Arrange- a- Room. The Best Design Tools for Improving Your Home. Wandering around Home Depot until inspiration strikes is a terrible idea. If you've got a loose idea for a redesign, re- arrangement, or physical improvement to your house, apartment, or even a dorm room, we recommend these computer planning tools for the job. What follows is a shortlist of digital tools for the job, listing the features they offer, the jobs they're best suited for helping with, and their strengths and weaknesses. Most of them are free, but we've noted the pricing for upgraded versions where applicable. We're leaving off tools like Solid. Works or Auto. CAD/Auto. Desk? If you've got the time to invest, Google's Sketch. Online Design Software. No software program is perfect for every. You may find that one program is just right for helping you measure and layout big furniture.Up definitely pays you back with precision and customization. In Sketch. Up, you won't run into something, like a custom- hung shelf, that's hard to replicate in ready- to- roll, web- based tools. On the other hand, Sketch. Up is definitely a geek tool, and if you're looking for the next step down in commitment, Room. Planner is what you're looking for. Then again, IKEA fiends, nit- picky web users, and those looking for super- simple, Sims- like design will find something to like in the other tools we've detailed below. Room and Project Design. Google Sketch. Up. Price/availability: The standard Sketch. Up download is free for home/personal use; Sketch. Up Pro 7, with advanced import/export, presentation, and printing tools, among others, is $4. Strengths: It's got many of the same 3. D and solid object design powers as the commercial software used by engineers, but the interface is relatively easier to learn and get around. If you enjoy mousing your way though Google Earth, you can probably learn Sketch. Up's controls without too much pain. Our feature on planning improvements in 3. D with Sketch. Up provides a basic tutorial. Weaknesses: Unless you're a perfectionist willing to take pictures of your paint, fabrics, and other designs and colors, Sketch. Up's visual cues are going to be a rough draft. Even if you do have digital pictures galore as a reference, figuring out how to stretch them across Sketch. Up's surfaces isn't exactly intuitive. Best suited for: Physical projects needing a fairly accurate 3. D view, and where color/design play a second- hand role. IKEA Planners. Price/availability: Free download, split into multiple versions (Kitchen, Office, Bedroom) and a few online planning tools. It knows the exact measurements of IKEA tables, shelves, and other furniture, and lists of the stuff you'll need can be printed or uploaded to IKEA for reference at a store. Weaknesses: The interface and controls feel very rough, or even beta- quality. You'll have to grit your teeth a few times to get things put into place, and entering precise measurements can be a pain. Splitting up the kitchen/office/bedroom planners into separate, badly- labeled downloads is not all that helpful. Best suited for: People who know their tastes run toward the minimal/cheap/functional IKEA realm, or can find cheap and similar substitutes for IKEA gear, and who want a rough look at what fits in their home. Lifehacker alumnus Keith Robinson used it for just that purpose. Floorplanner. Price/availability: Free, web- based product for personal use; Pro and Plus plans provide more storage, sub- domains, custom themes, and multi- user tools. Strengths: Accessible anywhere, because it's a web- based tool (though it requires Flash, so no i. Pad or smartphone doodling). Big, robust library of objects, structures, and other stuff to insert into your home, but also offers single line/surface/object drawing. Easy to get started with in 2. D or 3. D. Weaknesses: Furniture and standard designs look a bit, well, generic. Reliance on Flash leaves one concerned about unexpected crashes. Big plans can take some time to load, and switch between 2. D and 3. D modes. Best suited for: Doing a . Next to Sketch. Up, it's the most versatile tool here, and some may well prefer it for its easier floor/wall/furniture designs. If you don't like commercial come- ons, you're not going to like the sponsored items you can add to your room. Best suited for: College kids, obviously, who want to know the realities of fitting their life into half of a shared dormitory space. Shows a 3. D preview while you work in the 2. D space, and has a big inventory of pre- loaded objects. Weaknesses: Requires Java to run. While there's a detailed user's guide and video tutorial, opening the app and looking at all the controls is overwhelming. Best suited for: Those who like the fine- grained control of Google Sketch. Up, but need more pre- created furniture and objects, and an interior design focus. The webapp asks you to upload an evenly- lit picture of a room, and then changes the wall paint color as you click on it and select new shades. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it feels like magic. You want to re- paint a room, but you're not sure if the color will look right. We have covered many, many palette tools, and many of them seem interchangeable. What can you do to break through indecisiveness? Try learning a little basic color theory from Smashing Magazine, or take commenter Mark 2. How did you plan out your own recent home renovations or redesign? Tell us your take in the comments. Here are some room design and room layout apps I've tried for both the iPad and Android tablets for imagining how my furniture will work in a space. Discover why SmartDraw is the best room layout design program for beginners and professionals. Living Room Layouts and Ideas. One of the best ways to make sure your living room looks and feels inviting is designing a layout and. Download Home Design 3D - Free and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad. Floorplan and room layout: In 2D.
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