Does the thought of holding a pencil, staring at a piece of graph paper scare the bejesus out of you like it does us? For those of you who – we’ll put it nicely – are mathematically challenged, what if I told you that there is an app for your iPhone or iPad that creates a floor plan for you. All you have to do to start is pick the shape of the room and enter the dimensions.
The Home Space Planning Design Tool – Mark on Call is an app created by designer Mark Lewison that essentially is “home design in the palm of your hand”. You can build multiple, to-scale floor plans, design any room with the in-app features or add your own, create a shopping list, and collaborate and share your ideas. Like Apartment Therapy has said, “It’s the next best thing to hiring a designer or having an assistant.”
To begin there are many features to help you, as it can be overwhelming. There is a Getting Started guide that lists frequently asked questions, as well as a way to change your local measurement system and currency. Below we have the demo video to give you an idea about the app before you purchase it, but the demo video is also included in the app for reference.
And while you are using the app, if you have any questions you can join the Dear Mark blog or email customer support right from the home screen. The one feature that we really appreciate is the little question mark at the bottom right side of every screen; click on that and it will help you navigate the particular screen you are in.
When you begin your floor plan, you can customize almost everything. You select the room shape and enter in the dimensions, you can add room items – such as furniture, architectural features, appliances, flooring, rugs and accessories – and do not forget windows, doors and closets. There are in-app floor choices and a color wheel from you to chose from. Or you can use your device’s camera to take a picture of something you own – or want to own – and “skin” it to the floor plan. You can also upload images from the internet.
When you are in a room, you have the option to add items to a shopping list, which will then go on a master shopping list on the main screen. Within your shopping list you can include details like dimensions, color, price, vendor and any notes. And for those of you with a fear of math, there is a crosshairs measuring tool, which measures any two points in your room to scale. That comes in handy if you need to know how big of an area rug you’ll need for the room, or just seeing if that sofa you’ve had your eye on will fit.
If you use this app on your iPhone and you receive a phone call, the app will automatically save your progress. The Building Steps and Room Checkout features bring Mark’s own personal touches to your plan. Building Steps is his suggested order of design and the Room Checkout lists questions to ask yourself to make sure you are following Mark’s Ten Commandments from his book. The app also has a community feel to it because you can upload your floor plan for other Mark on Call users to view. You can also download other’s plans to help you get started.
Overall, this app is perfect for someone who is doing a room themselves, or even a professional designers. It can be time consuming when you first create your floor plan, but after that the design part is fun.
We’d love to hear from you if you have used Mark on Call and have any tips or things we may have missed.
InteriorDesignHQ.com