Gone are the days when women used to cut out pictures from interior design magazines and filed them away for future use. Today, technology has invaded nearly every aspect of our lives, including home décor and design. So whether you are buying furniture for your living room, choosing paint colors for your dining room, or simply looking for ideas to do up your kid’s room, you can rely on technology to help you achieve the best possible results.

Here are some of the top apps in the home decor and design space today. Be sure to visit online promotional  sites such as Hammacher Schlemmer for additional savings.  Don’t forget to check them out before you plan your next home renovation project!

Color Smart

Want to paint your bedroom in the colors of the painting you fell in love with, but not sure how it will look on your walls? Simply click a photo of the room and upload it on the free Color Smart app (available on both iOS and Android), and the app will come up with a color scheme for you based on the image. What’s more, you can also apply colors to the photo of the room you wish to paint so that you can see how it looks with the new colors.

Houzz

Looking for inspiration to do up the rooms of your new home? The Houzz app (available on both iOS and Android for free), with its hundreds of thousands of photos of nearly every type of room and product, is just what the doctor ordered. The app also includes a directory of architects, designers and contractors in your area.

Snapshop

Ever bought a piece of furniture only to realize that it doesn’t go along well with the rest of your home décor? Say goodbye to such problems with the free Snapshop iPhone app, which uses augmented reality to help you visualize furniture in any room you choose. All you need to do is hold up your phone and drag and drop furniture from the app’s catalog so that it appears as if it is in your room. You can even click a photo and share it with your friends via email.

Mark On Call

Planning to remodel your home yourself? Use the Mark On Call app from famous interior designer, Mark Lewison, to play around with your floor plans. Not only does it replicate actual measurements, it also allows you to take photos of finishes, fabrics, countertops or flooring so that you can skin them onto virtual surfaces to see whether they look good together or not. It is available on both iOS and Android platforms.

Homestyler

The Autodesk Homestyler, available on both iOS and Android, is a one-stop solution to most common design concerns that homemakers have. This free app allows users to snap pictures of rooms and place high quality 3D models of real furniture in them, hang light fixtures from the virtual ceilings, or add paintings and mirrors to the walls. You can also browse the Design Stream for inspiration, share your favorite designs with friends and family on Facebook and via email, and connect with professional designers in your area.

 

About the author: Kurt Jacobson is a snowboarding enthusiast with a background in real estate. Having moved 11 times in the past nine years, he thrives on helping others learn from his experiences. When he’s not out shredding the mountain, he writes about all things home related for the website HouseHunter.co.

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