Chief Architect Home Designer Reviews
Krysta Cirilo
I am a professional Architect and I originate this software informal to comprehend and consumption specifically through the 3D prospective are available which can be view in fragmented screen alongside with finished floor plan, including detailed Quantity Calculation feature which is enriched and most accurate. Tutorial videos and instructional guidelines helps the user to design rapidly
Not very much, i eagerly navigate to search for cons in the software while using it, and just found that Versions are up dated in very short time which leads to add some extra time to work out the commands
I'm an interior designer and I love the fact that I can create 3D renderings from a floor plan with the push of a button. The ability to customize with materials that can easily uploaded enables me to give clients a very realistic view of what the space will look like, and it was fairly easy to learn the user interface. I use the Home Designer Pro version which can be purchased on a monthly rental-to-own plan that mad it easy to afford. Their partnerships with vendors like Kohler, Wayfair, Pental Quartz and Benjamin Moore mean that some of the materials that I use frequently are already in the library (once you download it once).
1) My number one issue is that the materials library, while vast, seems very outdated in terms of the style of furniture and finishes offered (like from the 1980's and 90's). It takes a good deal of hunting to find things that reflect today's design aesthetic, but at least the outdated stuff can be modified in size and finish to more closely resemble things from this century. It would be great to have the ability to very quickly and easily favorite items so that we can create our own shortlists of the items we use frequently.2) Getting the hang of the various 3D view capabilities took quite a while (tilt vs. pan, etc.) and the walls seem to get in the way when viewing rooms in 3D making navigation feel awkward.3) It'd be great if they offered a default for Interior Designers that would adjust the settings to only show interior dimensions in inches, no roof lines, etc. at the push of a button. This is something that the new user needs to set-up when they get the software, so not a huge deal, but...
Roof tool hard to work with. Not easy to manually draw when the automatic roof doesn't get it.No cad blocks for section drawings witch should be included if you want to summit the drawings to a building department. Only prints on 18"x 24" sized paper, 1/4" scale house drawings won't print with out reducing the scale. Radio buttons have a mind of there own, not always working when you click on them.
Comments:I wanted to create a strawbale, net-zero home in Colorado that would harness the energy of the sun to handle the majority of my heating needs in the harsh winters and still stay cool in the summer. I also wanted something specific to my wants (indoor root cellar, walk-in multi-head shower, dry sauna, open kitchen/living area design, etc.). Not only did I save several thousand dollars in architect expenses and was able to create exactly what I wanted, I had fun throughout the entire process. By the time I reached version 11 of the house we were ready to build. Had I gone through an architect I doubt I would have the awesome place that I have.
Was able to design (then later build) a home unique to my personality and needs rather than hiring an architect who would start with a template and tweak it using his/her recommendations. Ended up creating something exceptional while saving thousands of dollars on architect expenses.Can immediately see the results in three-dimensional view. That is a powerful feature for viewing the effects of each modification. Can also change camera angles with the movement of a mouse.Drag-and-drop feature of any object (walls, windows, cabinets, sinks, etc.). The easy-to-use library allows the user to search for a particular object and offers a variety of similar objects to choose from.Could easily change the materials of an object, such as choosing the type of wood for cabinets. Could also change the features of objects in the library, such as number, sizes, and types of drawers in a cabinet. With a few clicks I could repaint the entire interior or change turn the place into a log cabin.
Required me to upgrade my computer to one with a higher-end video card, but I was due for a new computer.Took a couple days to learn the software before becoming proficient.Advanced features require a higher version of the software to purchase, such as viewing the angle of the sun at different times of the day at various times of the year. Would be nice to be able to purchase such features individually like an add-on.
The Pro's use pro tools, and to interact with them you'll either need to use the same tools, or make sure whatever you're using can import/export their file formats. That's the rub - all of the autodesk products are proprietary, making it hard for free / open source tools to read/write the data to them.
Check out FreeCAD. It's Free, and Open Source, and has a lot of the features that the commercial versions have. It's a parametric modeler, and the real power comes in keeping all the constraints well defined. Warning - it doesn't interact well with autocad.
Go with Sketchup. Very easy to learn and free. You don't need the pro version. Make any pros you work with do an import/export if they really want to reference it. If Sketchup isn't to your liking maybe try out Chief Architect. I haven't used it in over a decade but it was fun for cobbling together [I'll call them] builder-grade house models and plans.
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