Best New Design Apps!
October 17, 2017
Who needs to hire a designer when you can download the latest home decorating apps on your phone or computer? From HGTV and Elle Décor to Architectural Digest, we pulled the best and the cleverest digital tools for you to inspect and review.
Styling and Arranging
Homestyler: One of MacWorld’s Best Apple Products of the Year, Homestyler uses a photo of your own space and allows you to test-drive your design vision with Dupont paint colors on your walls, and high-quality 3D models of real furniture. Available for iOS and Android; free
Home Design 3D: Designed for both the iPad and iPhone, this simple-to-use app measures your room and draws the floor plan by using your built-in camera. It then allows you to export the plan in PDF, JPG or DXF format or publish an interactive floor plan on the web. From there you can test-run different layouts before doing any manual labor. Plus, it can save you from having to return furniture, since it helps you figure out the ideal scale. Available for iOS and Android; free
Decorator: Can’t make up your mind? The Decorator was created for design lovers who have the passion to explore interior design, but want some advice before committing. Just share the pic of your room and let your friends and other community members redesign it. The visualization software helps you nail the best possible design for any room. Plus, you can create to-do list to move your project along to a target deadline. Available for iPhone and iPad; free
Rooomy: Visualizing how furniture (new or rearranged!) will look in a space can be a challenge. With the ability to convert 2D photos into 3D renderings, Rooomy allows do-it-yourself designers to visualize different furniture arrangements in a space, with links to retailers. Available for iOS; free
Try on Wall: It’s not easy for some people to commit to art in the first place, let along arrange it on the walls! Artfully Walls is one of the home decorating apps that helps you make composition decisions with its Try on Wall click-through. Using augmented reality to display a preview of art on your wall, you can arrange and rearrange to your heart’s content. Available for iPhone, iPad, and Android; free
Shopping
Hutch: This newly launched home decorating app gives you entrée to the a virtual shopping world, outfitting rooms from photos which users upload and allows you to shop the look directly. The photo technology recognizes the structure of the user’s space and places products in it — similar to Snapchat filters, but for furniture shopping! Available for iOS and Android; free
Chairish: If you are in search of a specific piece of furniture – like the perfect Turkish deco pillow or a reclaimed wood dining room table, the last thing you want to do is sift through fuzzy Craigslist photos. Home decorating apps like Chairish offer a beautifully photographed virtual flea market for vintage and used furniture and décor. And haggling is welcome! Available for iOS
Color
Benjamin Moore Color Capture: Choosing a color by painting a few sample strips on your wall is easy. Sifting through paint chips is hard (is that grayish-white or whitish-gray?). Next time you see something in a shade you adore, snap a picture of it through this home decorating app. You’ll discover its closest match among Benjamin Moore’s 3,500+ paint colors. Available for iOS and Android; free
ColorSnap: The Sherman-Williams app lets you splash the palette of your favorite landscape—or textile, or work of art, or any other source of inspiration—onto your walls. This home decorating app for paint can also analyze the colors of any photo on your smartphone and let you know which shade of Sherman-Williams paint it matches. Available for iOS and Android; free
Measurements
Photo Measures: No need to carry around a tape measure when you have this app. Just snap a photo of your space and write the measurements right on it. Next time you’re shopping for furniture, there’s no need to wonder if the soul-satisfying piece you’ve found will fit! Available on iOS for $7 and Android for $5
MagicPlan: MagicPlan takes photos of your space and converts them into floor plans with accurate measurements. As far as home decorating apps go, MagicPlan offers DIYers the ability to plan for materials — like paint — without waste. For an added fee, these plans can be exported in PDF, JPG, and DXF formats to share with contractors, designers, or other suppliers. Available for iOS; free
Southshore by Design
The architecture and interiors of the new homes in the beautiful master-planned community of Southshore tend to attract attention and admiration. We invite you to tour the new Delaney model from Richmond American Homes and explore the latest home designs from Century Communities at The Hills in Southshore! These lakeside homes, available in ranch and two-story models, are priced from the upper $300s to the $700s.