There are obviously a ton of design apps out there, but I didn’t know if there were a bunch out there that I just wasn’t using because I didn’t know about them. Maybe, secretly, all these designers and bloggers use magic apps that shave time and legwork off their life, helping them gain followers fast, and just making them overall superior. But after doing some research, I’m not so sure. It seems like all the “designer-y” apps are just kinda silly and so much better on your actual computer, making the mobile app kinda unnecessary.
BUT, that doesn’t mean that I’m not using some that other apps that people don’t know about, so I figured I’d share what I’m doing so you can be in on it … if you want.
Shopping
One King’s Lane: It’s a flash sale site — 3 day sales, no returns. What actually draws me to the site is their vintage market finds. Yes, in general these vintage finds are spendy — this isn’t eBay — but I like knowing what things are going for and who’s paying what for what. I can’t tell if I’m annoyed by their text messaging (which you don’t have to sign up for) or if I love it because usually I click on it. What sets them apart the most is the “Tastemaker” sales. As a designer, I don’t normally go trolling around to find amazing designers as much as i should. So OKL exposes me to their “Tastemakers, ” which are usually designers or store owners, and then I start following them, check out their sites, and all kinds of stalkerish behavior. And yes, I have another one coming up March 10th, so start saving yer pennies.
Joss and Main: Another flash sale site. Less expensive and instead of “Tastemaker” sales, they have more “curated” sales by designers, bloggers, and celebrities. Less vintage, more collections.
Fab: I’ve only bought from them twice, but I like to check it out in the morning to see what they are selling and for how much. Normally, they expose me to some designers I didn’t know about. They have more fashion, jewelry, and product design, less decorating stuff … did I just write “decorating stuff”?
Tools
Wunderlist: AMAZING TOOL. This app has totally made my life easier.
You can have a to-do list for everything. Check tasks off, priortize them by moving them around, share them with your assistants or kids/partners, and the lists are automatically updated on your phone. It’s totally amazing, has kept me way more organized and on task, and so many less emails back and forth to Orlando about what I need him to do. Get it.
iLevel: A fun little app that tells you when something is level or not. Great for art or curtain rods. Nothing genius about it, just handy during installation.
Benjamin Moore Color Capture: Love this one. You take a picture of that wall color in a restaurant that you LOVE and the app tells you what it is — or at least the Benjamin Moore color that it is. This is exactly what an app should be.
You move the mouse around and it tells you what color it is, the different shades, etc.
CraftGawker: So fun. You can just peruse all these different projects and click on them if you like them and often they tell you step by step on how to do them. Of course, you can just do this online, but if you are at the airport and bored, it’s so fun.
Social Media
AfterGlow: Awesome photo app. You can pull pics from your phone or take new ones, lighten them, change exposure, add more filters, play with the borders, and then push “send to instagram” where you play with it even more and share it.
Instagram: Duh. But it’s my favorite. My user name is emhenderson, follow me.
Montaj: It’s the new video making app that I’ve been using and love. You don’t have to know any programs or even plug it into your computer – you edit it on your phone, set to music from your phone (or voiceover) and then share it like Instagram, with your followers. It’s awesome.
That’s a screenshot of a mini how-to I did about how I organize my magazine tear sheets. Riveting, I know. But basically, you just move the little five second clips around with your finger, shorten them to however short you want, and record your voice. Dunzo.
It just launched today, that’s why there are so few followers. Get it. I predict it will be very fun.
Here’s a recent one we did at the flea market. It’s the one set to One Direction so you may have already seen it last week on the blog:
Pinterest: Addicted, obviously. So long physical mood boards, you done got replaced. I don’t know where we kept all our ideas and inspiration before … oh right, cork boards. HA!!!!! I have my boards pretty well categorized now by “rugs, ” “lighting, ” “bedrooms, ” etc., so it makes it so easy for me to find the ideas and products, and for others to do the same.
Facebook/Twitter: Facebook is a social media network that helps you connect with … JUST KIDDING. IF YOU DON’T KNOW THEN YOU MIGHT BE AN ALIEN. It’s still great, and such a good way to engage with people. Twitter is too, although less fun … I’m a blabber.
Hootsuite: Schedule out your Facebook/Twitter posts. But when do I schedule my Hootsuite? It’s like if I was on top of it enough to actually schedule posts then I would probably just write them — although, I’ve hired a social media expert/assistant and she’s teaching me how to use this for more consistent Facebook posts (don’t worry, I still write them).
Houzz Interior Design Ideas: People love this; I’m just intimidated by figuring out how to use it and uploading my pictures and linking, etc. But I think if I had more time I would do it. My cousin said she redesigned her kitchen all from what she learned on Houzz. You follow people, get introduced to new products, find architects/designers. I think it’s shopping, tools, and social media all in one.
What I’ve Tried that is kinda ‘meh’:
RoomHint: Nope. I tried to like it, and the theory behind it is good — you take a picture of something you like and it shows you other things you “might like, ” but it came back VERY wrong and I was VERY offended by what it told me I liked. Like a bad pandora for decorating.
I took a pic of this lamp in my office and it showed me a crazy tacky chandelier. It says it has “designers, ” but I’m assuming it just has spiders trolling the interweb picking up keywords like “lamp.” So far unimpressed.
RoomPlanner: I’m bored just referencing this. It’s a room planning app that is soooo complicated you may as well be using Autocad. Pick up a pencil and draw the room; it’s soooo much easier. This is a good example of something that might be fine on a computer, but as a mobile app it’s just weird.
MagicPlan: Same as RoomPlanner. Too many numbers to plug in just to see if your sofa is too big for your room, when I think you can tell WAY better by just looking at it.
But most importantly, what do you guys use? What am I missing? What is going to make my/our life easier that I don’t know about?
SHARE YOUR SECRETS!