New home design software

Everything saves for future use in folders, so you can come back to your projects whenever you want. Getting set up is easy, and within minutes you can start designing and creating. There are quite a few home design apps you can use on your phone, but they often have a "cartoonish" appearance to them when you look at the finished product. We chose Homestyler as our best mobile option because the designs actually look realistic, plus they allow you to create home plans and blueprints quickly and easily.

The original prototype for Homestyler was part of a project called Dragonfly and was developed by Autodesk in The software was initially created for the real estate and design industry. You can also build floor plans, second floors, and even swimming pools.

Homestyler is extremely easy to use; once you have downloaded your app and registered, you are ready to get started. Create a blueprint of your dream home or upload photos of the living space you want to design, then simply choose and click on the furniture items you want to use to decorate your room.

The Pro and Master plans allow users to increase their upload limits for 3D and 2D models, remove the watermark from their images, and have access to the render editor without having to pay for it each time as you do with the free version. Even with its free version, SketchUp provides nice, professional-looking final images.

It also has a good photo library and, with 10GB of cloud storage, you can work on projects without running out of space. It is now owned by the Trimble Company. One of the biggest things we appreciated about SketchUp, however, was that users have 10GB of cloud storage for their projects. There is also an active support community to assist you if you have questions. Accessing SketchUp is as easy as signing up for an account. There is nothing to download and once you have signed up for an account, you are ready to begin.

If you want to design a landscape for your home, Lands Design is as real as it gets. We like that you can try for free what the professional landscapers use, and plans are available in both 2D and 3D in your trial subscription. It is a landscaping software designed for professionals in the landscaping industry. Although the professional version has a hefty subscription price, individuals can try it for free for 90 days.

Lands Design allows you to turn your 2D layout into a 3D design for visualization, or you can create a 2D version from a 3D version, and add plant photos, dimensions, and tags.

What really makes Lands Design our top choice as best for landscaping design, however, is that the software has an extensive plant database in both 2D and 3D. It has over 1, species you can use to create designs based on soil type, wind resistance, and fruitification. The program allows you to choose one of four plan representations; select from elevations, conceptual, detailed, and realistic.

You can also add elements such as irrigation and hardscapes. Since the software supports other platforms, you can import or export from other libraries on the internet when they are compatible and easily integrate them into your design plans. Home design software helps you to design your own home without first having to study or take classes to become an interior designer or architect.

Programs allow you to "build" a house or room on your electronic device. You then can use the plans to either help with your home renovation projects or export your ideas to an architect or builder who can turn your dream into a reality. Many of these user-friendly programs include tutorials to help out DIYers with no design experience. A lot of the programs we reviewed also allow you to jump straight in and get started. You simply drag and drop or point and click to create your designs.

Prices for home design software vary greatly. Expect to pay more if you want 3D or other enhancements. If you want to know how your home renovation project or remodel is going to look before you complete it, then you may find purchasing a home design software program is well worth the cost.

Home design programs show you what your finished project will look like and give you an idea of the cost, which can help keep you from going over budget. Since there are free home design software programs you can use, we believe it is always worth it to do a little designing before you begin. This can give you an idea of how your finished project will turn out and help you to avoid some of the unknowns you otherwise may encounter.

Advanced building tools for roofs, foundations and framing make the design process easy. As you draw walls, the program creates a 3D model. When you place a door or window, it is inserted into the wall and the program automatically updates the framing. When you move walls, the roof and foundation are also updated. Every item you add into the design is included in a list of materials so you can cost estimate and budget your home project.

Remodeling a kitchen or bath? Cabinets are smart objects that snap, bump and form to walls. You will find a large selection of cabinet types. Quickly change colors and styles with the Material Painter to visualize design options.

Its professional architectural software line offers products for full residential design. With its expansive feature set, advanced 3D modeling tools and online forums having everything from tutorials to discussions, SketchUp Pro is unquestionably the best home design software out there.

SketchUp Pro lets you effortlessly design highly accurate 3D models of homes and other similar structures , all using simple click-and-release mouse actions. Just choose from one of the many preloaded templates, select a view and you're ready to go. In addition to 3D models, you can also create plans, elevations, details, title blocks and a lot more, using the "LayOut" tool. It's also great for making presentation documents, supporting everything from drafting to vector illustrations. The program makes it easy to turn models into animated walkthroughs and flyovers that explain every detail.

You can also add elements such as line work, textures and shadows to 2D documents. Then there are the dimensioning tools, which snap to the edges of models and allow you to quickly set format, scale and precision level of displayed measurements. From architects and builders to engineers and urban planners, SketchUp can be used by everyone. You can choose from a vast array of 3D objects, and use them in your home's design.

Don't want to bother hiring an architect and would rather design your perfect home yourself? Coming from the stable of Chief Architect, Home Designer Pro offers a truckload of tools for interior design, remodeling, outdoor living and cost estimation. These have commonly accepted defaults for most building practices, and thus make creating your own project a cakewalk. Whether you want to create a single room or an entire house, Home Designer Pro can do it all.

It lets you add cabinets, place furniture and even paint walls. The software has an extensive library of 3D architecture objects that can be added to designs.

You can rotate symbols in different planes, and choose to have the CAD block refresh automatically as objects are modified. It's possible to set heights by absolute or relative positions, and the program lets you reference adjacent floors for designing multi-tiered decks. You can customize room labels, edit multiple elements e. Other features include the ability to rotate and reverse plans, custom watermarks, live layout views and labeled callouts.

Home Designer Pro lets you backup the entire plan for easy sharing, set sun and shadow controls, record walkthroughs and more.

There is a lot of CAD functionality thrown into the mix, too. Most of the home design programs are quite complicated and have a bit of a learning curve.

That said, there are some that are fairly easy to use like Sweet Home 3D and it's free. Using Sweet Home 3D, you can create straight, round or sloping walls with precise dimensions, with just your mouse and keyboard. The software lets you insert doors and windows in walls by simply dragging them in the plan.

You can add furniture to your model using an extensive, searchable catalog, which is organized by categories such as kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. For each added element e. While designing the home in 3D, you can simultaneously view it in 3D from an aerial point of view, or navigate from a virtual visitor point of view. Sweet Home 3D lets you annotate the plan with room areas, dimension lines, texts and arrows.

The program can even create photorealistic images and videos with its ability to customize the lights. You can import existing home blueprints to add upon them, and export created designs as PDFs and vector images.

The features of Sweet Home 3D can be enhanced using a variety of plug-ins. You can upload your own sketches of your dream home or choose from 14, samples to get your planning started.

To see how your own furniture would look in different designs, you can import digital images of your current pieces and textiles or utilize a catalog of 20, brand-name products.

Visualize nearly any possibility with custom windows, doors, floors, carpets, roofs, appliances, paint colors, and wallpaper. A how-to video library offers step-by-step instructions for navigating the software, and over 2, photos of homes and landscapes can provide inspiration or guidance.

Compared to other programs that can cost hundred of dollars, this program has a lot to offer for a fraction of the price. If you think only desktop programs are great for home design, you couldn't be more wrong. Space Designer 3D is a web-based app that lets you plan and visualize your ideal home, using just your Web browser.

Getting started with Space Designer 3D is a walk in the park, and all you need is an account.