With smartphones, wireless technology, and nearly continuous connectivity, the options to help you manage and upgrade your home are just a click away. Dozens of free or low-cost home apps can help with every project and chore – ranging from starting a budget-friendly luxury home design project to managing your smart home technology.

But which ones are the best to download? There are literally millions of apps available—including 1.6 million for Android devices and over 1.5 million apps for Apple devices—and it can be challenging to even stumble upon the ones that are useful. Here, we’ve gathered 10 of our favorites that are both easy to use and helpful for managing, maintaining and upgrading your home.

SnapGuide
snapguide

Snapguide app for DIY projects

App cost: Free
Platform: iOS
Category: DIY Home projects

This how-to app is a crowd-sourced guide of home design projects. It contains everything from refreshing furniture with colorful paint and homemade throw pillows to more complex projects like building a stone fireplace with a wood-burning stove or a barn door. There are also snap guides for gardening, cooking, entertaining, and more. You can show off your own handiwork by creating your own guide to share through the app.

TapPainter

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Tappainter app for home decor

App cost: Free
Platform: iOS
Category: Home design – painting

Adding paint in the right color can make your space feel vibrant and fresh. But it can feel intimidating to add interior color other than a new shade of white or beige. TapPainter is a home app that lets you try out new hues before shelling out for the gallons of custom-mixed color. Take a photo of your space and TapPainter will analyze the change in interior lighting and adjust the color brightness based on the lighting in the photo. You’ll instantly see if that rich red will make the room too dark, or if that bright yellow looks sickly fluorescent. And you won’t have to fear adding color on your walls.

ColorSnap Visualizer

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ColorSnap Visualizer from Sherwin-Williams

App cost: Free
Platform: iOS and Android
Category: Home design – painting

Some of the most harmonious color combinations are found in nature—think of a beautiful mountain landscape, a beach scene, the desert, or an open field of wildflowers. With this Sherwin-Williams branded home app, you can take any one of your favorite photos and use it for paint color inspiration. The app will let you match colors in the photo into a coordinating Sherwin-Williams paint palette that will give your space a warm and inviting feel. Or use the tool to match paint colors to coordinate with existing furnishings, bedding, pillows, or anything else in your space.

Adornably

Adornably
Adornably furniture design app

App cost: Free
Platform: iOS
Category: Home design

Before you invest in an expensive new sofa or any upholstered furniture, snap a picture of your space and start using Adornably to virtually redecorate. The home app allows you to place furniture and customize the upholstery to find a smart new look before you buy. Once you find a piece that looks the way you want it, you can order it through the app. Instead of waiting months to get your new furniture, the custom pieces typically leave the factory within a week of ordering.

Home Depot

home-depot
Home depot home remodeling app

App cost: Free
Platform: iOS and Android
Category: Home design

Start any DIY home design project, or get ideas for refreshing your space, from the comfort of your couch. This shopping and remodeling home app will help you get ideas for renovating your kitchen or bathroom, improving your outdoor space, upgrading to better lighting, installing ceiling fans, adding hardwood flooring, and more. You can make and save shopping lists, find item quickly in your local store and even check on inventory to make sure it’s in stock. Purchase items right through the app and pick them up in your local store, or have them shipped directly to your front door.

iScape

iscape
iscape landscaping app

App cost: Free
Platform: iOS and Android
Category: Outdoor landscaping

A beautifully landscaped yard can give your home instant curb appeal. But before you start digging up the yard or buy several flats of flowers, you can pre-plan your gardening and landscaping with iScape. The intuitive, visual planning tool lets you snap a photo of your yard and start dragging and dropping new landscape features. You can change out the grass, add in flowerbeds, trees, planters, and lawn ornaments into your design. Once you’ve created your virtual landscape design, you can use your finished image as a guide for your own DIY project or to clearly communicate your design ideas to a hired landscaper.

SmartThings

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SmartThings app

App cost: Free + SmartThings kit ($300)
Platform: iOS
Category: Smart home control

SmartThings turns your iPhone into a remote control for all of your devices. You will need to add the SmartThings kit—which comes with a hub and variety of sensors—to network all of your appliances and convert them into smart devices. The system can add security with motion sensors and capture activity in your home via video. It allows you to control and automate lighting and energy settings to maximize efficiency and savings. And you can have your appliances automatically brew your coffee, start cooking dinner, or play your wakeup music on your pre-programmed schedule. And in case you leave the TV on after leaving the house, you can easily turn it off remotely via the app.

Ninja Blocks

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Ninja blocks smart home app

App cost: Free + Ninja Block hardware ($200)
Platform: iOS and Android
Category: Smart home control

Fully connect your home to your smartphone through Ninja Blocks. The hardware and app combination allow you to seamlessly merge the controls of your smart lights, power, media, monitors and motion sensors without complicated wiring and configuration. The difference with Ninja Blocks is that it’s the ultimate device for technology enthusiasts who like to tinker. The open source platform allows anyone to code for their own Ninja Blocks. You’re encouraged to customize and hack your hardware and design the controls to work the way you want them to work.

Handy

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Handy home cleaning and repair services app

App cost: Free
Platform: iOS and Android
Category: Home maintenance

Don’t have time to clean your house, or need a little extra help to get the job done regularly? Use the Handy app to find a vetted cleaner who can take care of those chores. Their roster of experienced professionals who have been background-checked and insured, are available as soon as the next day for cleaning services. Handy’s cleaning services are currently in 35 cities, and some locations also have home repair and handyman services, such as furniture assembly, TV and shelf mounting, interior painting, and moving help.

HomeSpot HQ

HomeSpot-HQ
HomeSpot HQ home maintenance app

App cost: Free
Platform: Web-based app – all platform
Category: Home maintenance

HomeSpot HQ will help you keep track of all of your home’s maintenance and improvement projects all in one place. It delivers any reminders that you set – for example, changing the A/C filters or the smoke detector batteries, cleaning out the gutters—so that you never forget to take care of routine chores. Make to-do task lists and shopping lists and use the weekend planner to get bigger improvement projects done. The app also allows you to organize user manuals, paint colors, and part numbers in your account so you never misplace important repair information.

Do you have any favorite home apps not included in this list? Let us know about them in the comments.

Are you planning a home improvement project to prepare your home for resale? If so, be sure to contact your trusted real estate professional for advice on how to list and price your property to maximize your profit.

Position Realty
Office: 480-213-5251

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