Visualizing a house and saving home inspiration images seems fun, yet it can be challenging when you need to turn those images into a plan. Use these five tips for designing your dream home on a computer, so you won't drown in a sea of measuring and drafting.

5 Tips for Designing Your Dream Home on a Computer

Start drafting your home using a working computer that can support designing software. You can even play a game to create a design. Read along and see how these tips for designing your dream home on a computer can turn floor plans into reality. 

Check Your Computer Specifications

A highly graphical software requires a lot of power and memory, especially once you render your designs. Besides, a computer's specs can impact the overall experience of using the device and software. 

For example, if the graphics card of the computer can't meet the software's requirement specifications, you may suffer from slow loading times or lagging. You can use resources from sites like Fancy Appliance to choose the best laptops with specifications for designing houses. 

Visualize Your Needs and Wants 

List down the necessary aspects of a home, and then incorporate your wants. Knowing the essentials lets you plan a budget, which is also important if you want to save money when building your dream house. 

For example, you need to place your study room away from the home's communal areas if you want some peace and concentration. Perhaps you like inviting your friends over for dinner, which means it's ideal to have an open floor plan that provides an easy flow between the kitchen, dining area, and living room. 

Likewise, you need to consider if the design is safe for common natural calamities in your location. Check if there are site constraints that can affect your preferred plumbing or electrical system. 

Try Using SketchUp 

SketchUp is a free program that lets you create 3D home designs using intuitive tools. It’s easy to draw plans because the software behaves like an extension of the hand.

What's also great about SketchUp is that it provides dimensioning tools, enabling you to scale and use actual measurements according to your land. It uses simple click-and-release mouse actions so that you can quickly create a floor plan from scratch or edit some preloaded templates. 

The software has the world's largest collection of free 3D models, including elevations, building materials, appliances, furniture, and plants. With such features, you can make your designs more realistic.  

Practice Using AutoCAD

AutoCAD is an advanced design program for drafting home plans, which is why it may require a high-end computer. It boasts an extensive set of features that allow you to design your house from exterior to interior, as well as from the biggest to smallest components. 

The software lets you choose whether to start with a new project or use a house plan sample. You can also upload a plan drawn by hand, and the software can calculate the proportions for you to fix. Then, you can add rooms, draw walls, or resize a premade room shape. 

Pick doors, windows, and stairs from the built-in collection, and put them on the plan. You can adjust the sample dimensions, design, and position. Once you're happy with the results, you can save your project in 2D, 3D, or both. 

Play The Sims

Did you know that The Sims was initially designed as an architecture simulator? So, if Sketchup and AutoCad seem too complex or serious for you, playing the game is an entertaining way of designing a home. 

However, you may still need to recreate the plan on a design software or coordinate with a professional for better results. Nevertheless, this can be an option to keep ideas flowing. 

Conclusion

As much as overwhelming the designing process may be, the right equipment and information can help you achieve the result you want. With these tips, you can design your dream home on a computer with confidence and take the first step toward fulfilling your goal. 

Guest Contributor: Allen Michael