In partnership with Latitude Financial Services
As most of you know, I’m knee-deep in renovations at my house, so I thought I’d put together a list of handy online tools to help you plan and execute yours! I hope you find them useful.
Hipages
If you know tradies or have handy relatives, lucky you! I do not! When it comes to getting a job done at my house, it’s a bit like the blind leading the blind with my husband and I. This is why I love and use Hipages all the time. You hear so many horror stories about cowboys, that you want to feel secure you’re not being ripped off by rogue tradies. Hipages puts you in touch with three licensed trades for three free fast quotes for your job, whether it be painting, paving, garden maintenance or window-cleaning (I have personally used Hipages to find someone for all four things and more!). The best bit is you get to see their ratings and recommendations from other users. And Hipages make sure they are licensed for you. One less thing to worry about. I have hand on heart had nothing but good experiences hiring trades via this site. And there’s an app too which make it even easier. And in case you were wondering, the ‘Hi’ stands for home improvement! Get the app.
Beaumont Tiles’ What’s My Style app
Beaumonts What’s My Style helps identify your style from the top 10 global interior design trends based on your personal tastes and responses to a two-minute quiz. It’s like having your own personal stylist to help you nail the current trends with complete confidence, no matter your budget. It then recommends an on-trend style guide to achieve your designer look, of must-haves for each room including colours, stand-out furnishings, signature fittings, tiles and bathroomware, all curated to evoke creativity and design flair. Get the app.
Latitude Financial Services website
Latitude have some great online tools to help you work out which loan or card would work best for you and your circumstances. There’s also a personal loan repayment calculator and a handy budget planner to make sure you don’t borrow more than you can comfortably afford. Visit Latitude’s website.
If you’re thinking about financing your reno but worried you might get in over your head, check out this video with Jen and Jess Aloi from Latitude. It contains some great advice about how to borrow responsibly.
Reece Bathrooms’ 3D Planner
Reece marketing manager Belinda Geels said that making the bathroom design experience as easy and visual as possible was key to this online tool’s development. As well as allowing users to select from the entire range of Reece bathroom products and preview how they’ll look, the 3D Bathroom Planner also lets you choose fittings, lighting and tiles to complete the look. Read more.
Here’s a short video about how it works:
The Houzz app
This one’s all about inspiration! Browse more than 14 million high-resolution photos of home interiors and exteriors. Choose by style, location or room, such as kitchen or bathroom. Save and share photos with friends, family and home professionals and then even use the Sketch feature to annotate and draw directly on photos from Houzz. What’s more, you can connect with over 1.5 million active home improvement professionals, including architects, general contractors, interior decorators, repair professionals and more, to find the right person for your project. Get the app.
Findanarchitect.com.au
This tool, from the Australian Institute of Architects, helps you find the right architect for your job. There’s also lots of information on what architects actually do and why you might need to use them. Visit the site.
Naomifindlay.com
Naomi Findlay is Australia’s rapid renovation expert and a regular contributor here and on our sister site Reno Addict. Check out her site for free downloads, advice articles and to find out when she’s next speaking at a city near you. Visit the site.
Taubmans’ Paint Planner Tool
The Taubmans Paint Planner is designed to do the thinking for you. It will put together a customised list of everything you’ll need for your paint project; from what materials to buy to how long it will take. You might be surprised at how quickly your room can be transformed! There’s also online colour charts (although these should be sued as a guide only), painting tips and a paint calculator. Check it out.
IKEA Place augmented reality app
Coming soon, this app from IKEA will let you visualise what furniture will look like in your own home. We think this will be particularly useful when designing your open plan spaces. Read more.
And last but not least, I can’t finish an article about where to go online for help planning your reno without pointing out the obvious! Pinterest is, in my view, the best starting point for inspiration and getting ideas. You can use this on desktop or download the app. And it’s great for creating your own online moodboards which you can easily share with others. Visit the site.
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We hope you found this guide useful. Let us know in the comments if we’ve missed any great online tools!