For anyone who plans to build a new house, home design software can seem like a dream come true. But with so many programs to choose among, how does the Do-it-Yourselfer (DIYer) decide? Start by answering these questions:
I’ve personally reviewed all these free floor plan software applications. Each review was based on the same demo house and the same structure has been used in all the reviews to give you an opportunity to draw a good comparison and find the software that suits your requirements, and for free!
1. What device will you be using?
These days the consumer is in the driver's seat of availability, and remember that YOU are the consumer. Digital products have been reconfigured and repackaged for any 'now' device — software on a PC, app for a mobile device, and 'the Cloud' for sharing between devices.
Home design software used to be problematic because highly graphical software needed a lot of memory and power, which was expensive in early computers. These days most everything is visual, so DIY two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) rendering software is less of an issue. The device you choose, however, may affect the overall experience you have, so consider what device you'll be using.
System Requirements — Remember wondering if your computer was powerful enough? It used to be that before you bought any software for your PC, you had to make sure your computer system (e.g., graphics card) met the requirements to run the program. These days products are often downloaded from a company website, so the downloading application checks your system before it loads — generally you don't even need to know what operating system (OS) you are using. The speed of your Internet connection, however, becomes the biggest factor in downloading software, which makes the concept of 'net neutrality' a more personal and less political issue. Do you pay extra for speed you don't always use? You might like the hands-on CD or DVD you can readily load yourself, but even Amazon.com is turning to downloads.
The Cloud — Cloud Computing is not an atmospheric trick. Some people are intrigued by this way of working even if there is no such thing as a Cloud. Computer servers and drives are all involved — they're just not in your own home. Some software is 'cloud-based,' meaning you don't have to download or install much of anything — you are using the 'software as a service' (SAAS). So, if you don't mind whether or not your designs and visions are located on various equipment owned by companies around the world, the Cloud is very handy, especially if you want to share your work or use different devices. Depending on security, you could be sharing your work and your home furnishing and appliances tastes and interests — information that may interest a mass marketer — with anybody or everybody.
Free Testing — Since you may be on the product's website, take a look around to see what's offered as free online support from the company. A robust amount of help and suggestions that are clear and well-written may save you hours of frustration. Also, is there a 'chat' function that pops up and who is chatting? Before you buy an app for your phone or mobile device, get a free version — you want to be able to easily move objects around on the screen space of the device you already have. For example, you can try out Room Planner by Chief Architect for free — you can't save what you create, but you'll be able to tell how easy or difficult it is to use.
2. What's your learning curve?
Some home design programs can be challenging. Computer novices will need to spend time reading the manual and working through online tutorials. For out-of-the-box simplicity, opt for a basic program with a minimum of special features.
3. What do you want to do?
Do you want to dabble, play, or try your hand at creating the next prize-winning architectural design? A simple program with basic features is all you need to try out your creative ideas. Before you splurge, experiment with a free drawing program like Google SketchUp or bargain-priced software like IMSI TurboFLOORPLAN Instant Architect. You can have a lot of fun using Home Designer® by Chief Architect. It may take a couple of days to get used to how the software operates — home design software seems to have its own language — but once you get the hang of it, the options are engaging.
Or maybe you have a more specific task in mind. It's helpful to know what you want to do.
Draw a Simple Floor Plan — If all you want to do is draw simple floor plans, you might not need a high powered graphics program or software for drawing 3D images. Instead, try an easy, free online drawing tool.
Prepare to Build — Most home design software for DIYers isn't as powerful as the CAD and BIM programs used by architects and engineers. You won't be able to draft blueprints or construction-ready drawings. With some programs, however, you can create designs with enough detail to give your pro a jump start. For example, Chief Architect Home Designer Suite will let you select from a huge library of cabinets, colors, and other features. Choose the entire suite of Chief Architect software and you can also plan complex electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems.
Add Curb Appeal to an Existing Home — Many programs will let you import your own photograph and add new landscape features. However, you really don't need home design software if your goal is to view paint colors or make other cosmetic changes to your house. Instead, choose a paint color software program or even photo editing software.
Create a Presentation — Some home design software is particularly friendly to teachers, sales representatives, realtors, and budget-minded architects who have to present designs to the public. Many programs allow you to record voice narratives and create animated views of finished interior and exterior designs. The virtual 'walk-through' has become a very popular feature, and it's completely automated — you don't have to do a thing except create a pathway through your design.
Work on a School Project — If you're facing a tight deadline, pick software that's quick and easy to use. Most school projects don't require enormous libraries of colors and details. Opt for simplicity over bells and whistles. Student designers who enter the Solar Decathlon every other year have varying degrees of success in their digital presentations — often the built structures looks much better than the drawn.
4. What if you hate digital devices?
Not to worry. People were building houses long before the Digital Age. Remember when the vinyl-stickable-Colorforms were high-tech? Well, plastic-on-plastic is still well-suited for virtually moving furniture around a room. Check out Home Quick Planner: Reusable, Peel & Stick Furniture & Architectural Symbols or Room and Furniture Layout Kit by Muncie Hendler. There's something about getting your hands on things, even if they're peel-and-stick-and-re-stick.
FAST FACTS: Top Home Design Software for DIYers
- Home Designer Suite by Chief Architect
- Virtual Architect Home Design Software
- Punch! Home & Landscape Design Essentials
- TurboCAD TurboFloorPlan Home & Landscape
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Virtual Architect Ultimate Home Design gives you all the tools you need to build plans for your dream house. This software allows you to plan, customize and furnish rooms to your specific needs, wants and desires. It may take a few times through the process to learn, but it’s worth the effort to design your home the way you want. It’s our top overall choice for home design software.
Like all programs that are this large and involved, it’s going to take you a while to become familiar with all its tools and features. To help you get started, Virtual Architect offers room building wizards for kitchens, bathrooms, decks, sheds and more to give you a feel on how the program works.
The most powerful wizard this program offers is the House Builder Wizard. This walks you through the entire home design process step-by-step. You start out by choosing your foundation type, then move on to the general house shape and garage placement, then onto how large you want your home and end with choosing which materials you want to use during construction. The program then generates a basic plan that you can customize to your liking. It’s a very powerful tool to help you complete the initial steps.
Additionally, the program comes preloaded with 9 home sample designs for several types of homes. You can load a complete plan for a beach home, condo, farm house, industrial loft, lake home, pool house and more. These plans are a great jumping off point for your own designs; you can use the preloaded plans for inspiration, practice or even just customize them into your own creation.
These plans are highly detailed including such things as furniture, flooring, materials and paint. They also include landscaping features. However, as good as these plans are, the selection is sparse compared with other home design software we reviewed. The most sample plans we saw in a program was over 1,000 in Total 3D Landscape & Deck Premium.
Further on the learning front, this program helps you learn every tool it has. When you open any tool a “Tutor” pops up in a separate window. This instructs you on exactly what the tool does and how to use it. This tutor can be easily turned off, but it’s great for beginners to learn and for veteran users to hone their skills and become acquainted with new tools.
Another useful tool is the ability to import existing blueprints and floor plans. You can load an existing image of a blueprint that fits your needs. Using this tool, you can trace the walls and install windows and doors. You can also trace features from different plans and merge them together until you get the plan you want.
The program’s cost estimator helps you budget for the changes you make to your home. This feature keeps track of all the materials you need for your remodel, plus it gives you a reasonably accurate figure for the total cost of the materials you will need.
Once you’ve completed your design, you can export the file to an architect or to a contractor in a DXF file, which is a CAD software format. CAD (computer aided design) is used by professionals in engineering, architecture and other fields.
This home design software is exceptional for remodeling your kitchen and bathrooms. The generous object library provides an abundance of home pieces like sinks, showers, cabinets, furniture, light fixtures, benches and much more for you to experiment with as you work to customize and beautify your home. You also get a substantial selection of floor materials, different types of countertops, paint colors and fabrics, and brand name furniture and appliances.
You can also create curved walls as well as the traditional straight variety, and you can remodel sections of your existing house or the whole thing. The bathroom and kitchen wizards aid you in designing these rooms to your specification with step-by-step instructions.
This software contains tools that help adapt your design to the topography and unique geographic features of your plot. It comes with a remarkable selection of plants that far exceeds the other home design programs we reviewed. There are thousands of options for trees, shrubs, flowers and more.
You get a plant encyclopedia that informs you about the water and light needs for various plants and a calendar outlining times for pruning, fertilizing, spraying and more. In addition, you can view your yard and garden in different seasonal views and see what the vegetation will look like over the years as it matures.
You can also find outdoor accessories, including fountains, waterfalls and barbecues. This software comes with a deck builder wizard that makes preparing a deck easy, and you can create such things as sheds, outer buildings, gazebos and other additional structures on your property. You can also design fencing, sidewalks, outdoor lighting, sprinkler systems and other things that will enhance your property.
The video tutorials on this website are quite helpful and can guide you through numerous design processes as well as answer many questions you might have. Should you encounter any problems with this floor plan software, there is a short FAQs section on the manufacturer's website. There is an option for telephone support, but unfortunately, you must pay a fee to use it.
Even if you are a beginner at designing a home, with a bit of effort you can create a stunning house and landscape using the numerous and helpful features and tools presented by Virtual Architect Ultimate Home Design. The 3D views, the ability to export a top-quality design to an architect or contractor, the well-stocked plant library and the overall flexibility of this home design software make it an exceptional choice.