They say that home is where the heart is. So then, if your heart isn't in your home, where is it? Sure, decorating a home is a pricey endeavor, not to mention a stressful one. But when all is said and done, a house that fits your style will only make you feel more comfortable. So, take out those tools, put on your overalls, and use these apps to help you turn your home (or in this editor's case, small studio apartment) into the dwelling of your dreams.
Google SketchUp
You don't have to be an architect to come up with super cool 3D blue prints for your home remodel. Google Sketch Up is a great way plug in some measurements and see what might look good in that empty room upstairs. This free utility app enables you to model anything, like your living room or a piece of furniture. Google SketchUp also gives you a myriad of tools to work with and allows you to put in things like shadows, sections, scenes (for animations), textures, layers, and even a Google Earth overlay. You can then export your creation to TIFF, JPEG and PNG and print it out to begin remodeling.
Houzz
This free app has over 40,000 photos and 50,000 different features filled with inspirational ideas on how to design your home in a modern way, for all personal tastes. This database app allows you to browse photos by style, room and location and save them to your virtual idea book--kind of like if you had a scrapbook of home design ideas that you clipped out of magazine.
Stanley Bostitch Level
It's just such a wonderful thing to know you can pull your iPhone out of your pocket and use it as a level. Levels are used to make sure that the picture you're hanging or that cabinet you're mounting onto the wall are, well, level. The app is free and offered by reputable tool manufacturer, Bostitch.
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