The 2 Interior Decorating Apps Designers Swear By

An empty space, or a room that could use an update, can be quite intimidating. There are so many components that go into a design, so many ways to interpret a style, and going about it alone can sometimes feel like taking on a massive challenge. It’s no wonder, then, that those who have their sights on future improvements tend to look for immediate support. 

Having a friend assist in picking out fabrics or a partner to share in painting is one thing (a very appreciated thing), but distilling all of your ideas into one cohesive plan is quite another. Designers know exactly how disorienting this can feel, which is why they use apps to help realize what they have in mind. To help you, we asked two decorating pros to share the apps they can’t live without.

The Best App for Design

If your plan is to go it alone and even complete some clever DIYs, content creator and interior stylist Imani Keal is right there with you—that’s exactly the type of work she prefers. So it’s no wonder then that her pick for the app she can’t live without is Canva. 

“When I was designing my peel-and-stick wallpaper collection with Otto Studio, I used Canva to corral all of my inspiration, images, sketches, and words of inspiration together so that everything was in one singular place. Ensuring that I was able to keep myself organized on Canva made it possible for me to complete the collection.”

Keal does pay for additional features, like the background remove tool, but there are lots of free templates to use when you’re in the initial phase of a design. And besides projects, Keal also uses Canva to create shopping roundups and graphics for her followers. “I think a lot of people want to find fun and interesting products and decor for their home, and being able to design a simple roundup for people to shop from directly is really helpful.” But if there’s one downside to her preferred app, Keal says that Canva can sometimes be overwhelming just because of how much is possible.

“That’s more of a critique of myself rather than the platform, but sometimes I don’t know where to start because so much can be done on the app.” At least you know that Canva will likely be able to meet you where you’re at, from beginner to advanced. 

The Best App for Project Management

If you’re kicking off a project with multiple people, Shafiroff says that you’ll likely want an app that can keep everyone on the same page. She advises those in this camp to try Mydoma Studio, which is the app she and her team can’t live without. 

“Mydoma studio acts as our go-to place for everything, from time tracking, to invoicing, to tagging approved furniture, to an in-depth client portal,” Shafiroff says. “The client portal has been a game changer, because it allows our clients to have a single place to access approved orders, action items, invoices, and scheduling. This means there are fewer emails to wade through and quicker tracking capabilities.”

This is a paid app with different tiers based on the scope of your project, so it would most likely be best for budding professionals who want to set themselves up for success. “This app has come in really handy on nearly every project we have worked on,” Shafiroff continues. “Prior to Mydoma Studio, some of our documents were in Google, some were in Dropbox, and some were hardcopies. Our inboxes would get bogged down with back-to-back client emails, and things would get lost. Switching to an app that encompasses all our needs has allowed us to scale from one person to four people in a year, so we can take on more projects.”

Shafiroff hopes that future improvements to the app make it even easier to track shipments and delivery schedules, but it’s still an overwhelmingly beneficial aspect of her design. And when you hope to pull off a design with as few hitches as possible, all you need is an app that gives you more control.

What Makes a Design App Great?

Much like any functional design, an app is only as good as its flexibility. It has to alleviate stress rather than spark it, and it must keep pace with the inevitability of shifts during the before-and-after process. When Keal is testing out new design-based apps to try, this is what she’s prioritizing. “I need these apps to be easy to use on my desktop and on my phone, since I tend to bounce between both while working on a project,” she says. “I usually prefer them to be free, but sometimes I’ll pay for upgraded features.”

From a project management standpoint, Shafiroff wants an app that can be a one-stop shop for everything that goes on behind the scenes of a beautiful room. “If it can streamline things like document storage, messages, and invoices to assist everyone on the team—designers, contractors, and our clients—that’s what we’re looking for,” she says. “If an app isn’t capable of creating organization amongst the chaos, it is not for us.”

Whether you’re working with a team or going solo, remember that an app shouldn’t feel like an obstacle. If it’s inconsistent, tough to master, or even difficult to remember in the thick of your work, then it’s not worth the hassle! Instead, Keal and Shafiroff will only use design apps that act as a capable assistant, making sure that no detail gets left behind.