by Monique Hodgkinson

Garden Planner 2.4, an example of a project visualization tool.

July 1, 2010 — I always find it amazing how the Internet has changed our lives in so many ways. Software for almost every purpose that you can imagine — including home improvement projects — is available online. Many companies have developed their own software or have incorporated tools from Swatchbox Technologies to help consumers visualize what upgrades to their home may look like.

Here are just some of the websites and tools that might help you with a home or garden project:

Artifact Interactive’s website, SmallBluePrinter.com, offers online tools for creating blueprints and garden plans. The garden planning software lets you draw your layout, drag and drop flowers, trees, buildings, pathways, walls, and other objects from an extensive library.

Benjamin Moore’s Personal Color Viewer, at BenjaminMoore.com, allows users to view color selections either on their own images or on preset images. As you choose colors for walls, trim, and accents, the image is redrawn to show what the room looks like with your selections.

Daltile and American Olean have tools on their websites, daltile.com and aotile.com, for visualizing tile in your designs for floors, walls and mosaics.

Armstrong’s website, armstrong.com, offers an online tool that allows you to visualize different types of flooring including wood, ceramics, linoleum, vinyl and laminates.

These tools are big timesavers and will help people who like to do it themselves, and also those who prefer to hire designers and contractors, by opening up a world of possibilities, making the decision-making process easier.

Monique Hodgkinson is the founder of Screen Caffeen, specializing in Internet strategy development, custom Web design and social media marketing. Visit screencaffeen.com, call 650-740-1491, or follow @screencaffeen on Twitter.