In February 2022, online interior design service Havenly announced they acquired custom furniture brand, The Inside. “From our perspective, this was a rare opportunity to combine the businesses of two of the leading brands catering to this new generation of home consumers. In combining them. We are creating a comprehensive destination for home design and furnishings that is inclusive, accessible, and digitally powered,” says Lee Mayer, Co-founder, and CEO of Havenly.
While Havenly connects interior designers with customers looking to redecorate their homes, The Inside offers a range of custom pieces including sofas, headboards, and ottomans along with other pieces of large and occasional furniture. Each piece can be upholstered with a choice of more than 100 different fabrics ranging from solids to patterns and prints, many of which are from legacy brands including Scalamandré and Old World Weavers. “With a customer-friendly path to style and design, the acquisition of The Inside was a natural fit for Havenly,” Danielle Walish, cofounder of The Inside tells me. “The Inside has always been about spreading the joy of decorating and creating a home you’ll love. I’m excited to integrate what we’ve built prior to the acquisition with Havenly, and to continue to serve our existing and new customers.”
Walish will continue to manage the transition, integrate The Inside assets into Havenly, as well as capitalize on the shift in consumer design trends favoring prints offered by The Inside.
About Havenly
Havenly is a unique concept that makes using an interior designer within reach for those who want to furnish a living room, bedroom, or single area of the home. The platform helps organize the process, prevents decision fatigue, and presents a more convenient alternative to the conventional process of working with an interior designer. ”Interior design is an industry and service that historically has been out of reach for so many people,” says Mayer. “Through our core business, The Inside, and our recent launch into in-person design, we are creating a place for more people to feel included, seen, and served in home and interior design.”
While Havenly mostly operates virtually, they recently launched in-person design services to select markets across the country including Atlanta, New York, Austin, and Chicago with plans for further expansion. The in-person service is an upgrade from the virtual platform, but also gives customers access to digital design tools including photorealistic 3D renderings of their space, an online concierge team, and the ability to shop for all elements of their design through one online storefront.
About The Inside
Founded by Walish, Britt Bunn and designer turned entrepreneur Christiane Lemieux, The Inside launched in 2018. The unique brand offers on-trend yet timeless upholstered pieces for the bedroom, living room, home office, and outdoors. Many of the styles lean towards a new traditional or contemporary aesthetic. Some of the most popular fabrics currently include Desert Cheetah by Scalmandré, Jade Cherry Blossom, Talc Linen, and Leopard.
Blending Two Brands
While Havenly and The Inside are two very different businesses, they serve the same customer base, explains Walish. “By combining our two brands, the acquisition paves the way to create an innovative design ecosystem, which will serve existing and future customers in exciting, new ways. The marriage is a natural one: one of The Inside’s top customer requests has been for design services, and Havenly designers have been some of The Inside’s largest customers for years.”
Unlike many corporate acquisitions, this one truly benefits both brands. “By acquiring The Inside, Havenly is now able to offer custom furnishings to our design-minded clients, at attractive price points. With Havnely’s large design and customer base we can also use our data, scale, and experience to continue to inform and build on the Inside’s assortment to offer a growing selection of products both to Havenly and The Inside customers,” says Mayer. “In the past, one of the most frequent requests from The Inside’s customers was for design support around products they were purchasing for their home. Now by cross-pollinating the brands, we can offer our full suite of design services directly to The Inside’s customer base.”
The Inside’s bedroom sets are a great example of this. While these sets serve the same purpose as a typical big box bedroom set, the pieces are curated to coordinate together as opposed to being a standard, and likely less interesting matching set. Each collection comes with essential mainstays such as a bed and dresser in addition to playfully chosen accessories such as rugs and lamps. These sets serve Havenly’s customers by providing a chic combination of pieces without needing to pay for an additional room design package.
Reese’s Book Club Collaboration
Collaboration is both at the heart of The Inside and Havenly. The brand recently launched a line with Reese Witherspoon’s Reese’s Book Club. The collection includes bookshelves, chairs, rugs, lamps, and all the essentials to create a cozy reading nook in any home.
Looking Towards The Future
Havenly plans to innovate the design space through technology as a major part of the brand’s overall strategy, explains Mayer. “Over time, we hope to continue to evolve our technology-powered services offering by marrying visualization tools in 3D, exclusive and custom furnishings, and a welcoming brand to help everyone create a home they love.”