My Favorite Room Design Tools + Video
There's a lot of thought that goes into designing a room and creating a space you want to come home to, but it can be overwhelming.
You need to…
- decide what will stay or go into a space to make sure it functions the way you need it to
- gather inspiration and ideas while staying focused and organized
- and finally make sure everything will fit into your room nicely.
Over the years I've found that staying focused when designing a room and being really intentional about each space is key to quickly getting the look and feel I want in your home.
There are a lot of room design tools out there. Some are good and easy to use. Some are terrible. And some of them will eat up your time and make you feel more overwhelmed if you let them.
I'm all about simplifying the decorating process so today I'm going to share 4 simple room design tools that will help you design and plan your space like a pro. - And they're all free!
Online Tools To Help You Design A Room
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Read the full disclosure.
1 | Design A Room You Love Guide + Worksheet for deciding what goes in a space
Whether you're starting from scratch, refreshing your decor, or are in need of eliminating a bit of clutter and chaos it's important to think clearly about your space and what you need it to do for you.
I created my Room Design Guide for you to walk you through 3 easy steps to create a room you love.
Inside you'll learn...
- how to key in on what you want your home to do for you
- how to ensure it functions really well
- how to make it beautiful too
I've also included a printable worksheet so you know what needs to leave a space and what you might want to add to a space so your home works for you.
2 | Pinterest for inspiration (but not how you're currently using it)
I'm just going to come out and say it. I have a love-hate relationship with Pinterest.
Obviously I love home decor and there are SO MANY amazing ideas and inspiration to find there but it can get really overwhelming, really messy, and really time consuming quickly.
I used to spend hours scrolling Pinterest gathering ideas and inspiration only to be left with a ton of ideas and no clear direction. I'm glad I realized this inefficiency early and changed my ways or I would've never been able to complete room after room in my home.
You're probably using Pinterest wrong too. #notjudging
In my course, Style Your Way Home, there's an entire module focused on how to gather inspiration quickly and efficiently without falling down the Pinterest rabbit hole.
My student Lois was definitely struggling with Pinterest like I was. She says…
"Before doing Style Your Way Home, my decor style could be described as “the last thing I looked at on Pinterest.” I was constantly changing my mind (every time I saw something else I liked on Pinterest) and shifting to another interior design direction. What a waste of time, money and effort."
Lois, SYWH Student
After learning how to properly identify her decor style, she also learned to use Pinterest with intention.
Now when she goes onto Pinterest to gather inspiration she:
- Uses the search bar and types in very specific items, styles, or colors that fit her decor style. This doesn't allow a million ideas to end up on her board. Only ones she knows she can take action on.
- Sets a timer. Searching for inspiration should not be endless. You have to leave time to take action. So going in knowing what she's searching for and setting a timer puts a limit on the overwhelming number of pins you'd get otherwise.
- Edits her boards often. Once she's done with her initial gathering stage and has representations of the various design elements and inspiration images on her board, she goes through and quickly deletes pins so that she's left with only the best of the best pins. This board now acts as a visual representation of how she wants her space to feel.
- It's also a great place to pin specific items that you intend to purchase cause you can see how they look together and save the link for easy purchases once you make your final decision.
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3 | Canva for creating a visual representation of your space
Taking the visual representation a step further and creating a one page PDF moodboard of your space that you can take with you shopping is really fun.
For this I use Canva.com It's an online graphic software that you can do a lot with for free.
Basically, you save images of items, finishes, colors, and inspiration that you have in your space already or want to add to your space so you can see instantly how everything will work together.
I especially love this because you can take it with you when you're out making decorating decisions and hold it up to your potential choices to see if an item will work in a space or not.
4 | Homestyler for creating a space plan
A lot of times when you're planning a space, especially when thinking of bringing int something new like a rug or sofa, you need to make sure that it's going to fit properly and that you have a good flow in your room.
There are a ton of very complicated space planning tools out there but one I've found to be very easy to use and free is homestyler.com.
After creating a (free) account you can quickly create a room, adjust the dimensions of the room to your room's measurements, add architectural details like windows, doors, and wall openings, and adjust their measurements.
The software doesn't have the exact sofa, rug, or curtains you'd put in your space, but you can choose from a variety of items that are similar in style to see how they'll look in your space.
This tool is more for space planning and works really well. You can easily save your floor plan, print it to keep your room measurements handy when shopping, and come back to it later to make any adjustments as your room comes together.
To see homestyler in action, be sure to watch the video I created to go along with this post. To watch the video, scroll up to the beginning of this post, just before section 1, or watch on You Tube.
Then with a few clicks and dragging and dropping you can place furniture and other items in the room to get a good rendering of how everything will fit into your space, and how it will flow.
