What A Tool ....

Hi everyone. With Smartphones taking over, I thought this post I’d give you my top three picks for apps that can help you with Interior Design. Whether you’re a professional or enthusiast there are lots of cool apps you can download to your phone that can really help you in designing your space. Here are my three favourites

Homestyler

I’ve gotten a lot of feedback on my blog posts about the digital rooms I create to illustrate my Design Tips from both readers and other Designers. I use a great free app called Homestyler. It has a huge catalogue of furniture/materials/finishes, etc you can superimpose on pics of rooms provided or your own. For the professional, you can do fast images to give a Client an idea of your project plans. You can even log on to their website and create advanced floor plans with items from their catalogue or ones you’ve downloaded which can then switch to 3D images you can take your Clients through. If you’re an enthusiast, that’s likely more than you’ll need but you can use the app to see how to restyle your rooms. For example, let’s say you’re considering buying a new sofa for your neutral room in red and fear it’s a mistake. You can snap a pic of your room, choose a red sofa from their catalogue and drag it on top of your existing one to see how it’ll look without having to buy. There’s even an online community you can share your designs and see others for inspiration. I’m happy to say, I’m very popular on it. You can also just play around to try colour schemes or looks that can eventually inspire your real space. Here’s an example of a room I designed where I simply wanted to explore decorating with teal:

I liked the end result and didn’t have to lift a paint roller or piece of furniture. I used this app when I was in Design School and still use it today for renderings of Client projects. It takes way less time than hand drawn, coloured perspective renderings which saves my Clients money on billable hours.

ColorSnap

The wonderful paint company Sherwin-Williams has a fantastic app for the colour lover called ColorSnap. Ever thought about changing your wall colour but just couldn’t decide? You can snap a pic of your room, choose any colour from their 100s of choices and it will photoshop the colour onto your walls in a snap. It can also colour match images you use from your camera roll or Pinterest. So if you saw a room you’d love to recreate, snap a pic and it will find the hue in its roster that matches. It can also select several hues from a picture and create a palette for you. Here’s an example using the Homestyler image used above:

You’ll noticed it picked the teal wall colour and matched it perfectly. You can also do this with something as simple as a throw cushion. It’ll pull colours from the fabric you can then use in paint, upholstered goods, draperies, etc. You can also pick a colour and it will show you what it will look like in a neutral furnished room (as seen in my earlier blog “Orange Is The New Black”) both during the day and at night. This is important because colour changes depending on the amount of natural daylight or lumens reflecting it. Also if you’re mostly home at night, you want the wall colour to be one you love then, not during daylight hours when you’re not around to see it. Plus it will give you a coordinating palette to go with the colour you’re considering. It’s easy, super helpful and free!!

Jiffy

Ok so this isn’t quite a design app but it is an amazing tool for both the Design Professional and the homeowner. In a nutshell, Jiffy is to handymen what Uber is to drivers. If you live in Toronto, Ottawa or Boston you download the app and create a profile putting a credit card on file. If you need a licensed insured tradesperson to fix something, you make a request, pick three time slots that best suit you and they arrive to do the job. They bill Jiffy who bills your credit card and then they pay the service provider. You don’t even need to have cash on hand.

You can literally order a licenced tradesperson to come to you like a pizza. You can even rate them like an Uber driver. It’s a super easy way to get little projects done without worrying about who’s doing the work.


So those are my three favourite smartphone tools that anyone can use to help achieve the Well Designed Life I am always talking about. Of course, nothing beats hiring a Professional so don’t hesitate to contact us if you need a little extra help with your space. Until next time, thanks for reading


Steve

Link to HOMESTYLER

Link to Sherwin-Williams