These home improvement apps put a toolkit and design studio in your pocket

The Home Depot

If you’re planning to tackle a DIY project around the home, odds are you will need to make a trip to your local hardware store — perhaps more than once. The Home Depot app is an easy way to quickly browse its online inventory for everything from appliances to carpeting. If the item is out of stock in store, you can easily order the product in the app.

Given the sheer size of most Home Depot locations, it can often be difficult to find some items on site. However, if you turn on the GPS and location services in the Home Depot app, it will help you find items in the store and even alert you about upcoming workshops. If you’re more of a Lowe’s person the company has a similar app to help with those odd jobs around the house.

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ColorSnap

When transforming the interior design of your home, choosing a new color scheme can be one of the toughest decisions to make. Fortunately, the ColorSnap app from Sherwin-Williams allows you to virtually paint your space beforehand. You can even pinpoint specific colors in your existing photos and the app will determine the matching shade of Sherwin-Williams paint.

The app has a convenient lighting feature so that you can test this new potential color scheme in both day and night settings. Deciding how much paint you’ll need for a given project can also be rather difficult to gauge, and the ColorSnap app takes the guesswork out of the process. Simply enter the dimensions of the space you plan to paint and the app will then estimate the quantity you will need.

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iHandy Carpenter

Purchasing a tool that you may only need once or twice a year can be rather annoying. Thankfully, the iHandy Carpenter app transforms your smartphone into a regular carpentry multitool. Once calibrated, the digital plumb bob allows you to easily mark vertical lines. The surface level and protractor features are also useful for an array of projects. While using the ruler, you can easily measure items larger than the screen by simply swiping left or right.

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Handyman Calculator

As much as most people hate the prospect of performing anything beyond basic addition and subtraction, it’s virtually impossible to complete any home improvement project without doing a little arithmetic at some point. While the stock calculator app on your phone is great for basic mathematical problems, the tool lacks the ability to complete more complicated problems.

Thankfully, the Handyman Calculator can help with everything from converting measurements to the metric system to determining density. The app even helps calculate that pesky hypotenuse angle (for individuals who may have temporarily forgotten the Pythagorean theorem).

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HOUZZ

We reported on the Houzz app earlier this year and it’s still one of our favorite home improvement apps on the market. Similar to the ColorSnap app, Houzz allows you to decorate a virtual model of your existing living space. You can peruse an inventory of 300,000 pieces of home decor and then add the item(s) to your virtual room. If individuals like the way these furnishing look in their virtual room, they can purchase the item directly from the app.

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Pinterest

While not entirely dedicated to home improvement tasks, Pinterest is full of clever ways to spruce up your space. From unique shelving solutions to basic craft projects, Pinterest is always worth a look when it comes to spurring a little creativity. Although the app is full of helpful DIY projects, it too has its share of wonderful catastrophes, and we’ve covered some of the best Pinterest fails for your perusing pleasure.

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