Well I've finally stepped into the current century and got myself a smart phone. How did I ever live without it! Well, quite easily actually (sometimes its a pain being bombarded with emails AND texts everywhere you go!) - but I have discovered some excellent Apps for organising my life. When it comes to property and renovations, there are loads of fantastic Apps to choose from so I thought I'd share a few of my favs.
1) If you're short of renovating ideas and can't be bothered flipping through dozens of magazines or trawling the internet for hours, then try 'Houzz'. Houzz is a massive collection of design ideas with over 260,000 photos to get inspiration from. It's like having a digital scrapbook in your pocket - making ideas easier to find, file and refer back to. You can search categories such as bathrooms, kitchens, entries, exterior, office, landscaping and more (there are 21 categories to choose from). The biggest problem will be knowing which ideas will best suit your property, budget and purpose as 260,000 ideas can be pretty overwhelming! Here's a link for iPhone users. Android users will need to search their Appstore for this one. This App is Free.
2) 'My Measures & Dimensions PRO' is an app that helps with the getting done of your renovation. Take a photo of something and draw the dimensions directly onto the photo using your phone. You might need to remember the dimensions of a room so you can buy the correct number of tiles or the right amount of paint. You might need to remember the gap available for a particular appliance. Eliminate the need to sketch the item in order to record it's dimensions. Take the photo, measure the dimensions, add the dimensions to the photo and then take your phone and photo with you to the store. This app saves time (and frustration if you're not too good at drawing!) and is an excellent addition to any renovators tool kit. iPhone users get it here and Android users can get it here. This App is $4.49.
3) ‘My Colour’ is a great free app for working out what paint colour something is. This app was released by Dulux and so of course directs you to their paint colours. Take a photo of something and this App will automatically tell you which Dulux paint colour is the closest – great if you’ve spotted a colour you like and don’t have any colour charts to match it to. When I first downloaded this App, I took a photo of a red T-shirt to test it out – and Bingo the App told me the colour was ‘Dulux, Red Clown’. Make sure when you take your photo you have a good amount of natural light (but not direct sunlight) on the object otherwise the recommended colour won’t be accurate. Of course you won’t really need this App if Hotspace are doing a Renovation Action Plan for you, because we’ll tell you all the exact colours you’ll need anyway! I'm not sure if this one is available on Android, but the iPhone version is available on the Dulux website (http://www.dulux.com.au/specifier/colour/mycolour--iphone-app)
4) ‘Property Checklist’ is a basic, but very useful App designed to help you compare properties when researching to buy. It’s easy to go through a day of open homes and forget which property had what features. Property Checklist allows you to add properties, list their price, the agent and the agent's number. It also allows you to take a photo of the property so you can easily remember it. The App will list each property and rank it based on a score from how many items you checked off. Add as many checklist items as you like to tailor the App to suit your search. This App is initially free but then paid for once more than one property is added (which renders it useless until you pay for it really!). A great App! Apple users can find it here. Android has a slightly different App which is available here
What are your favourite renovation and property related Apps? Make a comment here (click below) or on our Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/HotspaceRenovations
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