Design Home™: House Makeover

About

"Design Home" is a lifestyle game that allows you to live out your interior designer dreams. Decorate and renovate your dream house with a variety of home decor brands and designers, with both interior and exterior design challenges in different styles and locations. Create your own virtual room planner and garden design escape with a true-to-life experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 10,000 reviews

graphics262 positive mentions

monetization283 negative mentions

The game offers a wide variety of real furniture and decor options, making it enjoyable for design enthusiasts.
The daily challenges and voting system provide a fun way to engage with other players and showcase creativity.
The graphics are beautiful and realistic, enhancing the overall design experience.

The game can be expensive to play, as many desirable items require diamonds, which are hard to accumulate without spending real money.
The voting system is often perceived as unfair, with many players feeling that designs that do not adhere to the challenge requirements receive higher scores.
Technical issues, such as frequent crashes and connectivity problems, can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustration.

monetization
474 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
25%
60%
The monetization strategy of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players expressing frustration over the reliance on in-app purchases to progress and access desirable items. While some appreciate the absence of intrusive ads, they often find themselves needing to watch numerous ads for minimal rewards or facing technical issues that prevent them from receiving promised diamonds. Overall, the game is perceived as a cash grab, with high costs for in-game currency and a structure that encourages spending real money to enhance gameplay.
- “I greatly appreciate that there are no advertisements and it has a quiet background.”
- “No ads in the game, which is a bonus.”
- “You can play without making in-app purchases, but there are more specialty items that are offered for sale now.”
- “The game is nice but its only purpose is to make you spend real money while advertising different brands.”
- “It's frustrating to watch ads or download apps for just a few extra funds.”
- “Each design has so many requirements that it is nearly impossible to play without making in-game purchases.”
graphics
471 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
43%
1%
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their realism and detail, with many users highlighting the beautiful and vibrant visuals that enhance the overall experience. However, there are consistent complaints about the limited selection of artwork and decor, which often feels repetitive and overpriced, making it difficult for players to create aesthetically pleasing designs without spending real money. While the graphics are generally considered a strong point, issues with loading times and occasional glitches detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “The graphics are amazing and it's addictive; the game has stunning visuals that make you feel like a real interior decorator.”
- “The graphics are beautiful, and the challenges are fun and interesting, making the game visually appealing.”
- “This game has beautiful graphics and showcases realistic furniture collections from an array of designers.”
- “The graphics are low grade, not looking real.”
- “The graphics have not gotten better; if anything, they're worse.”
- “The individual furniture pieces look good, but the room graphics are atrocious, with flat unnatural lighting, exaggerated perspective, and out of scale furniture looking tiny in huge cavernous spaces.”
stability
452 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
98%
The game's stability has been a significant concern among users, with frequent reports of glitches, freezes, and crashes that disrupt gameplay and lead to lost progress. While some players have noted improvements over time, many still experience persistent issues, particularly after updates, which often exacerbate the problems. Overall, the game's stability remains a major drawback, detracting from an otherwise enjoyable experience.
- “This is so much fun, peaceful, allows you to create, and not buggy!”
- “Good game, not buggy at all.”
- “Playing this game for years now with no glitches, no adverts and beautiful graphics.”
- “The game constantly freezes and tells me to check my wifi connection, yet my wifi is fine.”
- “I can't play because it freezes completely.”
- “It freezes all the time then tries to tell me to check my internet connection when it's your connection that's not working properly.”
gameplay
73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
58%
4%
Overall, the gameplay is praised for its beautiful graphics, engaging mechanics, and enjoyable challenges, making it addictive for many players. However, there are significant concerns regarding connection issues, expensive in-game purchases, and occasional control problems that detract from the experience. While some players appreciate the ability to earn in-game currency through other games, others express frustration over the limitations and glitches that hinder smooth gameplay.
- “It is made so well with beautiful, extremely lifelike graphics, flawless gameplay, no intrusive ads, the devs are super kind and respond immediately to anything you may need.”
- “Great graphics and gameplay, and it feels like every day there are new challenges, new decor, and furniture added to explore.”
- “The gameplay controls are pretty good and the graphics are very soothing, allowing the player to have a fairly relaxed experience whilst going through each room.”
- “Recently, the gameplay has been extremely disappointing.”
- “There are often control issues/items don't appear or error messages affect gameplay - but it is still my favorite app.”
- “3 stars as gameplay took a nosedive due to connection issues that always get way worse right before challenges close.”
story
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
74%
9%
The game's story aspect is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the interesting client backstories and the ability to creatively design spaces, while others criticize the lack of coherence between design challenges and story requirements. Many users enjoy the absence of tedious narratives, preferring a focus on design challenges and daily quests, but express frustration over inconsistent scoring based on storyline adherence. Overall, the game is seen as engaging and addictive, though it could benefit from better integration of story elements and more rewarding missions.
- “I love the design challenges; however, it does bother me that when voting, others clearly have not read the story details about each challenge.”
- “I love the rewards, levels, and challenges within each level, and that you can design rooms one at a time for entire houses as side projects. I enjoy the rooms where I can make it my way, but also the rooms that have specific and unique aspects and a client backstory, which makes it interesting from a more realistic and personable view.”
- “It's great to see what you can do with different spaces and read a person's story to really get a feel for the space you will virtually design.”
- “No match 3 puzzles or storylines!”
- “People don't pay attention to the storyline of each room!!!”
- “But I feel I follow the challenge requirements and the story behind the design and yet I will get lower points than people who seem to not fulfill the proper requirements.”
grinding
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the cumbersome voting system required to earn keys and the lack of effective filters for item selection. Many express dissatisfaction with the time-consuming nature of scrolling through items and the perceived need to spend money to progress, leading to a sense of burnout and decreased enjoyment. Overall, while the game has potential, the grinding mechanics detract significantly from the overall experience.
- “25 tickets are required to enter a challenge, but voting is so tedious that I think it's meant to encourage players to use diamonds to buy tickets.”
- “It used to be hard to get me off this, but voting to get enough keys to enter has become so tedious - 5 votes on rooms earn 3 keys, and you need 25 keys to enter - that's 45 votes per entry.”
- “The option for diamond awards costs money, and watching videos is time-consuming and tedious.”
optimization
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
42%
16%
The game's optimization has been a significant concern among users, with many reporting frustrating performance issues such as lag, glitches, and slow loading times, particularly as the game accumulates data. While some updates have improved mobile performance, users still experience frequent technical problems, especially during purchases and with video ads. Overall, the game struggles to maintain smooth operation compared to similar titles, leading to dissatisfaction regarding its optimization.
- “Update: this game now appears optimized for phones.”
- “Runs smoothly, always interesting, not a money grab game that pushes you to spend (however, it is your choice if you wish to spend money.) Fun and vibrant.”
- “A great optimization would be if you could sort and filter your inventory.”
- “You should really focus on app performance as a priority; it's very frustrating at times.”
- “I've missed a lot of design challenges because of the game's poor performance.”
- “It hoards a lot of data on the device as you progress in the game, which affects not just the in-game experience (like lagging, slowing down, and glitches) but also slows down device performance as well.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
67%
17%
Users express a strong desire for background music and sound effects in the game, highlighting that the absence of music limits the overall experience. Many suggest incorporating options for relaxing or instrumental music to enhance creativity while designing, as well as the inclusion of musical instruments as decorative elements. Overall, the feedback indicates that adding music could significantly improve player enjoyment and immersion.
- “I really enjoy this app and it's such a great stress reliever to decompress from everything with some music or a podcast going in the background.”
- “Would be even cooler if there are some instrumental music that plays when we design the rooms... each style has different music vibes and genres to give us more inspiration.”
- “There's no music.”
- “Horrible holiday music gone hopefully to never again appear without mute option.”
- “Although the only thing this app is missing is some calm soothing music or sound effects, that'll make it more exciting while designing!”
humor
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
92%
8%
Users find the humor in the game to be a mix of amusing design choices and ironic frustrations, such as the contrast between the game's fun elements and technical issues. The tacky accessories and the absurdity of gameplay mechanics often elicit laughter, while the game's educational aspects add a layer of enjoyment. Overall, while some humor may fade over time, players appreciate the comedic elements intertwined with their gaming experience.
- “Very funny overall, you get to make very fun designs and some designs are from HGTV.”
- “The accessories are often hilariously tacky, but the highest scores are achieved if you plonk them all over the place regardless of the style of the house.”
- “It's funny because while out shopping or almost anywhere, I'm more observant and notice all these pieces of decorations and furniture, and I'm like, 'Ohhh, I like that.'”
- “It's not funny, but it is super fun to play.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its creativity and relaxing graphics, contributing to an enjoyable experience. However, some users express disappointment over the monetization aspects, which they feel detract from the overall ambiance by creating an uneven playing field between paying and non-paying players.
- “So much fun with a relaxing atmosphere combined with great graphics.”
- “I like that I'm able to use a little bit of my creativity in this atmosphere. I love it!”
- “Buying currency for decorative elements and limitations applied to them are off-putting and create an atmosphere where you are unlikely to compete on even footing with those who pay.”
- “Fun game, but it's all about making money anymore, which has definitely changed the atmosphere in this game..... :(”
- “Buying currency for decorative elements and limitations applied to them are off-putting and creates an atmosphere where you are unlikely to compete on even footing with those who pay.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the app emotionally impactful, particularly as a source of comfort during stressful times. However, they express frustration over the voting system, which they feel yields unfair and disheartening results, especially for minimalistic designs that deserve more recognition.
- “If you are stressed or emotionally drained, please play this app.”
- “The voting system gives heartbreakingly inaccurate and unfair results.”
- “Plus, it's heartbreaking that minimalistic designs only get a few stars.”