May 6, 2009

Decorating/Designing Software

I spent an hour this week listening to and watching a webinar with Chief Architect, the developers of Home Designer software that is sold in various versions from basic commercial use to full blown professional architectural use.

I purchased the basic commercial use version last year on a suggestion from an instructor in the Residential Decor program I took. I have only used it a couple of times, but found it to be a great package that gives you many of the features of an CAD program for a much smaller price tag. The webinar provided me with a review of the creation of a house plan for a 3 bedroom bungalow with a full basement.

It seems to be a great tool to provide your clients with a 3D view of interior and exterior reno's or decor changes, as you can select brand name furnishings, fixtures and finishes ... to name a few... I am planning to test it on the deck planning for our new hot tub.

I'd love to hear from fellow decorators....

  • Do you use a software package
  • If so, which one and why?

6 comments:

  1. thanks for stopping by ~~ have a great weekend!!

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  2. That looks like a great program.

    I've tried using SketchUp, but my attention span sucks and I haven't had the patience to actually READ the tutorials!! I think if I did, I could do a lot of cool things with it.

    Paul Anater at Kitchen & Residential Design swears by SketchUp. He's written a lot of posts about it. You can check them out here:

    http://www.kitchenandresidentialdesign.com/search?q=sketchup

    Kelly @ DesignTies

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  3. Thanks Kelly - I will definitely try it out. I am a big fan of Google and all their neat "free" stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do a lot of my own sketching...it's quicker for me, and I can do it right in front of the client while we're talking. I have played with 3-D design software in the past, and found it cumbersome. I did design a built-in entertainment unit for a client with Sketch-Up, but again, I would have been more comfortable with some graph paper and a pencil. I guess I like to do things "old school!"

    Thanks for your visit today--your plant pics are great!

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  5. I use Autocad...I am still using 13...
    I have not done a hand drawing in years, sometimes I miss it but I gave away my 2 drafting tables afew years after school.

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  6. I've got Punch with cost a pretty penny and I can't figure the damn thing out!

    So I've dabbled some with SketchUp for closet designs...and don't laugh...IKEA's new kitchen planner...for kitchens. It is actually by a reputable 3d software company whose name excapes me.

    For bedrooms, living rooms I draft it. I like to use my hands, love the feel of the lead along the ruler and doing the layouts on a plastic overlay to find what works best.

    Curious to hear how you like the one you've purchased!

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