Free Home Design Software Reviews

When searching for a free home design software application on the Internet, you have to be careful. Although many items might come up in your search marked as free, a lot of these are simply free trial versions or shareware products that will expire after a short time of usage. However, there are a few that are completely free and still have all the capabilities needed to create an excellent design. The following is a review of what I consider to be the two best free home design software programs available online.

DesignWorkshop Lite Free Home Design Software

DesignWorkshop Lite is the free version of Artifice’s DesignWorkshop Classic. This free home design software package allows you to construct your own 3D models for both interior and exterior home design. Creating plans to landscape your yard, finding the best way to remodel your bedroom, and designing a home from the foundation up are just a few of the things capable with this robust software program.

In order to understand how to use all the capabilities that this free home design software program has to offer, you will need to spend some time learning the program. It is not quite as intuitive as I would like, but there is a tutorial available both online and for download. This tutorial is a stand-alone document, but you can have it and the software program open at the same time as you attempt to learn the mechanics of the application. Additionally, there are several completed designs that can be downloaded and edited in the program.

Google SketchUp Free Home Design Software

Of all the free home design software programs that I have tried, Google SketchUp is my favorite by far. Just as with DesignWorkshop Lite, you can do anything from renovating your bathroom to building a skyscraper with this package. You can even create a model of your home or business, export the image, and put it in Google Earth.

The aspect of Google SketchUp that really places it above the others is its series of excellent step-by-step tutorials that walk you through the program, teaching you about all the possibilities. These are accessed from within the software so you can actually construct designs as you learn. In addition, you can save and share your designs online as well as download those that have been posted by others. Even if you have no plans of designing anything yourself in Google SketchUp, it is worth downloading this program just to see the excellent historical and creative design work that has been done by other users.