Thinking of renovating in the new year? These online resources are a handy toolkit addition.

From a full-blown renovation to tactical decoration, giving your home a new look and design is just a few clicks away. There are a number of online resources available to help with your project - from choosing the right paint for the walls to visualising it with custom furniture to accessories like rugs and throws.

As the Australian property market continues to sizzle, there are many of us who will be looking to take advantage of these resources, including:

First home buyers: For those taking their first step on the property ladder, a new home presents a blank canvas.

Investors or experienced home buyers: This group may be looking to sell their existing home or pick up an older house to turn it around for a profit. For this group, a spruce-up or refurbishment might be all that is required to help finalise a sale.

Existing home owners: With summer in the air, existing home owners might also be looking for a chance to change things around, getting ready for the holiday break or the New Year.

A design revolution

Technology has given the power in the hands of property owners when it comes to designing or tweaking their homes.

There are numerous apps, websites and programs to help anyone make small, medium or wholesale changes to their property.

Getting your significant other or a bunch of friends to help move furniture, only to have them move it back when you change your mind, is now a thing of the past.

A number of design websites allow users to sketch rooms, decorate, reorganise or fill them with any kind of furniture. These websites can bring anyone's vision to life on a screen and help take the pain out of planning and executing in real life.

Homestyler is a case in point. You can draw, design and decorate a single room, an entire house or even landscape the yard.

This website allows users to use exact measurements and build a room to scale. You can also load and save your work and come back to it when inspiration hits.

Another great example is the IKEA home planner. While the basic functionality is similar to Homestyler, this website lets users choose design and decor items from the IKEA catalogue.

Once the design is complete, you can print it out and take it into store to buy the items.

From choosing furniture to wall paint, a number of online tools can take the stress out of home renovation.

Mobile apps like Magic Plan and Keyplan also offer similar functionality as the desktop versions and allow users to move between rooms, taking their designs with  them. 

The finishing touch

Sometimes all it takes is a change of colour to make a room feel new. Choosing the right colour is often an arduous process that involves using a small sample to visualise what a room might look like.

The Dulux colour app allows you to take a photo of your room with your phone, choose a shade from their colour pallette and see how it will look on your walls. Other apps like Paint My Place or Colorchange also offer similar services.  

There are numerous other tools designed to offer inspiration to home decorators. Apps like Houzz and social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram are full of advice, tips and ideas for those who are unsure how they want their design to look. 

Technology has allowed us to plan and design our homes like never before and connectivity has made access to a world of design and decor tools easier.

From uploading images to finding inspiration and even purchasing, these digital tools can help provide everything needed to make a house a home.