Tag Archives: decoration

Design, software

How Augmented Reality Is Being Used in Home Decor

Augmented reality or AR is growing at a compound annual growth of 24.4% and is predicted to be worth $950 million by the end of next year. This technology may seem futuristic, but in reality it’s being used in a variety of different markets. From construction to maintenance, AR is able to solve problems and make processes faster and easier. 

One unlikely candidate for this type of technology is the home decor and renovation sector. While a home remodel might not strike you as a space to integrate digital content with the real world, there are many innovative apps that are doing just that. 

Augmented reality apps allow you to do a variety of things, from see how furniture will look in your apartment to test out paint colors to measure the room and create a floorplan. These AR apps make the process quick, easy and attainable to anyone not just contractors and interior designers. 

 

How Do These AR Apps Work in Your Home?

Each app has a different set of directions based on its intent, but in general they can be figured out in a few steps. First you’ll be selecting the feature you want. This could be a new sink for the kitchen or a rug for the living room. Some apps allow you to choose specific products you can buy and others give you generic items to test out.

Once the product is chosen, you’ll scan the room with the camera on your phone. This will give the AR software an idea of the original space. Often times the app will direct you to scan the floor so it can gauge the depth of the room. 

When the room is scanned, you’ll be able to view how your feature looks in the home. You can adjust its size and position to how you would normally have it and see if it will fit in the space. 

animation of augmented reality in home decor

 

7 AR Apps You Can Try in Your Home

Not all AR apps are the same. They each have a different specialty. To help you decide which is best for your home, ApartmentGuide has a list of seven augmented reality apps for the home. 

Build.com

This is an app made for remodeling the home. It specializes in home appliances and allows you to experiment with different finishes and styles. 

magicplan

This AR app will help you measure how many square feet you have in your home. This is helpful when renovating or viewing a new home. It will create a floorplan so that you know exactly how much space you have to work with.

Graham & Brown

This company lets you visualize a new paint color or wallpaper on your wall without sampling it yourself. This app will also estimate how much wallpaper or paint you’ll need to complete the projects which save you money and time. 

ColorSnap

ColorSnap is perfect for those painting a room. It allows you to conceptualize a color palette and will also suggest complementary colors to try. 

DecorMatters

This app is made for redecorating your space. It allows you to view home furniture, decorations and art from popular stores like IKEA, Target, Overstock, WestElm, Crate&Barrel, Living Spaces and Ashley. 

roOomy

If you want to stage a room, roOomy allows you to create a custom design. This app is targeted towary homebuyers, renters and real estate agents.

Housecraft

This app allows you to see furniture in a space, but only provides generic furniture. This works well for people who don’t want to be pressured into purchasing anything right away. 

Real Estate

The Story of Houzz – The Home Design Platform

 

Houzz at its essence is a community of people who are passionate about home design. Many of our readers will have already used Houzz but may be unsure about the history of Houzz and its rising popularity. While its main user base is in the United States, other markets such as the UK and Australia are starting to see large growth.

The internet is built on communities, and before Alon Cohen and Adi Tatarko founded Houzz in 2009, there was no community for people passionate about home design. The husband and wife team came up with the idea for Houzz after having difficulty finding inspiration when redesigning their own home. Houzz’s expansion has been helped by the well-timed financing they received as the company was growing.

Check out this infographic from Half Price for more information on the growth of the world’s biggest home design platform.

Applications, Real Estate

10 Apps to Help with Home Renovation

 

Thinking of doing some home renovation soon? Well check out this infographic from HalfPrice before you do. It contains some great apps that will make whatever home renovation you’re doing a little bit easier. Many of them are free as well so you can download them to see if they can help you.

We understand how much work is involved in a home renovation project and often the thought of a long project can put you off even beginning. Maybe you’re thinking of renovating a room but you’re not sure if it will look good when you’re done. Why not check out Houzz for some inspiration? You can look at other designs in peoples’ homes and maybe it will give you the inspiration you need to get going. We hope you find something useful in the infographic.

Applications, Mobile

10 Best Construction and Building Mobile Apps [Infographic]

Do you have any plans to develop a new apartment or renovate your old house with new exciting design?

It’s 2015, and technology in the building & construction industry is becoming more and more influential. This is because there are apps becoming available that make things so much easier for builders. The current batch of building apps have the potential to greatly improve efficiency and also improve safety on a building site. There is much less chance of making a mistake when using these highly rated building apps.

Some of these building apps charge a fee but just looking at the reviews it seems they are well worth the small investment. There are also many free building apps that are really simple to use and would be handy for anyone involved in any type of construction.

So If you are looking for a handy dandy set of tools to help you out with a new home design, just take a look at this cool list of practical and useful apps.

Infographic is courtesy of Calgary Window & Door Guys 

Computers

Acer’s Aspire One Netbook Gets a Fancy Zen Decoration That Will Empty Your Pockets In a Sweep

From one Zen to another, Japanese top artist UFO-Hayashi has taken the netbook decoration assignment few steps forward by adding Kyo-Yu-ZEN pattern, which is one of the most traditional painting method in Kyoto, on top of Acer’s Aspire One unit, turning it into a lavish piece of cristal art that easily can be yours in case your pockets are loaded with $3000 of cash. If not, just hit the break and watch the presentation video, or jump straight to the eBay selling page to follow the auction.

[eBay via engadget]

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