I love finding great iPhone apps, especially when they're free. And it will come to no surprise to you that many of my must-have, favorite apps are related to decorating, interior design, and DIY. So I thought I'd pass on some app love and share ten of my favorite free apps that are must-haves for the design obsessed. All of these apps are available for iPhone, iPad, and Android:
1. iHandy Level - if you've just hung a picture on the wall and you want to check and see if it's straight, there's no need to go hunt down a level because the iHandy Level app turns your phone into one. You can use the level as shown with your phone on it's side or with it lying on its back.
2. Photo Measures Lite - have you ever been at a store or flea market and found what you think may be the perfect piece of furniture but you aren't sure if it's the right size for your space? With the Photo Measures Light app, you can take a picture of any space in your home and add measurements to it so when you stumble upon the perfect "find", you'll know if it's going to work. With the free Photo Measures Lite app, you can only save two photos at a time but there is a $5.99 upgrade if you find find the app useful and want to be able to save more.
3. Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap - with ColorSnap you can take a photo or upload one from your camera roll and then tap the area or areas of the photo that you'd like to match. The app will find Sherwin-Williams paint colors that match the colors in your photo. If you log into myS-W.com, you can then save the colors that you've found.
4. Koubachi - I started using this app over a year ago when I bought some succulents and a fiddle leaf fig and wanted to do all I could to reverse my history of plant-killing and keep my new plants alive. And I'm thrilled (and surprised) to say that they're all still living, thanks in large part to this app. You simply input some information about each of your plants (including the type of plant, name of plant, and where it's located in your house) and calibrate them once (water them and then tell Koubachi when they are dry and in need of more water). Koubachi will then send you alerts whenever your plant needs to be watered, misted, or fertilized.
5. Evernote - I only recently started using Evernote but really love it. While it's not a design-related app, I've found it to be a great way to organize my home to-do lists, hardware store shopping lists, snapshots, and reminders all in one place. Nothing that Evernote does is too revolutionary - your iPhone comes with the basic apps for reminders, lists, etc. - but what's great about Evernote is that all of those things are now in one organized place. There are a lot of cool features with the premium version of Evernote but at $4.99/month, I'm sticking with the free version for now.
6. Craigslist - if you love decorating and interior design and don't have an unlimited budget, Craigslist is probably already bookmarked on your computer. But did you know that there is a Craigslist app? And it allows you to circle ads with your finger to save them to your Favorites. A lot of the great finds on Craigslist go fast so if you're stalking Craigslist for a specific item, it's a great easy way to take a few seconds to check for new listings while you're out and about.
7. Benjamin Moore Color Capture - Color Capture works similarly to ColorSnap but gives you Benjamin Moore brand paints that match the colors in your photo. Fun and easy to use.
8. WhatTheFont - if you don't love this app for the name alone, love it because it does a great job of identifying fonts. Simply take a new photo or use one from your camera roll, draw a box around the text you want to match, and then upload the image. What The Font will then give you several close matches for the font. So whether you're looking to find the perfect font to create your own artwork with an inspirational quote or you're simply font obsessed (like most people who are design obsessed), this is a fun one. The downside is that some of the fonts identified can only be found on the MyFont website, which charges a fee for downloading fonts.
9. Houzz - when designing a room, it's so helpful to collect inspiration photos and have them organized in one place. The Houzz app allows you to search through photos and products and create your own ideabooks with ease. While I usually use Pinterest for finding inspiration photos when I'm on my laptop, I prefer the Houzz app to the Pinterest app when I'm on the go.
10. Waze - while it's not exactly a decorating app, I'd have a hard time living without Waze. Whether it's an amazing find on Craigslist, a home furnishings store that you've never been to (but your friend just raved about), or you're just directionally impaired (that's me), Waze will get you there. Living in an area where there can be some unpredictable traffic, Waze is a lifesaver because it gives you the best, fastest route to go based on the current traffic on your possible routes. I also love that you can save stores and addresses to your favorites and in a click of the button Waze will avoid the traffic jams and get you there.
