Just putting it out there and seeing if anyone has any experience with some easy to use software to help design their own home.
Looking to build later in the year, would like to mock up some designs of what we are looking at. Something that would let you see it in 3D would be nice. Happy to pay a reasonable amount for the right software.
Have both Windows and Mac in the house so happy to use either platform
TIA
Not sure what the professional legitimate industry people use but I have seen impressive house demos in unity and unreal engine but that is literally art design at this stage and not a proper physical recreation of what you need with load bearing and all the proper house design information you would need just pure visualization..
I mean if it is still early stages you could always start with The Sims 1 - 4 as a preliminary mock up presentation then get an artist or architect to recreate something from that initial draft.
Yeah I am not an architect but also love simulation games involving house design and all sorts of building architecture.
I am sure you are not alien to the many construction like games out there now or games including some form of construction in their mechanics and gameplay.. these could easily be used as a cheap and quick easy solution for your beginning house designs unless you already have one drawn up professionally or somewhat.
Interestingly enough among the hundreds and hundreds of building construction type simulators out there no one has really capitalized on the house design / simple architecture modelling niche yet too my knowledge specifically.. it is still an open hole in the market.
google sketchup
I used SketchUp when designing a new home of ours. I also recently used it to draw an existing home to help with renovations (wall removals, estimating amount of concrete needed when filling in sunken lounge room).
Does everything from professional looking 2D floor plans to 3D modelling and walk-throughs, and it's free. Lots of videos on YouTube to help you out. Have fun!
Hey, wondering if you can help,how did you get the free version?
I signed up an only option is free trial of pro. From the download
Thanks
Hmm, from memory it gives you the pro version whether you like it or not then reverts back to standard free version.
cheers
Sketchup, and there is also homestyler, which is easy to use, and I have used before
I'd recommend a Pen/Ruler/Paper, there's a reason people still use this method for concept planning before it goes digital.
As other have suggested, Sketchup IMO is the best free program out there and can be converted into DWG. formats to supply to your designer.
I used planner5d recently to plan my layouts, but only used it on my phone. If you pay for it, you get access to all the locked items and you can sync your projects across platforms.
Our builder used Chief Architect to draw up plans. I was able to obtain a read only version of the software, import the plans and then do 3D walkthroughs. We could even download picture samples of bricks, paint & laminate colours, vinyl timber flooring, carpets, etc and apply textures.
Good luck!
This is free and allows a 3D view of home once designed (can even open windows and doors). Also allows furniture to be added from multiple places (E.g. Ikea).
Check out some of their sample projects as they look amazing.
https://www.punchsoftware.com/
I used this in the past to see how a unit would look on our block. I entered the plans into it and could see what view you would have from where in the house. Was pretty good.
A friend designed his house with it, ran the plans through with an architect and had it built.
AutoCAD?