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Ask HN: Interior design apps – are they still worth building today?
2 points by mhld 166 days ago
Hi and apologies in advance for the rambling,

I’m a solo developer and I’ve been working on a small consumer app in parallel with my 9-5. The app lets people visualize how their walls might look after a specific redecoration (style, budget, materials, etc).

I’m aware this is a crowded space. There are a lot of similar apps and tools out there. My own approach has been more focused on realistic and budget-friendly visualization rather than generating AI slop generations, but I’m not sure that distinction actually matters to users.

Lately I’ve been stuck. Traction has been very slow, and I honestly can’t tell whether this is a distribution problem, a differentiation problem, or simply an idea that doesn’t resonate strongly enough (anymore).

I don’t have an existing audience, and trying to grow through TikTok / Instagram feels overwhelming and ineffective so far. I’m unsure whether I should keep pushing, try a different angle (for example partnerships with decor online shops), or accept that this might just be a dead end.

I’d really appreciate honest perspectives from anyone: - Does this kind of product still feel worth pursuing today? - How do you decide when to keep going vs. move on? - Are there distribution channels you’d still try without an audience?

I’m not here to promote anything, but genuinely trying to learn.

Thank you!

2 comments

Been working on something like this for two years, actually 4 if you count the lead up from idea to the tech becoming available and the time to go after it…

The trick to success is finding out how to get people to pay for it.

The problem of “how does this look?” really does get people stuck, but the process of figuring out the answer is both subjective and escapable—we often run out of time and just settle.

Keep at it. Hit me up if you’d like to chat more.

I briefly looked into something similar; I wanted to solve a problem I faced when designing my bathroom. But I realised it's very unlikely I would've paid for this, even if it existed. Think this is something where you need a lot of runway, like a VC startup.