Oh, iPhone, how did we ever live without you?  You have quickly become the house manager, reference tool, camera, music library and in our world, pocket decorator.

The days of lugging around digital cameras for ideas and inspiration in design seem to be a thing of the past.  Our customers are using their phones to pull their decorating projects together.  Often they have taken pictures of their spaces to remind them what the particulars are of what they need when they are shopping.  They use these to get our advice on decorating, as well as snap pics on their own to decide what might or might not work once they get home (or to get the blessing of a significant other!).  Nor do they need to write prices or dimensions – they just take a picture of the tag with the size and $$!

Decorators and designers take it to the next level by e-mailing pictures to clients, or like Susie, one of our designers, using her phone as her decorating portolio – pictures and information from current projects to stay on track as well as past projects for inspiration (and to show immediately to potential new clients).

The ever-growing world of apps offers no shortage of possibilities to assist you in your design projects.  Some, of course, are helpful, while there are duds, too.  These are a few of my favs:

ben® Color Capture

Take a picture of any color (on any thing) that inspires you and instantly find a match, suggestions offered, to one of more than 3,300 colors from Benjamin Moore’s collection.  Touch “strip” for 6 similar colors, or “Harmony” for 4 complementary colors.

(One touch locates the nearest Benjamin Moore retailer, too.) Free.

Home Sizer

Calculate the square footage of rooms on the spot by entering the dimensions.  For comprehensive space planning, add dimensions of additional rooms to estimate not only gross but usable square footage.  Handy for a remodel or for decorating a new home.  A function also estimates cost per square foot of a room or house, as well as offering a mortgage calculator.   $2.99

Paint Swatches

Aquariform Designs’ app allows you to create a page for your project and choose from thousands of paint colors for 6 manufacturers.  In your visual workspace, drag chips around on your screen to compare and contrast what colors work together.  Keep notes by project, and e-mail to all parties involved. $1.99

Evernote

I love this one. Although not necessarily a design app, Evernote allows you to take pictures of any idea and store them in your own personal database. You can then access it from any computer or device you use, organized to your specs, tailored to your projects.

Color Change

Jonesing to paint a room but scared to take the plunge?  Take a picture of your room, then “paint” it using this app.  Select the area – floors, ceiling, trim – and the color blending tool preserves the shadows and highlights of your original image.  Save to your photo album, or shake to undo.  $2.99

Yard Sale Mapper

See all the yard sales within a 20 mile radius, any Thursday-Sunday.  Tap to see full ad, then use the map to get you there!

(For really hard-core shoppers, E-bay and Craig’sList are also available on the iPhone!)

Happy designing!