For those wanting to redecorate a room, or their entire home this year, the idea of thinking about colour palettes, furniture choices and design options might be enough to send you into a tailspin. Here are four apps that use augmented reality to make your next big project as stress free as possible.
Dulux Visualiser is a really excellent application when you’re repainting a room. Instead of paying for a bunch of different sample pots, simply load up the application and point your camera at the room that you’re giving a refresh. You can then select from the colours in the Dulux range to see what your bathroom would look like in Tuscan Glade before you commit to three coats of the stuff.
If you want to take inspiration from the world around you, you can use Dulux Visualiser’s colour picker to select a colour from a tree, or a drawing, or your next door neighbour’s recently decorated living room, and Dulux Visualiser will find the closest match to the colour you’re looking for. You can even order sample pots from the application.
If you’re completely redecorating a bedroom, or you just want to rearrange your furniture, Ikea Kreativ is the app for you. This app allows you to scan the room you’re wanting to redesign, erase any clutter filling the room, and then add products to see what they look like in the space. If you don’t know where to start, you can even use one of Ikea’s pre-designed rooms, and then change things from there.
If you’re redecorating a space with a partner or a friend, you can collaborate with the application by sharing your design. They can then suggest alternatives, move things around and change the look until you’ve found a solution that you agree on. You can even change the wall colour, add decorative features and make purchases from within the app itself.
Gallery walls are all the rage but finding the right configuration of art can be tricky, particularly if you’re having to hammer nails into the wall over and over. Instead of destroying your wall, or your sanity, try Wallery. This augmented reality app allows you to test your favourite pictures on the wall so that you can get the perfect arrangement.
However, Wallery doesn’t stop there. You can change the wall colour to really get a feel for how your art will look, and even the colour, finish and type of frame. You can even resize the art, so you can get a feel for what is too big and too small before you even make your purchase. Save layouts from within the app, so you can switch between a few different looks before making your final decision.
Measure is an augmented reality app from Apple which does exactly what it says on the tin; point your phone camera at any item, and immediately get the measurement of that item. It even automatically detects the dimensions of rectangular objects, and then saves your measurements within the app. If you have an iPad Pro, or an iPhone 12 Pro Max, the app even adds a ruler to line measurements.
This is incredibly useful for measuring walls, spaces and furniture, particularly when you’re shopping for new pieces for your place. It should be noted that Apple states that Measure gives an approximation, so if it’s important that you get the exact measurement, maybe stick to your tape measure.
