Best Home Design and Decorating Apps

Anyone who has ever tried to find the absolute perfect piece for a room knows that navigating all the options can be exhausting. But these apps will put a wide selection of antique, vintage, and new furnishings right at your fingertips—and thanks to new augmented-reality technology, many will let you see how the pieces would look in your space.

1. Chairish

Available for iOS; free

If you’d like to buy or sell high-quality, preowned decor, Chairish is a one-stop shop. Sellers can upload photos of furniture via the app, and then Chairish’s curators decide which items to sell. The company takes care of payment, shipping, and returns for most sales. Listing items is free, and the seller keeps 80 percent of the final sale. Buyers can look forward to finds from Knoll, Herman Miller, Christian Liaigre, Ligne Roset, and B&B Italia, among other brands.

2. Decaso

Available for iOS; free

A newer venture from the cofounder of Chairish, Decaso offers high-end furniture and decor from vetted dealers. Expect to see top-notch items from such respected names as Studio Van den Akker and Fat Chance Los Angeles.

3. Invaluable

Available for iOS; free

Browse lots from live auctions around the world without leaving your desk, armchair, or bed. Invaluable allows you to place advance absentee bids and bid in real-time at live and online auctions.

4. Hutch

Available for iOS and Android; free

This app merges the worlds of rendering and shopping, virtually outfitting rooms from photos users upload and allowing them to shop the look directly. Says Ben Broca, cofounder and head of product and technology, “Our photo technology recognizes the structure of the user’s space and places products in it. It’s similar to what Snapchat filters do to your face, but for furniture shopping.”

COLOR & PAINTING INTERIOR DESIGN APPS

5. Color911

Available for iOS; $4

Create and save color palettes for your next decorating project with the Color911 app. Color specialist Amy Wax has generated more than 80 downloadable color themes, but you can also create a palette based on a photograph taken on your device and organize favorite colors into folders, then share with friends or designers by email.

6. Color Capture

Available for iOS and Android; free

Spot a brilliant color while out that you’d love in your home? This app from Benjamin Moore allows you to snap a photo, and its technology will spit out suggested paint options to match it. Though some users say the colors skew dark, it’s a useful starting point, and the grouped color format will give suggestions for pairing colors.

 Paper by Fifty Three

Available for iOS; free

The Paper app lets users make sketches and take handwritten notes that can be combined with photos and typed text. It’s a popular tool for architects and designers such as Daniel Libeskind and Kelly Wearstler.

 MagicPlan

Available for iOS; free

MagicPlan takes photos of your space and converts them into floor plans with accurate measurements. For an added fee, these plans can be exported in PDF, JPG, and DXF formats to share with contractors, designers, or real-estate agents.

11. Measured

Available for iOS; free

Lowes recently debuted this handy app, which uses augmented reality to let users measure a space or an object using only the phone’s camera. Measurements can be saved for those trips to the furniture or home improvement store.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/apps-for-decorating-renovating