on the user making selections to place in their space. It therefore allows you to collaborate with it to find what you need, honing what it returns around your interactions.

So how does this look in practice?

Give Lila a go

Try Lila out in the tool below. Just tell it what you are looking for. You can use the filters to set a price range and Lila will then return products within your budget.

We will be using it around the site with some pre-existing prompts to help you find products to suit the imagery, but you can override this if you like. This is what it showed when I asked it for a desk to match my mid-century office with traditional features.

And, if you have a room that is nearly finished, but missing the last touches, drop in an image to see what it suggests you add. It will not only serve you products, but some interior design advice too.

As well as testing it out ourselves, you may see it appear on some of our content to help you recreate the looks you see. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments below.