Try the Ikea one for something very basic. Or Sketch Up. Both are free. For paid, the homeowner version of Chief Architect, usually labeled with BH&G's label is pretty easy to learn.

gongerjenny--I'd call design #2 'open to family room'. There are pros & cons to doing a split level design--Pros-easier to find bar stools the right height, hides the mess at the sink. Cons--the raised portion is 15"+ of space that you could have had at counter level for work space, harder for little ones to climb up on the higher bar stools, more backsplash ($$$) required. The cabinet question you had--instead of just having cabinets on the kitchen side of the island, put cabinets on the back side of the island too. Standard base cabinets depth is 24" (that's what will be under your island as drawn), standard wall cabinet depth is 12". Basically, you would need to decide how wide you want your island + countertop overhang--as currently drawn, it is around 40" wide. With 12" deep cabinets on the back side, it would be about 52" wide & with 24" deep base cabinets, it would be about 64" wide. We went with 12" deep on the backside for ours due to a space limitation. If I could have accomodated 24", I would have. We debated back and forth about split level countertop & ended up deciding on all one level. With the undermount sink, I have 10" of deep sink to hide the dirty dishes from view in--works great, so the island always looks tidy. On another note--The door from the breakfast room to outside seems ill-placed as it will make accessing the door or the table seating difficult in it's current spot. Have you thought about doing away with the breakfast room altogether? Do you need 3 dining spaces? The island (or peninsula based on which plan you choose) will have plenty of seating + you have the dining room. Deleting the breakfast room may be a great place to save square footage ($$$) + gain another wall of counter/storage space + bring more natural light into the kitchen. If you wanted a more "table" atmosphere for dinner every night, that would give you the perfect excuse to use the dining room more than 3x a year! Just something to think about. Hope this helps!

Suite modules of whichever source - for word processing, presentations, spreadsheets, etc, from Apple, MS, Open Office, etc, are all very powerful and full of capabilities, 90% of which most people don't use. In my experience, anytime one tries to do something new or out of the ordinary, it can be hard to get the right information source to sort out what's possible and how to go about it. In contrast with the other thread, I think there can be reasons to NOT buy new versions of MS Office so long as it's compatible with a new operating system on one's new PC. I I recall going through at least 4 or 5 version or software changes of these apps that were an unwanted distraction. Always do-able, however, and the new versions always seemed more capable and less buggy.

hahaha mushcreek. I can relate as I used to do paper sculpture. I suppose I could do a scaled model of my house. Hmm, maybe I should? Nah! Lindsy, I did use my computer program (photoshop) to sketch up what I wanted at first. I didn't work with an architect which is probably why it took me so long. I worked with a draftsman. Big Mistake! If I had it to do over, I would have brought my ideas to an architect. This is the very first sketch I brought the draftsman. Notice I didn't really concern myself with actual sizes etc but only with an overall general feel of which rooms I wanted where. For example, I knew the garage had to be where it was and I was required to have the front door on the other street (it's a corner lot). I also knew I wanted a "courtyard feel to my back yard and I wanted my kitchen near my garage. I also knew I wanted the master, DH's study (labeled den) and the great room to open to the yard. The problem was as some here alluded to, was that he then got stuck on the idea of the stairway where I had it, etc. He couldn't visualize anything on his own. I have a design background, so wound up designing it completely by myself WITH the help of the folks and especially with the help of the architects on this forum. And this is what we wound up with: