Have you ever been in an empty apartment that you loved, but couldn’t quite figure out how you would arrange your furniture? Maybe at first glance, the bedroom seems like it would be too small, or maybe you aren’t quite sure what to put in the entryway. Don’t let it discourage you, it’s a common problem for apartment hunters!

In the past, you might have gone ahead and moved all of your furniture into the apartment and hoped for the best...or, if you’re like some of us at Camden, you might have taken a copy of the floor plan and painstakingly drawn out all of your furniture by hand to make sure everything would fit. But it’s 2019, friends, and I’m happy to announce there’s an app for that!

Actually, there are several apps (and websites) that can help. Here are two of my favorites; check them out when you’re searching for your next apartment home.

On Your Phone

There are several apps available for planning room layouts. My personal favorite, and perhaps the easiest to use, is available on IOS and is called Rooms. "Rooms" is a furniture arrangement app for IOS.

(Image: Screenshot of Rooms app)

This app is free to download, and you can start designing right away if you know the dimensions of your furniture pieces and the room itself. Add windows, doors, hallways, and change the color of the flooring to make it look more like your future home!

Here is an example of the Cambridge floor plan at Camden Plaza in Houston, TX, showing just one way a queen size bed and other furniture items could be arranged. We used the Rooms app to arrange furniture in the Cambridge apartment floor plan at Camden Plaza.

(Image: Screenshot of Rooms app)

To save your designs and continue working on them later, be sure to download the full version of the app for $4.99.

If you are an Android user, check out Home Design 3D. It is a similar app, with additional features and furniture pieces. There is a free trial version and a “gold edition” for $11.99.

On Your Laptop

Here’s where the real fun begins! If you are able to, it’s worth the extra effort to sit down at a computer or laptop and use an online resource for planning out your apartment home. My favorite in-depth design platform, Coohom, also comes with a huge perk - it’s completely free to use, and you can save as many designs as you’d like.

That means if you happen to fall in love with two different floor plans, or if you have to make the difficult choice of deciding between multiple Camden communities in the same city, you can visualize how each apartment would look and feel.

Not only can you arrange furniture to scale and edit the color scheme of the carpet, walls, etc. to look more like your future apartment home; it also allows you to save 3D renderings of the rooms you have designed, giving you a sense of what it would actually feel like to be in that space.

(Rendering of the Cambridge floor plan at Camden Plaza created with Coohom.com)

Whether you are planning for a new apartment home, or you’re hoping to get out of a decorating rut, these resources are available to help you get creative!