Planning your next home renovation? Moved to a new house and want to get everything perfect? Or maybe you enjoy interior design? No matter your reasoning, you are here to find the top interior design software and apps. With how many apps are on the market today, it can be hard making the right choice. So let’s take a look.
SketchUp
SketchUp is one of the most diverse and popular platforms for 3D modelings out there. It is available in a web format, desktop format, and a viewer is available for your mobile device. The web version of SketchUp has a free version that allows you to use the online 3D modeler and the mobile model viewer. You get 10GB of cloud storage to go with that.
In addition to the awesome platform with so many options, you get one of the most popular 3D modeling platforms out there. You can explore your models in various ways, including in a virtual setting that makes you feel like you are actually walking through your design.
If you are interested in paying for a platform, SketchUp has a variety of different paid options. That includes access to a database of prebuilt 3D models that you can use for your work.
Floorplanner
Floorplanner is an app and website based floorplanner that is designed to be easy to use. The web interface allows you to get going without much knowledge on design software in only a matter of minutes. The software also comes with a variety of models that you can use in your designs. This is the software you want if you are just looking to design your own home without learning professional-level skills.
All of the rooms can be color-coded so that you can easily print out or view a floor plan of the overall house and tell which room is which. Every room and detail can also be adjusted by size and detail to make it look just like your home.
SmartDraw
SmartDraw is a program to draw just about anything you are looking for. While many people turn to the site to make basic drawings like charts and diagrams, it can be used to make stunning floor plans. The floorplans made on SmartDraw are one dimensional and look like the ones you have probably seen from a professional.
The program is designed to be easy to use, but you will still need to learn how to use it to make floor plans. That being said, the learning you will need to do is far less than what is needed for more powerful software options. And to make it easier, SmartDraw includes some prebuilt rooms and features for you.
HomeByMe
If you are looking for a completely free option, HomeByMe is likely the option you are looking for. It allows users of the free plan to have 3 projects with 3 realistic renderings. Paid plans allow you to have more projects, 360-degree images, and professional licensing. The program is full of features but is also simple to use, allowing anyone to quickly learn how to create designs.
Over 20,000 products are included to help you furnish your home or design. That includes major brands and options.
One of the coolest features of the options that you will find is the virtual reality option. Your design can be rendered and projected into virtual reality to explore what it looks like and see yourself in the design.
Roomstyler 3D Home Planner
Roomstyler 3D Home Planner is very similar to HomeByMe and is also designed to be easy to use. As soon as you travel to the website, you can immediately start designing. You don’t even need to create an account. If you want to create an account to save your work, you can sign up for free. Also, like HomeByMe, Roomstyler 3D Home Planner comes with plenty of furniture and other models to use in your design.
Not only are you able to create your own designs, but you can also view those of other users to help get inspiration for your own creations. To make that even more interesting, you can enter your designs into contests or even create ones that are specifically geared towards those contests.
All designs can be rendered and explored in 3D for free. If you are looking for a free and easy site, this is the one you are going to want to use.
DFS Room Planner
DFS is one of the go-to places to buy any kind of sofa. The company wanted to offer shoppers an option to see what a sofa would look like in their home, or even an option to see what your room could become with the right sofa. As such, they created the DFS Room Planner. DFS is free and easy to use, and you don’t need an account to start using it.
Because the Room Planner is made by DFS, most of the planner’s options are from DFS. It is also specifically geared towards creating living rooms and dining rooms. We included DFS Room Planner on this list anyway because it can help you create stunning living rooms. The designs you can create with it are simply amazing.
MagicPlan
MagicPlan is an app available only to iOS users, but it is incredibly powerful. It allows you to take pictures of a room with your iOS device and then converts those pictures to floor plans. You can then export those floor plans in various formats, including images or DXF files, for a fee.
Bonus Tools
These apps and software will only get you so far. To help you along the way, we have included a couple of bonus tools on this list. These are apps that compliment your design apps and will help you to create stunning designs.
Color911
Color911 isn’t a floor plan generator, and you won’t find the ability to create stunning 3D images with it. That being said, it is still an essential tool for any interior designer. What Color911 does is allow you to create stunning color palettes for your next interior design project, renovation, or room decorating. You can also use color palettes that are designed by other users.
A great feature from Color911 is the ability to take a picture of your room or a room that you want to use as inspiration and pull a color palette from that picture.
Measured
Another tool that isn’t a design app but is still essential as a piece of interior design software is Measured. Measured is an augmented reality tool that allows you to measure rooms with your device. You take your device into the room and start using the app to measure the various parts of rooms, the size of the room, and the height of baseboards, the length of existing furniture, etc. You can save a lot of time getting your measurements with the app.
Paper by Fifty Three
Paper is one of the most amazing sketching apps with a wide variety of tools available to users. You can create basic sketches, but many professionals use them to create initial design ideas that they can use as a base for their end designs. It is available on the iTunes AppStore and is compatible with the Apple Pencil.
Final Thoughts
Take a look at all of the options on this list before deciding which software to use. You can even try them before you make your final decision. All of these options are out there, and they each have their own unique features. What works for someone else might not be the one that works right for you. Let us know which option you chose in the comments section down below.
