With all the tricks, treats and tools available on iPhone, Droid, and Blackberry platforms these days, it’s not outlandish to think that a smart phone could very well be the key to buying, organizing and maintaining a new home. Apps for homeowners can be roughly divided into a slew of different categories: there are the inventory apps, which help you keep track of your stuff; there are the tools – the drywall calculator, the carpenter’s level – that are handy when you don’t have the real thing; there are the architecture and design apps, which help match paint colors and plan floor space; and then there are the productivity apps, that remind you of future maintenance tasks or help you to wirelessly control your thermostat through your smartphone. Here are a few of the gems, best in each category.
Nest Egg is a powerful and lush way to keep tabs on the inventory of your home, right down to the nitty gritty. The practical and pretty program allows homeowners to capture serial numbers, product information, barcodes and detailed notes about each and every item in their home, by photo and/or text. Categories of stuff go on the main interface, and Nest Egg even calculates approximate values of items so that you know your net worth. Set reminders for warranty and expiration dates, so that they don’t slip past you unnoticed. The backup and restore features of the app are reliable and simple, so there is no worry as to whether your data is safe for the long haul or not. Nest Egg is best run on Apple’s iOS system.
Another standout iPhone tool for those who are in the process of building, remodeling or furnishing their home is iHandy Carpenter. The one-of-a-kind app serves as an invaluable all-in-one replacement for a plumb bob level, a surface level, a bubble lever bar, a ruler and a protractor. Essentially, with this app you can measure angles, measure length (even longer than the screen size), ensure the horizontal level of a picture frame or board, and confirm the verticality of a line or wall in your home. This is truly a digital space-saver that sensibly combines five clunky, expensive tools into one virtual measuring device, and will ensure a house in tip-top shape.
The Home Interior Layout Designer allows users to room plan/floor plan, make material lists and access quick idea guides for design inspiration all in one friendly interface. It’s a life-saver if you’re trying to work a certain piece of furniture into a tightly arranged room, or want to visualize what your upstairs would look like if you knocked down a wall. It’s useful for going room-by-room to assess what accessories you want to purchase, where you want to put them, and making a checklist of what to acquire. The Layout Designer by Mark on Call works so well perhaps because it is made by interior decorators, and the app is optimized for the iPhone 5.
Finally, there’s a comprehensive productivity app for Android that shuffles the entirety of your home’s maintenance into one orderly arena. House Maintenance Schedule sports a layout divided into your home guide, annual tasks, semi-annual tasks, quarterly chores and more. The clever app knows what needs to be done approximately when – like flushing the water heater once a year and cleaning lint from the clothes dryer every six months. The guide aspect of the app keeps a monthly list going of all the routine chores your home needs done during that calendar month, all without you having to know or remember much at all. Full users of the Pro version should realize that because the app’s strength is its full automation, customization is not an option with House Maintenance, so it is targeted towards home owners with fairly standard task lists, and not a lot of extras.
