If taking the hassle and guesswork out of revamping your home sounds like a breath of fresh air, then you’ll want to check out our roundup of the best user friendly interior design apps on the market. Now you can stay abreast of trends and plan your next project from the palm of your hand.

Whether you’re building a new home, remodeling your existing one, or simply trying to redecorate an outdated space, these undertakings have the potential to become very stressful in an instant. Attempting to stay within budget and on schedule, keeping ideas and plans organized, visualizing the space, and even arguing with your sigg-O over which shade of beige works best in the living room are some of the common challenges homeowners face when trying to give their space a facelift.

Another hurdle can be the overestimation, or resulting waste of construction materials, as well as the source and type of materials – the greener the better – which is where a couple of these interior design apps become quite helpful in their ability to locate or suggest eco-friendly finishes and furnishing for your projects.

Fortunately, for your convenience, we’ve gathered a few of the most popular and well-rated–and all free!–mobile apps on the market, so pull up a chair and let’s get started!

1. Houzz

With over 8 million high-resolution photos, Houzz is the destination for professional remodeling and redecorating ideas and resources. Unlike many of the photos on other apps like Pinterest, Houzz is chock full of professionally curated projects – from architects to interior designers to interior decorators – there isn’t a shortage of beautifully executed homes. Furthermore, it also has furnishing and professional resources, which can help you locate that reclaimed wood entertainment center you’ve been looking for, or hire the perfect interior designer for your upcoming project. 

2. Wayfair

Unlike the others, this app doesn’t have any fancy or high tech virtual views, but it does give you the power to pick your décor from the comfort and convenience of your smart phone or tablet. From natural rugs to eco-friendly sofas, the Wayfair app can help homeowners choose their décor by browsing furnishings quicker and easier than shopping for it in person.

3. Planner 5D

This app allows you to view your space in multiple ways – 2D, 3D, and 5D projections, but you can begin by creating floor plans of your own or choosing from the existing selection. The interaction is as simple as drag and drop and it allows you to pick home furnishing so you can get an idea for how certain items will look in the room. In addition to that, you can easily transform your floor plan into a 3D rendering which allows you to view chosen areas of the completed space. And, if your resources permit, with the aide of virtual reality glasses, you can utilize the app’s 5D technology and actually “move” or “walk” throughout the space in real time.

Homestyler Interior Design

Brought to you by the maker of AutoCAD, a popular tool among professional interior designers is Homestyler Interior Design from Autodesk, Inc. This combines the planning capabilities of the Planner 5D app with the convenience of the buying options on Houzz. Play around with your potential purchases and make sure that they look great before whipping out that credit card. This app also allows for wall color previewing and you can even incorporate your own home interior photos for the most realistic outcome possible.

Paint Harmony

If you’ve ever tried to visualize a wall color with a tiny can of sample paint, then you know how many factors can ultimately affect the end result of this experiment. Not only can lighting play a role, but the surrounding wall color (the one you’re trying to paint over) can play tricks on your eyes by influencing the tint or shade of the sample hue. In other words, unless you paint an entire wall, it’s really difficult to know how the color will look.

And although the colors in the app aren’t one hundred percent accurate, you can easily fill in an entire wall with the touch of a finger. This app works in real time by allowing you to move the device over your walls and watch the color magically change on the screen, or you can use previously snapped pics on which to try out your new colors.

Now that you’ve read our rundown of the latest interior design apps, we want to hear from you! What did you think of our suggestions? Do you prefer doing it yourself, or hiring professionals for your projects? Let us know your thoughts on the EcoSalon Facebook page!

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The latest issue of Rue (an online shelter magazine) is charming me with two hundred and ninety-seven pages of gorgeous images accented with just the right amount of thoughtful text. A feature on Angela Stone’s Chicago home (page 277) is utter perfection. The aesthetic of the space is Farmhouse Modern; Adrienne Murrill described it with eloquence, “It’s the juxtaposition of storied, character-rich pieces with minimal urban elements.”

I love the idea of carefully curating each piece in your home.  As the feature in Rue boldly asked, “Why not bring a little more story and individuality into our homes? Why not know who made the dining table you share so many memories at or the bedside table you wake up next to?”

Ms. Stone is a curator for the Chicago-based design collaborative Hinge. “The goal is to give people an easy alternative to the mass-produced big box design stores that have become second nature to many people,” Angela said. “The Hinge aesthetic is very much centered on seeing the beauty in what is commonly discarded or overlooked.”

I fell in love with Hinge the moment I read this on the website:

“It is our need to connect that makes us tick and our innate desire to link our past to our present that makes us human. Hinge is a design community of local Chicago artists, furniture designers and antique dealers. We are inspired by our surroundings and the places life takes us. In each piece created our purpose is to tell the untold story.

At Hinge, we like our furniture with a little soul, from unadorned farmhouse antiques, to sleek vintage pieces and sustainable custom furniture.

Nothing about you echoes mass produced or generic. Why should your home?”

Now that you undoubtedly love Rue and Hinge – pay them a visit!

Live in Chicago? Visiting the windy city? Don’t miss a great list of Angela’s favorite local resources in Rue (page 291).

(Original story by Adrienne Murrill for Rue. Photography by Emily Johnston Anderson for Rue.)

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