I’m trying really hard right now to write this posts without using excessive exclamation points. It’s a struggle because one of my coworkers recently sent me what I’m pretty sure is the coolest app ever invented!!!
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. But this is actually pretty sweet, and nobody paid me, emailed me, strung me up by my toes and made me listen to pop music, or otherwise tortured or coerced me into to saying this.
The app is called Magic Plan, and it’s appropriately named, because as anyone who has ever spent 15 hours with a tape measure and some graph paper trying to get an accurate floor plan of their house will tell you, to be able to accomplish this is 15 minutes is pretty freaking magical…
That’s the first floor of the Liberty House, by the way. And I created this floor plan on my phone (which is also downloadable as a PDF, JPEG, DXF, or available on the web) by standing in the center of each room and taking pictures of it.
For real, people.
I don’t know how the magic of it works (I mean I have some thoeries that don’t involve magic pixies) but frankly I don’t care. You just stand in the middle of a room and virtually “mark” the corners, then assemble the rooms for an entire floor…
If things are a little “off” the app understands and adjusts doorways to fit, etc. And you can go into any room after the fact and quickly adjust the sizes if something isn’t right, plus add windows, closets, stairs, etc.
You can also snap a picture of each room for reference.
Would I build a house from these plans? Well, this is me, so yes, but obviously it’s not totally foolproof. As you can see above I need to do a little adjusting for some thick walls and ductwork. But just to have as a reference on my phone for figuring out things like if I have room for a piece of furniture, or how much flooring I need, this is invaluable. Because before Magic Plan, this is how I kept track of room measurements on my phone…
Right? That’s not a joke. That’s seriously what I’ve been using as a reference for the last two months. So you can see where the compulsion to end every sentence with a lot of excitement is coming from!!!!!!
There are video tutorials built into the app (which runs on iPhones and iPads with a camera), but here’s a little sample of how it works.
Seriously, I haven’t been this pumped about my phone since I dropped it from a first-floor ceiling joist all the way down to the basement floor without it breaking. AND, the app and downloading a watermarked JPEG or PDF is completely free. For a non-watermarked version or other file types it’s only $2.49 per plan, which again, totally worth it. S0, all I’m saying is, probably you need this. I sure did.
PDF 
Comments
Kit's Mom
That app is really cool.
Who invents these things?
Now….remember that when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.
This means you need to change thoeries to theories!
Liz @ It's Great To Be Home
That IS magic! Just downloaded it, can’t wait to try it. I just did the floor plan for our new flip using a laser measurer that we bought – also magical, but not free so less impressive.
Jimmy
Very cool. iPhone wins again. Maybe someday I’ll get one. Mrrrrrr.
Elisa @ What the Vita
I knew we finally bought a iPhone for a reason! Thanks for sharing, I’m totes downloading this RIGHT AWAY.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April
That is a fantastic app. I wish it was available for Android but I’m sure they will work on that after seeing how popular they are. Thanks for this post.
The Tiny Homestead
so, besides calling my husband on the phone from other rooms in the house, I can go a week or more without using my phone. so how then can I justify getting a smart phone??? all these apps are so darn cool!
Jami
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Jen @ RamblingRenovators
I downloaded that app for my ipad but I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet. Good to hear it actually works! Now I won’t have to keep scribbling measurements on random pieces of paper before we run out to the hardware store.
Love the comment from your mom
mike @HA
That’s sooo freaking cool! I definitely had do to this by hand with a tape measure and computer
This would have been brilliant for house hunting. Maybe not for every house but for the ones that made the round 2 cut. Thanks for sharing!
Debbie
That app is amazing!! Too bad they don’t have it for androids.
carrie @ brick city love
I have this app! It’s totally awesome, right?!
Laura
WHOA. Downloading this RIGHT NOW
Victoria
I just downloaded this! Works great on rectangular rooms, it has some issues with walls that are angled.
John@RemodelingBIBLE
I agree that this is one of the coolest applications I’ve ever stumbled upon, too! Just imagine the apps that we will be in for in a few years. I have remote remodeling and bionic deck building in mind.
Sarah @ The Ugly Duckling House
Oh. Em. Gee. I am about to walk downstairs and find my phone just so I can do this. Right now.
Dave
That is so very cool!
Deb
I’m seriously considering buying an iPad – JUST FOR THIS APP.
Robert
WOW!! Great app. Can’t wait to really start using this. I haven’t had time to really explore it but if it doesn’t do this already it would be great if it also recorded a video of the room as you measure around it. Kill 2 birds with one stone.
Donald Bryan
Can you then take your floor plan and print it out to an actual architectural scale, like 1/4″ = 1′-0″ ?
If not, then it’s just a fun curiosity.
Paul Orange
What a great app! It’s amazing what technology can do these days! Luckily I’ve got an Iphone. May have to purchase this when I decide to renovate, as it’s great just to work out if furniture will fit in a room or not.
Kimmer
Thank you! Thank you! This ROCKS!
John Prest
There’s also android version available:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.planmieszkania.android
Demo video: