Our Favorite New Augmented Reality Design Apps

Redecorate with just the swipe of a finger.

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Gone are the days of taking out the measuring tape and playing a guessing game to find out if that new couch will fit in your living room—augmented reality (AR) is the newest tech trend that’s revolutionizing the home industry. By allowing you to visualize scaled, true to color, life like 3D images of furniture and accessories in your home via your phone or computer screen, AR is taking the guessing out of design.

Now, you can preview exactly how your room will look without having to commit. Redecorating with just the tap or swipe of a finger? We’re in. Check out some of the brands and apps that are adopting this super innovative technology.

Anthropologie

Anthropologie just announced their launch of a brand new, technology-enhanced custom furniture shopping experience that will be available through their iOS app and website. By using 3D, 360-degree CGI imagery, customers will be able to choose and customize their furniture. Options include over 120 styles, 11 fabrics, and 152 color and hardware finishes.

The full AR feature launch will include an entire range of styles by October. The best part? The iOS app AR feature uses Apple’s ARKit technology, meaning it delivers nearly 100 percent scale and color accuracy.

Pottery Barn’s 3D Room View

Pottery Barn has developed an augmented reality app that’s also for Android Tango-enabled devices, and it’s available for download on Google Play. 3D Room View allows users to see any Pottery Barn product in any existing room—even if it’s empty.

By viewing your room through the app (which uses your camera), you’ll be able to add, move, and remove everything from furniture, rugs, lamps, and pillows to finalize your perfect look. Pottery Barn’s 3D Room View also lets you change the color of the pillows and upholstery for maximum options, which means one very important thing: no design regrets.

Overstock

Overstock just unveiled their own augmented reality feature in their pre-existing iOS app. With the launch of the iOS 11 operating system, you can now place any of the site’s thousands of products from multiple retailers into your home, and alongside your own furniture or decor. You’ll also be able to share pictures of your design through direct messages or social media, and purchase pieces using Apple Pay with just one touch.

“There is really no better time to be a mobile shopper – especially when it comes to home décor and furniture which used to be difficult decisions to make online, says Jaime Wilson, Overstock.com Sr. Director of Product Development. “And unlike some other AR shopping apps that are popping up, Overstock allows you to use this technology to view and shop multiple brands at the highest resolution possible.”

Check out the video of what the app will be like here.

Ikea Place

Ikea just announced it will be rolling out an augmented reality shopping app later this fall. The app is set to launch in conjunction with iOS 11 on the next Apple update, with 500 to 600 products available for virtual home placement. While Ikea’s app won’t let customers purchase items directly on the app yet, they will have the ability to add desired items to a basket that will then link back to the site for ordering. However, users who download the app will have early access to the latest items produced by Ikea—which is the ultimate perk.

WayfairView

WayfairView was developed by the company’s in-house research and development team, Wayfair Next. It leverages Google’s robust technology called Tango—an AR software development kit. With WayfairView, shoppers can move and rotate thousands of 3D product models, play with various layouts, and view them at every angle. They can also save and share photos, and seamlessly connect to Wayfair’s shopping app in Google Play in order to make purchases.

WayfairView is available for download on Google Play, and can be accessed using the Asus ZenFone AR. But if you’re an iPhone user, try the “View in Room” feature on their iOS app instead.

Houzz

Houzz.com is already a haven for home shoppers, with its more than five million products from over 10,000 retailers. Luckily for you, their augmented reality app provides just as many options.

View in My Room 3D allows iPhone and iPad users to preview over 300,000 3D furniture and decor products from the Houzz Shop in their homes before they buy. Houzz 3D models also include materials and textures, so you can preview a pretty realistic surface that will best fit your home. Using the phone’s camera, the app allows shoppers to manipulate, rotate, and place each item for best positioning—and you can even complete a whole room by adding multiple products. Save your masterpiece as a sketch to a Houzz ideabook in order to share it with your family, decorator, or other collaborators.

Amikasa

Amikasa not only lets you view furniture in your home, but it also goes a step further to allow you to play around with different floor plans via its innovative 3D Room Designer tool—you can choose from one of the predefined room shapes or create a custom floor plan. Then, set the exact dimensions in blueprint mode, and decorate and furnish your space with the catalog of colors and flooring materials.

Drag and drop furniture items into your room: Then, adjust, rotate, and rearrange them to your liking. A final walkthrough mode allows you to get a feel for your room design and layout, in order to determine if it’s the right fit for you. The app is available for free on iPad and iPhone.