Better Homes & Gardens Home Designer Suite 6.0
Price: $99
This program will let you create dream homes on a Windows computer, a hobbyist version of Chief Architect, a home design program for professionals created by a Coeur d’Alene company that sells for more than $1,000.
Although Home Designer won’t produce the same detailed plans that you could hand to a builder, it does offer several high-end features, such as 3-D views and walk-throughs, a materials list and a library of more than 4,000 fixtures and furnishings.
The program comes with a database of more than 1,500 sample house plans — or you can build your own from scratch.
The best part of the program may be its ability to show your creation in 3-D. The “camera view” lets you examine a room from a variety of perspectives. What will visitors see when they come in the front door? Will the TV in the media cabinet be visible from the breakfast bar?
Although the program is designed for amateur users, it can get complicated and occasionally frustrating. You’ll want to get comfortable with some of the software’s simpler features before you tackle a curved staircase or an unusual roof design.
Requirements: Windows 98 or higher; 2-gigahertz processor; 512 megabytes of memory, 3-D accelerated video card recommended.