When it comes time to design your home, there’s a lot to decide between — enough decisions to rack anyone’s brain. Which look are you trying to achieve? How about colour schemes? And what’s the best way to lay out your furniture pieces? Some people may turn to the expert opinions of interior designers, but if you’d rather spearhead the design process on your own, there are tools that can assist you with a variety of needs. Design apps are especially handy because you can access them on your mobile or desktop devices, and you can virtually design each room before making any physical changes in your home. Read on to discover our top picks for the best design apps to help furnish your home.
1. magicplan
The best way to determine where your furniture items should be placed is through trial and error. With magicplan, simply take a photo of the room that you want to design and the app will turn it into a detailed floor plan. From there, you can create sketches and dimensions of your furniture pieces, and test out where it makes most sense to place them in the room.
2. IKEA Place
Ever wish you could know what online furniture items would look like in your home? Forget the back and forth deliberation, and the constant worry of whether or not it’ll look good. IKEA Place allows you to virtually place items from their store in your space — that way you’re 100% confident in your purchase decision.
3. Havenly
If you’re in the process of designing your home and this is your first rodeo, it’s reassuring to know that you have someone who validates your choices or points you in the direction of a design choice that’s better suited to your home. With Havenly, you can browse for interior design inspiration or chat live with one of their designers. Stumped? Not anymore.
4. Planner 5D
Planner 5D is the interior design app we gravitate to when we want to visualize how a room looks in 3D. Create a floor plan and design a layout, select which colours, patterns and materials you want to use, and adjust the size of furniture pieces to determine their best fit. After your design is complete, the app turns your concept into a realistic work of art — almost like a photograph.
Next, check out these 20 designer-approved ideas to refresh your home’s decor and 8 of the best neutral paint colours for every room.
Photos courtesy of: YouTube (magicplan); IKEA (IKEA Place); Of Mountains and Earth (Havenly); Twitter (Planner 5D).