How to turn your phone into an interior designer

Some homeowners are at a double disadvantage when it comes to home design apps, because they’re not especially comfortable with interior design or with technology. So we went to the experts, asking designers which apps they find most helpful, and how they use them.

Designer Regan Billingsley, owner of Regan Billingsley Interiors in Maryland,

says she asks new clients to send her photos from Pinterest and Houzz to help articulate their aesthetic preferences. She has thousands of followers on Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/RBHomeDesign), which she calls her “online library.”

The Houzz app focuses more narrowly on home design than Pinterest, according to Billingsley, and provides open forums for community engagement and discussions with design professionals. Billingsley also recommends the apps from retailers One Kings Lane and Joss & Main.

Wing Wong, AIA project manager for the Takoma Park, Md.-based Dep Designs,

recommends RoomScan (99 cents for iPhone), an app that can draw floor plans. “Simply go around your house and touch each wall with your phone,” he says. “It will automatically draw up the floor plan with dimensions.” This near-accurate feature comes in handy for quick estimates and rough sketches for remodeling.

Therese Baron Gurney, principal of Baron Gurney Interiors in Washington, said she relies on Sherwin-Williams’ ColorSnap and Benjamin Moore’s Color Capture, which provide instant paint color matches based on a photo taken by the user.

“If I’m going around somewhere and I see a color of a flower or a piece of furniture – anything – I can zoom in on any part of the object like a laser and find a color reference,” Gurney says.

Even if the outcome is a bit off, Gurney will play around with the color tone to get her perfect shade.

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 6:12 PM with the headline "How to turn your phone into an interior designer."