Erin Vaughan from Modernize shares her go-to apps for home design inspiration. Whether you’re just looking for ideas, or are ready to jump into a decorating project, one or more of these apps may make it on to your home screen in the near future. What are your favorite apps or websites for home inspiration? Share with us in the comments below!
You may not usually associate technology with interior design, but these apps know a thing or two about home improvement—and they’ll give you stylish, smart rooms with just a tap on your mobile device. These newest apps move digital home decor past Pinterest, letting you integrate your actual space into your design plan with grace and ease. Not only do they let you choose paint and measure a room—they even link to a wider range of furnishing options. This helps to narrow the gap between what you see in your mind’s eye and what’s on your walls. Check out some of our favorite new home decor apps and see how simple professional-level designing can be.
Via Chairish
Chairish
Shopping for brand new home goods online is easy, but what about when you’re looking for a mid-century television stand? Chairish is the place to find picture-perfect vintage and antique pieces. It’s an online marketplace of individual buyers and sellers—like a high-end Etsy full of gorgeous photos and curated room samples that will help you fit old-school furniture into your modern home. Antique shopping without the dust!
ColorSnap
Sampling paint colors used to feel like taking the big plunge. After all, a room looks a whole lot different once you’re done painting—like that chocolate-brown powder room that seemed a lot better in your mind than it does in reality. But Sherwin Williams’s ColorSnap app solves that problem, letting you see how your favorite hues match up to a variety of sample scenes. You can even snap pictures in real life and locate a paint color in that exact shade. Painting just became virtually risk-free!
PhotoMeasures
You know those annoying little sketches you have to make when you’re shopping for furniture or home goods, covered with jumbled wall measurements and arithmetic? PhotoMeasures lets you upload a picture of your living room and draw your measurements directly onto the photo, so you can keep track of exactly which measurements match up to which spaces—and get a new rug that will really tie the room together.
Via CNet
BrightNest
The hardest part of home design isn’t necessarily decorating—it’s keeping your interiors neat and polished once you’re done. Sweeping and doing the dishes are an obvious part of your weekly routine, but what about wiping down the microwave? Cleaning out your fridge? Or even maintenance tasks like inspecting your chimney? That stuff tends to fall through the cracks since we don’t have to do it every day. BrightNest sends reminders when it’s time to have your roof looked at, for instance—and comes with a virtual plethora of tips and advice for cleaning, organizing and more.
Homee
Really great style is all about being ahead of the curve. By all predictions, Homee, a new design app brought to you by Tinder CEO Sean Rad, will be the biggest thing in home decor since the birth of IKEA. The app’s still in its beta phase, but it looks to be really great—according to representatives, it will feature a chatbot who acts as your artificially intelligent designer, making room recommendations and then allowing you to purchase and try out design schemes, all on the house. It’s a personal interior design service for those of us who want to be stylish but aren’t rolling in dough. Look for it soon!
With apps like these, your decor will be on lock. Who needs a designer’s eye when you have 5G and a smart phone?
Erin Vaughan is a blogger, gardener and aspiring homeowner. She currently resides in Austin, TX where she writes full time for Modernize, with the goal of empowering homeowners with the expert guidance and educational tools they need to take on big home projects with confidence.
