Clients want to know what their homes will look like and feel like before they actually commit to buying or designing a home. Using floor planning software to create the dimensions of the space and design of a home is a helpful way to convey the design idea to clients. Hence, online software tools for creating floor plans are important tools for interior design professionals. 

There are many floor planning software available with different feature sets, some of which are even available for free. Interior designers have to find the best options for their requirements, helping them create attractive floor plans without excessive effort or learning time.

How Online Software Tools Help Make Great Floor Plans

There are many great online software tools that can help interior designers create great floor plans and help their clients visualize their design concept. They have a number of functionalities and make drawing up floor plans and creating 3D renderings from them extremely easy and quick. Here are some ways in which online software tools for making floor plans are useful.

• Online software tools have premade templates and predefined parameters for common floor plans, which can be easily used to draw up floor plans. This saves a lot of time and gives the client information about home rapidly.
• Using an online software tool is largely intuitive, and hence, even those without any special experience in using 3D rendering software can manage search platforms and create floor plans.
• These drawn up floor plans can then be saved and collaborated on in real time. Different platforms allow you to share your work with your colleagues and partners, and to get feedback or comments to make relevant changes.
• The floor plans can be converted into 3D rendering which are especially useful for clients, as it helps them understand exactly what they are getting.
• The sharing and collaboration aspect of an online software tool for making floor plans means that the clients can view the floor plans from the comfort of their own home or at their own time, where ever they are. This reduces the need for actual physical visits to studios and site locations, saving time and effort.
• The advanced technology in such online software tools means that you can create 3D walkthroughs and 360-degree views of your floor plans, turning abstract concepts that clients may not understand into a virtual reality kind of presentation they can see.

Floor plans are the layout designs of a house drawn to scale. They illustrate the location of windows, walls, stairs, bathroom fixtures, room sizes, and furniture placement. Floor plans can also include outdoor areas.

Creating a floor plan is an essential part of interior design, architectural plans, and construction. Using a floor plan creator allows you to visualize the way your home will look – including room dimensions, 3D interior design aspects, and more.

Designing a floor plan helps in deciding the home interiors, including construction dimensions, materials needed, and how the furniture and fittings will fit. Floor plans are used by real estate marketers, contractors, and interior decorators to give a real picture of the house design to the clients

Creating a floor plan is the first step in starting a home construction project. Floor plans can be in 2D to 3D floor plan conversion design. But a three-dimensional plan is better as it gives you a scale and height perspective and is easier to understand in terms of interior designs.

Earlier, floor plans were drawn on a drafting table, and now with technology entering almost all aspects of our lives,  there are many software available that do the job.

Here is a list of the Best 3D Floor Plan and Interior Design Software in the Market

• It is easy to learn, and it comes with many features and tools. It has nine pre-designed floor plans which can be customized to suit your needs.

• It allows you to create a 3D floor plan from scratch if you want. There are pre-programmed designs, but if that does not work for you, there are designing wizards that will help you create the best 3D floor plan along with the interior design from ground zero.

• Get a 3D interior design of your kitchen, bedroom ideas inspired by movies, patio, outdoors and more.

• Importantly, it comes with an in-built cost calculator. It advises on the type of material best suited for your chosen designs and calculates the amount of material you will need for your designs.

• It is ideal for small projects and is pocket-friendly.

• It has a roof wizard, allows you to import floor plans, and has the drag and drop interface. It is a basic planner.

• It allows you to create 3D floor plans.

• This software allows you to build illustrated 3D design floor plans and you can edit the style settings.

• The software’s geometric specifications are advanced where interior designers, architects, and contractors can measure to the last decimal.

• The geometric tools are precise and leave no margin for error.

• Designers can export floor plans as a PDF (the software recommends it) as PDF formats of floor plans, including the text and measurement specifications, are of a high standard.

• The software provides detailed furniture and fixtures layouts, precise placement, color, and texture.

• It is a very convenient software for interior decorators to create the best 3D floor plans.

• There are other features like comprehensive key symbols, a notes section for client information regarding design and construction specifications, and more.

• Planner 5D: Planner 5D is the most extensive free room-design tool on the market. It comes with the options of creating 3D floor plans, 3D interior designs and layouts, landscaping, and pool designs. It has a huge gallery and a drop and drags feature.

• Home Hardware Design Centre: They have an extensive interior design gallery, storage, and kitchen designs. All their designs are cloud-based, hence no downloading is required. They have a very easy interface. You can even upload 3D floor and design plans of your home and build on that.

• Ikea Home Planner Tools:  The home designing software is for decorating with Ikea products. It allows you to create 3D floor plans and designs for bathrooms, kitchen, bedrooms, offices, and living room.

• Space Designer: It allows you to decorate the interiors of your home directly on the website. One can even plan a whole house layout on this software. Designs can be 2D or 3D. Space Designer also offers businesses the option of hosting their software on the website as a design platform opportunity for customers.

There are many more such free software that home-grown newbie interior designers and professionals can make use of like Design a Room, Autodesk Homestyler, The Home Renovator, and Sweet Home 3D.

Before you invest in software or outsource interior design, here are some essential aspects of the process that you should keep in mind.

• Remember that though a floor plan is fixed, a family’s needs change with time. So the interior design should be done in a manner that allows for renovations and changes in the future.

• The outdoors should also be incorporated in the indoor designs. Where is the house sitting, the view,  the position of the sunlight vis a vis the windows? You need to do the interior designs and layout keeping in mind the air flow and sunlight.

• Be practical in creating floor plans. While making plans for the interior designs; going all modern home designs and high-tech may not be the answer. Plan according to the location and your family interactions. Having a foyer or a mudroom incorporated in the design will work if you are in an outdoorsy space or you socialize a lot, a space to welcome guests and to keep their coats shoes, etc is good.

• Some old-fashioned concepts that do not work in modern times where people are too busy to interact with each other. Creating an open floor plan with fluid, functional spaces will allow more interactions.

• Plan according to the family members. If there are young ones in the house, too many balconies can be hazardous. Design the interiors in such a way that you can keep an eye on them when you create a play area.

• If there are elderly people in the house, then the bathroom design, stairs, bedrooms, and floors should incorporate safety standards like railings, easy steps, anti-skid floors, etc.

Image credits: bostoncondoloft.com

The best floor plan creators or designers should prioritize your needs, personality, and family dynamics. Are you an extrovert, entertain a lot, have kids or elderly parents, or have a budget?  In short, balance good design with your practical needs.

Consult experts when you are stumped by a generic floor plan. Most importantly, have consistency, uniformity in proportions, and a spatial flow for a smoother workflow.

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