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Need KD Software advice

15 years ago

I'm new here and am learning a lot. I have been planning a kitchen remodel on graph paper and would like to use some KD software to help visualize it better (so I can put the eraser down, too!) I downloaded Google Sketchup and it is just too tedious for me! Can you share what software you have used? I'm looking for something that is:

1) easy to learn

2) can show a 3D visual

3) isn't too expensive (free would be great!)

Thanks!

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Comments (4)

tnrandy
15 years ago
IKEA has one on their website. A friend let me borrow a old, old copy of visual home and it works great and is easy to use.
Good luck
corgimum
Original Author
15 years ago
I have tried the Ikea one but I couldn't figure out how to put my angled bay window on the plan.

I'll see if I can find Visual Home- thanks!

Anybody else?
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No matter who you hire, it's really important to understand what *you* want to some degree -- unless/until you determine you want to just go with an experienced KD thinks you should have. That's not the KitFor way and since you keep posting here I think you're one of us -- not someone who will hire someone and let them build their vision for you. It's terribly overwhelming. I almost sold the house rather than renovate it. But you seem to be doing fine. Two years from now, I bet you'll be here giving advice to others based on your experience. Since you seem to have 2 people lined up to help, have you compiled enough clips and photos of kitchens you like to help them figure out a style you like and features? If so, you're set for now. Having those "inspiration" pics will be a huge help because you can use the clips to figure out out what you go for -- you've said sort of country but that can mean different things to different people. The photos help make it more specific. When I went through mine, I found I picked a certain shape or color or style over and over. So I was able to define for myself what I liked that way. With that guidance, the KD you wind up with should then be able to guide you through the rest.
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needsometips08
15 years ago
I started with the free 7 day free trial of Smart Draw. That was a great starting point to teach you the basic gist of using kitchen software, but so very limited. To save a copy of your work you have to use alt + prtsc to copy the screen shot and paste somewhere else. Anything you save in Smart Draw will go away with the ending of the free trial.

Once that expired, I spent $84 on the Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer software, and I definately got my money out of it and then some. While it is limited, I have been able to find a sufficient workaround to every limitation and was able to create my kitchen perfectly. (For intance, they don't offer wood hoods, so I built my own using the "shelf", the "wood valance", and a cabinet.) I built a banquette seat using cabinets. I put the microwave and sink in by just placing them right "through" the cabinets, even though technically I have 2 objects sitting in the same space, etc). The biggest frustration was with backsplash. It's most limited there - it likes to the do the whole kitchen or nothing in some instances. Not very intuitive, but again, workable. I spent hours on the backsplash parts.

Here is one of the drawings to show you the visualization.
bob_cville
15 years ago
I used the program Plan3D (from www.plan3d.com) I found it much easier to use and get started with than a 3D Home Architect, which I already owned and discarded because of how crappy it was. Plan3D is designed as a WYSIWYG 3d editor. You find the thing you are interented in a menu, grab it and drag it into your image. You can then also set the color or pattern by finding a texture and dragging it onto the item in question.

Other programs I have seen require you to do most of the editing and object placement on a 2D-blueprint view, and then do a 3d render to see what the design looks like.

One (big) downside of the program, is that you don't buy the program, you buy a subscription to be able to use the program, and because of that you need a fairly fast internet connection for it to work.

However I think they allow you to download it for free, and try it out, with the save button disabled.

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