Posted by
Emma Reddington
Friday, February 15, 2013 11:45 AM EDT
What’s the one thing you never leave home without? That’s right, your smart phone. It contains all the information you need to get you through the day. It can also be a great design and decorating tool. There are hundreds of apps out there that can make your next project that much easier. Whether its a quick fabric calculation you need or a hit of inspiration, there’s probably an app for it. Below are five of my favourite.
1. myPANTONE
Colour can be tricky. One person’s kelly green can be another person’s emerald green. With the myPANTONE app, you have access to over 13,000 colours that are easily recognized the world over. This handy app also lets you pull colours from photos, automatically generate harmonious colour schemes and add voice and text annotations to palettes.It’s the perfect color tool to have at hand.
2. Drapery Calculator
Trying to figure out how much yardage of fabric you need for drapery is always a bit of a mind bender. The Drapery Calculator app takes the guesswork away and makes it as easy as pie. You can enter in variables for fullness, pattern repeat, fabric cost and hems making it a comprehensive and functional tool. It also works in both metric and imperial measurements.
3. Remodelista
The popular and comprehensive blog Remodelista has its own app which provides you with the same great content as their website in an easy to view format. Popular features like Steal this Look and 10 Easy Pieces are readily available and at your fingertips. The best feature of this app is a section called Design Files which allows you to bookmark and store your favourite posts and images into folders you create.
4. Craft Gawker
Craft Gawker has a look and feel similar to the popular website Pinterest. The difference here is that all the images are linked to posts on crafts submitted by bloggers. If you’re looking for crafting or DIY inspiration this is the app for you! Cool features include being able to save images to your personal screen and the ability to share your faves via Facebook, Twitter, E-mail and Tumblr.
5. Photo Measures
The one piece of information you always need when working on a project is the dimensions. Whether it is of a room, a picture frame or a piece of furniture the smart Photo Measures app allows you to take a photograph and then draw in the dimensions you need. Other features include the ability to organize your photos (by room or project for example), export your images as Jpegs or PDFS, and the capability to add text or comments.
