Designing your home renovation project, planning, and budgeting—not to mention choosing materials and contractors—can seem daunting. There are so many options available, and so much information to digest. Luckily, there are AI tools that can help you along the way; they’ll save you time and introduce you to new style concepts, as well.
Design inspiration and visualization
Before you begin looking into materials, the research phase should include design inspiration, visualization of your space, and introducing yourself to common materials and color palettes. During this phase of the planning process, AI can help you with inspiration and putting names to the design styles you prefer. Being able to visualize your overall design as well as communicate your preferences clearly to a contractor is an important step that gets easier when you employ an AI-powered design app in the process.
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Remodel AI will help you visualize and choose materials and colors by processing photos of your space and then allowing you to choose different finishes, materials, and color palettes. The app is free, but you will only get 15 free image generations per month.
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RE Imagine Home is an AI-powered design tool that will facilitate arranging rooms, testing out colors and finishes, and staging empty rooms. It will also take input from you on your color preferences and design style sensibilities. It’s free for unlimited features for up to 7 days and after that, only the basic version is free (the paid version is $99/month). However, for most people, the basic package—which allows 30 images per month—will be more than sufficient.
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Room AI is a generative AI-powered app that allows you to choose the room type, size, and design style you want and then can produce design inspiration pictures, based on a photo. This app is free for up to 5 generations per month, but after that, the pro version costs $8.99/month.
None of these apps will ever give you a perfectly finished rendering, but they can help you pinpoint your preferences, play with placement of furniture and decor, and experiment with colors and materials. As a result, homing in on your specific preferences can be significantly faster.
Budgeting and scheduling
The other big challenge for a remodel is getting a good idea of how much it will cost. Since not all projects are the same, there will be variation based on the difficulty of your job, your location, and the availability of materials. Using an AI tool to help you estimate costs and time constraints can help make this part of the process simpler and faster, giving you more time to look at paint swatches and tile samples.
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ChatGPT can give you a good overview of your budget and a breakdown of the construction schedule, including factors such as moving plumbing, installing new fixtures, including electrical and HVAC, and replacing flooring or wall coverings. The more specific your description is of your project, the more accurate your estimate for both time and materials will be. It will give you a breakdown of the costs, but only provides a general idea—you'll still need to get a specific quote from a contractor for a more specific estimate.
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Renotag is an AI-powered cost calculator that will give you a cost estimate on your remodeling project based on the current cost of materials and labor in your area. In order to give you the quote, they do want your phone number and email, making it an opening for advertisers and unsolicited quotes from local pros. But if you’re okay with marking unwanted ads generated by the tool as spam, the price quote is much more specific than the ones generated based on national averages.
Choosing a contractor
Choosing a specific contractor for your particular job isn’t something you should leave to AI alone, but deciding what type of contractor to hire and finding ones with the proper certifications and skills can definitely be made simpler through the use of AI.
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Chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Bard can help you determine which contractors in your area have good reviews and include the specific type of work you need as a part of what they offer. They can also help you determine what licenses and certifications you should look for when choosing a specific contractor.
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Using AI-powered chatbots on contractor websites when you’re in the initial stages of finding a contractor for your remodeling project can help you narrow down which contractors might have the appropriate skills and services for your job. These tools can also answer any other basic questions you might have about the contractor—such as their licensing and certifications, safety records, and specialties.
While these tools are helpful, they should always be double-checked by an actual human specialist (such as a contractor) before you decide to book your job. The information they provide can be flawed or incomplete. Once you narrow down your needs and the scope of your job, it’s a good idea to still get at least three estimates from three different contractors before taking the plunge.
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