Moving in a pandemic has special challenges — especially if your new place is across the country and you can’t make repeated visits to gradually set things up. And shopping for furniture in crowded stores may make some people uneasy while the Covid-19 vaccines are still being distributed.
If you’re planning a move, you can do a lot of prep work to make the eventual unpacking and decorating go more smoothly. (And if you’ve already made a visit to your new home to take photos and measurements, use that information.) With 3-D models and augmented reality apps, you can lay out your rooms, select a color scheme and even sample virtual furniture. Here’s a guide.
Step 1: Measure Everything
If you don’t have detailed floor plans from the real estate agent or broker, and you have an opportunity to visit your new home, make your own. A tape measure and notebook are efficient and inexpensive, but you should be able to get approximate numbers with your smartphone.
Measure app for iOS and Google’s Measure tool for Android use the phone’s camera and augmented-reality technology to calculate distance, so grab the numbers on your room dimensions, ceiling heights, windows and doors. (Low light and other factors affect accuracy, but you can often get a general idea of the space.)
Room-scanning apps, sometimes used by contractors, are another option. Just follow the onscreen instructions and move your device around to capture the room’s dimensions and create a floor plan. AR Plan 3D, for Android and iOS ($8 to use it ad-free), is one such app, as is the $10-a-month Magicplan. The $8.50 RoomScan Pro for iPhone and iPad is a similar program.
If you’re moving into an apartment, take additional measurements of the building’s staircases, hallways, elevator cars and main doors. You don’t want to find out on moving day that your extra-long couch or snooker table can’t make the turn on the stairs or fit through the door.
Step 2: Map Your Home
Once you have all the measurements, create floor plans of each room so you can figure out where your furniture will go. Even if you don’t have precise measurements, you can still make a rough layout. One way to visualize your space (and the stuff in it) is to use a home-design app with 2-D and 3-D views.
Home Design 3D or Planner 5D (both available for Android and iOS; paid versions start at $7) are two easy-to-use apps in the category. Once you plug in a room’s dimensions, use the program’s tools to decorate it and fill it with virtual furniture by tapping, dragging and dropping.
Step 3: Paint With Pixels
Some floor-plan apps let you color the walls, but several paint manufacturers have their own apps and color-picking tools online. Benjamin Moore’s Color Portfolio app and the Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap Visualizer are stocked with their branded colors, while the Home Depot’s ProjectColor app displays paints from Behr and Glidden. (All apps are available for Android and iOS.)
Many of these programs work the same way: You point the camera at a wall or upload a photo of the room, and then tap through a series of color samples until you find one that suits you.