You can draw up a house project yourself if you have the skills of a confident PC user and specialized software. This review will help you make a choice among the abundance of free programs for designing houses.
Google SketchUp. House design program
Google SketchUp– a simple program for designing houses, garages, extensions, landscape design and engineering design. The utility allows you to easily create models of buildings, add small details and textures to them, set the exact dimensions of objects and share your own works. The program for house drawings is distributed free of charge, but it also has an extended edition. Google SketchUp works in two modes:
- design;
- drawing and modeling.
Features of the Google SketcUP program:
- support for plugins, layers and macros;
- creating presentations;
- compatibility with other applications;
- importing photographs to create a 3D model based on them;
- the presence of a huge library of materials, textures and styles;
- export images of your models.
You can view and download the program on the developer’s website
Program House-3D
House-3D– simple anda functional program for creating a house project with its interior spaces, allowing you to place numerous interior items and furniture in the rooms of the finished model of the room.
This house modeling program contains a library of materials and allows you to change the material and color of walls and furniture.
You can view and download the program on the developer’s website
VisiCon. A simple program for designing houses
VisiCon- a simple program for designing houses. Its capabilities are enough to satisfy the needs of many users who are planning to create their own 3D home. The functioning of the utility is based on the selection of elements from a variety of proposed ones, which makes it easy to create a layout of a residential building. They are stored in a specialized library and divided into categories to simplify the creation of a model of a kitchen, bathroom, office and other rooms. All elements of furniture and interior are as close in shape to real ones as possible, which will ensure greater realism.
VisiCon can be downloaded for free by ordering a demo version of the application.
FloorPlan 3D
FloorPlan 3D– a program for modeling a house, your own apartment or redevelopment of a plot of land. The product has many features of professional applications. FloorPlan 3D is recommended for use by people of any level of computer and graphic editor skills. The abundance of different versions will allow specialists to settle on the appropriate one. For example, Turbo Floorplan 3D Home Landscape Pro is intended for home use and is tailored for 3D home and landscape design.
Memorizing frequently used materials in FloorPlan 3D will allow you to quickly access them, and automatic determination of object sizes will save valuable time. The latest version of the utility, which can be downloaded for free, contains the function of free movement around the created model, viewing it from any angle and height. The result of the work can be displayed on the screen or in the form of a plan or three-dimensional image.
You can view and download the program atdeveloper website
CyberMotion 3D-Designer 13.0. House modeling program
CyberMotion 3D-Designer 13.0- a program for modeling a house, subsequent animation and visualization of the resulting three-dimensional models. The product can be used not only for construction purposes, but also to create advertising videos or simple three-dimensional animation. The presence of numerous templates and pop-up information tips will help even a person who is far from modeling to develop a home design. Visualization is carried out after creating drawings of all three types of houses in several ways. The program for designing houses consists of several functional modules:
- 3D editor;
- module for creating inscriptions;
- sweep editor that creates symmetry;
- landscape editor and others.
Total 3D Home Design Deluxe
Total 3D Home Design Deluxe — house design program, which provides a package of tools for visualizing your home redevelopment project. Drawing up a house project with this application is a pleasure, because it is easy to learn and will allow you to enjoy a realistic, high-quality picture after visualization. The proposed house modeling program allows you not only to create a 3D house, but also to arrange furniture, specifying its colors, select window and door openings, wall color and other important details.
The program is not free. You can buy it on the developer's website
Home Plan Pro. Program for creating house drawings
Home Plan Pro- a program for creating house drawings, which includes a minimum number of graphic elements and menu items. It is recommended to use this utility for users who do not want to waste time mastering the interface and functionality of graphic editors.
Main functionality and capabilities:
- a large selection of furniture, windows, openings and doors;
- the presence of several length measurement systems, in addition to metric;
- support for working with layers and colors;
- the ability to send the project by mail;
- function of printing the finished model in several projections.
Xilinx Planahead
Xilinx Planahead- a program for designing houses, aimed primarily at professionals. It is capable of solving a wide range of problems in the design of residential premises. Experienced architects and designers worked to create a collection of ready-made models of dachas and houses. A simple interface and convenient presentation of plans will allow you to make decisions faster, and increased productivity will save the user time spent on project rendering.
It is better to download this professional architectural application for free from the developer's page.
The Ultimate Home Dream. Program for creating a house project
The Ultimate Home Dream– an unpopular program for creating a house project, it can greatly facilitate 3D house design. Using it, you can also deal with interior design, the location of pieces of furniture, the choice of their appearance, and shapes. The presence of Russian localization and a simple interface allow users with any level of training to work with the application.
You can download the application for free from a third-party resource, because the developer has suspended support for the project.
Envisioneer Express. House modeling program
Envisioneer Express is a house modeling program that has all the necessary tools to create a three-dimensional model of your own house, even if it consists of several floors. After completing the design, you can start arranging the furniture, choosing from a variety of ready-made solutions. The proposed program for house drawings allows you to change the colors of the objects and materials used, add windows and doorways by simply dragging them or clicking them. Having drawn a building plan, it easily turns into a 3D model that can be viewed from any distance and angle.
Sweet Home 3D
Sweet Home 3D is an excellent online design program that allows you to easily create detailed plans of rooms and houses, placing various pieces of furniture and interior in them for later viewing in 3D mode. The utility can be easily downloaded for free from the developer’s resource or select the cloud design option, after which the online design program will launch. The site also contains a huge database of various three-dimensional objects available for download. All furniture samples and interior items are divided into categories for greater convenience.
Functionality and characteristics:
- large selection of furniture;
- import of new three-dimensional models;
- ample opportunities to view the finished project;
- support for resizing furniture items;
- possibility of printing plans and 3D models:
- plugin support;
- replacing textures and creating your own;
- multiplatform;
- Availability of an online version.
Developer's page, where you can download it:
Planoplan. New program for designing rooms online
Planoplan— online design program. A simple interface, low requirements for resources and the presence of the Russian language allow any PC user to master the product. The online design program Planoplan has a wide selection of furniture and allows you to choose the finishing material and color of walls, ceilings, floors and any other objects. The advantage of the utility is that it works without installing any modules. The application allows you to do everything online when it comes to creating 3D models of residential premises.
Designing houses, apartments, and individual premises is a fairly broad and complex field of activity. It is not surprising that the market for special software for solving architectural and design problems is very saturated. The completeness of project creation depends purely on individual project tasks. For some cases, it is enough to develop a draft solution, for others it is impossible to do without a full set of working documentation, the creation of which is carried out by several specialists. For each task, you can choose a specific software solution based on its cost, functionality and ease of use.
Developers have to take into account that the creation of virtual models of buildings is carried out not only by qualified specialists, but also by customers, as well as contractors who are not related to the design industry. What all software developers agree on is that creating a project should take as little time as possible, and the software should be as clear and user-friendly as possible. Let's look at a few popular software tools designed to help design homes.
Archicad is one of the most powerful and complete design programs available today. It has powerful functionality, ranging from the ability to create two-dimensional primitives to the creation of highly realistic visualizations and animations. The speed of project creation is ensured by the fact that the user can build a three-dimensional model of the building, and then obtain all the drawings, estimates and other information from it. The difference from similar programs is flexibility, intuitiveness and the presence of a large number of automated operations for creating complex projects. Archicad provides a full design cycle and is intended for specialists in this field. It is worth saying that, despite all its complexity, the program has a friendly and modern interface, so learning it will not take much time and nerves. Among the disadvantages of Archicad is the need for a computer of medium and high performance, so for light and less complex tasks you should choose other software.
Download Archicad
FloorPlan3D
The FloorPlan3D program allows you to create a three-dimensional model of a building, calculate the area of premises and the amount of building materials. As a result of the work, the user should get a sketch sufficient to determine the volume of construction of the house. FloorPlan3D does not have the same flexibility in operation as Archicad; it has an outdated interface and, in some places, an illogical operating algorithm. At the same time, the program is quickly installed, allows you to quickly draw simple plans and automatically create designs for simple objects.
Download FloorPlan3D
House 3D
The freely distributed application House 3D is intended for those users who want to quickly master the process of three-dimensional house modeling. Using the program, you can draw a plan even on a weak computer, but with a three-dimensional model you will have to rack your brains - in some places the work process is difficult and illogical. Compensating for this shortcoming, House 3D can boast of very serious functionality for orthogonal drawing. The program does not have parametric functions for calculating estimates and materials, but, apparently, this is not so important for its tasks.
Download House 3D
Visicon is a simple software for intuitive creation of virtual interiors. With the help of an ergonomic and understandable working environment, you can create a full-fledged three-dimensional model of the interior. The program has a fairly large library of interior elements, but most of them are not available in the demo version.
Download Visicon
Unlike Visicon, this application is distributed free of charge and has a considerable library for filling rooms. Sweet Home 3D is a simple program for designing apartments. With its help, you can not only select and arrange furniture, but also choose the finish of the walls, ceiling and floor. Among the pleasant bonuses of this application is the creation of photorealistic visualizations and video animation. Thus, Sweet Home 3D can be useful not only for ordinary users, but also for professional designers to demonstrate their work to customers. Definitely, Sweet Home 3D looks like a leader among peer programs. The only negative is the small number of textures, but nothing prevents them from being supplemented with pictures from the Internet.
Download Sweet Home 3D
Home Plan Pro
This program is a real “veteran” among CAD applications. Of course, it is difficult for the outdated and not very functional Home Plan Pro to surpass its modern competitors in any way. Still, this simple home design software solution can be useful in some situations. For example, this system has good functionality for orthogonal drawing and a large library of pre-drawn two-dimensional primitives. This will help you quickly draw up a visual plan with the placement of structures, furniture, utility networks and other things.
Download Home Plan Pro
The interesting BIM application Envisioneer Express deserves attention. Like Archicad, this program allows you to carry out a full design cycle and receive drawings and estimates from a virtual model of the building. Envisioneer Express can be used as a system for designing frame houses or for designing houses made of timber, since the application has the appropriate templates. Compared to Archicad, the Envisioneer Express workspace may not be as flexible or intuitive, but it does have a few benefits that will make seasoned Archicad users jealous. Firstly, Envisioneer Express has a convenient and functional tool for creating and editing landscapes. Secondly, there is a huge library of plants and street design elements. Among the disadvantages, we note the difficulties in obtaining even a demo copy - you will need to provide the developers with your e-mail or phone number.
Download Envisioneer Express
So we looked at programs for designing houses. In conclusion, it is worth saying that the choice of a suitable solution is based on the design tasks, computer power, the qualifications of the contractor and the time to complete the project.
Where do you think the construction of a house begins? From a dream? Undoubtedly! And the next stage, of course, is! However, not every one of us can immediately visualize our ideas; many require an assistant. It can be a special computer program for. Such a silent, and most importantly patient, expert, with due diligence and a certain amount of perseverance, will reward you for your efforts and hours spent. In any case, you will already have an idea of what exactly your dream will be like in the actual number of walls and consumables. Modern technologies allow you to see exactly what your home will be like, down to the smallest details and decorative elements. Ready to dive into the world of 3D modeling? If yes, then take a pen and pencil and write down the nuances of this or that program, which we will tell you about today.
Read in the article
Possibilities of programs for creating a house project
If you still thought that 3D modeling programs are like a computer game where you just travel around the house, then this is far from true. All programs are built in such a way that, when designing this or that element, you create several copies of it at once in different “slices” of the house, you get several separate construction documents, which themselves carry different information: some are responsible for communications, others for... third for .
What can such programs do – almost everything! You can separately see how the and will look, and how, see the important nodes, and also create an individual design for each room or space. Already at the design stage, you will be able to identify inconsistencies in some elements, since all measurements are entered in exact dimensions in real time. For example, where to expand and where to make an additional one.
Advice! Be sure to use 3D modeling programs. In the process of creating an online project, you go through all the stages of construction over and over again, thereby beginning to understand the technology of constructing the object and the intricacies of design.
Using the program, you can almost down to the nail calculate the consumption of materials not only for building materials, but also for and. Calculate general and residential.
Among the advantages of the program are the possibility of video detailing of the project and an extensive library of textures. With its help, you can not only select and arrange, but also select finishes separately, and. After a couple of video lessons, you can easily master it, and if you don’t become a professional architect, then at least create a house project yourself.
Another free utility for beginning designers (we talked about it above) is the free program Google Sketch Up . It allows you to simulate various structures for different purposes: these can be independent buildings, and so on.
Chief Architect - a convenient program for designing frame structures
A fairly specific program that can be easily understood by a specialist who has ever dealt with . You will also have to learn a little English, since the interface is not Russified.
The program makes it very easy to perform specific calculations, for example, create a drawing of rafter systems or calculate. The virtual visualization system was very successfully implemented. The model is depicted very clearly from all sides.
Possibilities of programs for designing apartment design
Where, where, but in matters of designing decoration and layout of premises, the possibilities of 3D modeling are simply endless! There are dozens of applications and programs that will solve all your visualization problems for you.
Review of interior design programs
Let's consider professional programs for designing premises and apartments.
Interior Design 3D - a program that will make you a real designer
With the help of this utility, you can create a design project for an apartment yourself, almost without much effort. The program allows you to arrange, select and study the nuances of the arrangement of all elements. The program is very easy to use and is suitable for a person who does not know anything about the work of a graphics editor.
The program has already created typical and most common premises of all known modifications. The user only needs to select the desired project. In addition, during the work process, special tips pop up that will guide the novice designer in the right direction. The program stands out for its large number of textures and a fairly well-drawn world of 3D graphics.
The program exists in several versions, for professional work and home use.
VisiCon - a program for designing premises for various purposes
VisiCon- a simple program, working in which you can, within a given perimeter, not only design, but also the entire interior.
With the help of this program, the user can literally create exclusive sketches of different design solutions from scratch. The program allows you to create both projects and huge houses, office spaces, shops and other objects.
Arcon program - professional interior design
One of the few completely paid design programs. Decent development for professional use. Copes equally well with the design of industrial and domestic premises and structures.
It is a professional tool and requires design skills. However, after several evenings spent watching videos on YouTube, you can master such a serious program.
Do not forget that a 3D house design is one of the most necessary things that you need to think about even at the stage of first thoughts about your own home or. It is always much more convenient to see a project in advance than to later receive something that is not what you expected.
To avoid mistakes in choosing a program to work with, you need to follow some recommendations.
What you should pay attention to when choosing a program, according to the editors of the site:
- If you are new to the subject of interior design, and especially houses, choose the Russian version of the program. This will save you nerve cells and allow you to create a project more accurately.
- Choose an interface that will be as convenient as possible for work. Some architects prefer to work using special tablets, others use 2D drawings. Here it is more convenient for anyone. And easier.
- Do not use programs that are obviously difficult to understand and operate. Understand that there is no ideal designer, just like there is no ideal house. Everything is decided by trial and error. And the simpler the program, the fewer errors you can introduce into your design project.
- Decide on the basics of your home. Until the family has a unified view of the project, there is no point in starting work.
- Study the instructions for the programs and take the time to watch the training video before purchasing the utility.
If you listen to these simple tips, then working on the project will bring you only positive emotions.
Answers to frequently asked questions
Of course, there are as many opinions as there are people. However, there is also a whole pool of programs for creating building projects that will help facilitate the stages of work on the project; we will talk about some of them at the end of our article.
Which program is best for designing frame houses?
Answering this question, most professionals will unanimously say that one of the most convenient programs for solving this goal is WoodEngine . This application is equipped with all the necessary sets of tools that will be useful for the erection of such a structure.
A convenient and simple interface will allow you to easily make all the calculations and estimate the consumption of materials. The program can visualize the project in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional versions.
Advice! If you are thinking about designing a roof, then try working with such a simple but functional program as Sema. The utility is designed for designers; it allows you to perform even complex calculations for roofing work. Suitable for designing attics and structures. Moreover, after creating the project, the environment issues ready-made documentation, including ready-made overhead costs for lumber.
Which program is best for calculating materials for building a house?
There are special resources that will help you calculate the consumption of materials for building a house. Most often, such services are offered by stores selling building materials. All you need to do is indicate the footage of the room, height and length, number of door and window openings. Similar projects exist in the form of applications and programs.
What is the best program for designing electrical wiring in a house?
There are no fewer services that allow you to calculate the cable size for. Many allow you to not only calculate cable footage, but also estimate how power and load will be distributed in the network.
For example, Electrician 6.7 . This program, based on the specified parameters, can calculate: current value, peak values, voltage losses. In addition, the utility will tell you where and how best to extend the cable in your room. The software has a fairly clear and simple interface, understandable without special knowledge and skills.
To design your own home, you no longer need to be an architect, or even have perfect drafting skills. Technological progress provides a lot of opportunities. And, among other things, you can start drawing the layout of your house right now, without having any special tools for this, using only your PC and online tools created specifically for designing houses. Another good option are programs that you can install on your computer and work with them even without an Internet connection.
Online services
Online programs will help you install the walls of a virtual house and paint them in the desired color, place additional buildings, decorate the yard and fill the house with furniture. Their main advantages:
- The ability to independently plan your home down to the smallest detail;
- Relatively small time costs;
- Timely correction of any deficiencies in the layout;
- Free, in most cases;
- The ability to use 3D options to see a drawn house as if it had already been built.
Planner 5D is one of the popular online programs for planning houses and apartments. You don't even need to register to get started.
You can choose a ready-made template and work with it, or start your project from scratch.
The program allows you to create any number of rooms of different shapes, several floors in the house, has a wide variety of furniture, garden plants, models of people and animals, everything your heart could desire. But not all objects are available in free mode. A monthly subscription to access all layouts costs $5, and you will get forever access to the full catalog for $20. 
How to create a house in Planner 5D:
- In the “Rooms” section you need to select the number of rooms, their shape and size. You can also change the color and structure of all objects.
- Using the “Construction” section you can install windows, doors and stairs.
- The “Interior” section helps install all the necessary furniture, appliances and interior items.
- Additional extensions in the yard are contained in the “Exterior” section.
- You can look at the finished project in 3D mode.
- Using the “Save” option, you can save the layout on your computer.
The good thing about the program is that it takes a minimal amount of time to create a house, but its downside is that it is not professional enough and realistic.
HouseCreator is a program that allows you not only to model a house, but also to calculate its approximate cost. The site has a video tutorial showing how to use the application, but the user interface is clear and simple. 
How to create a house in HouseCreator Online:
Select the type and width of the foundation, wall parameters, number of floors and start designing. All this can be done in pop-up windows when entering the program.
- In the “Wall” menu, select the size and location of the rooms.
- The “Opening” menu will help you install doors and windows, choose their shape and size.
- In the “Roof” menu, select the type and shape of the roof.
- You can submit an application to calculate the cost of the project.
- View the finished house in 3D mode.
- In order to save the house layout you need to register in the system.
The advantage of this application is the ability to calculate the cost of construction, select the thickness of the walls, the height of the floor, and the materials from which the house will be built.
Big minus: the program does not provide a decoration option; it is impossible to furnish your future home to your liking.
If you download and install the program on your computer, you can approach the matter much more thoroughly and professionally, creating your dream home not in half an hour, but in weeks or even months. In addition, this method is more reliable, since there is less chance that the Internet will go down and all the work will “fly” at the most inopportune moment. The disadvantage of such programs is that you have to pay for them, but there is almost always a trial (free) period during which you can manage to build the project.
The advantage of Autodesk software is that students and university teachers can download it for free. The project also has a free demo version.
This program is very professional, in it you can create not only a house, but also the car of your dreams, as well as interior items.
To work in it you need to get good at it and practice designing, but there is a chance that the created house project in this case will not be inferior even to a professional one. This software has many varieties of applications for modeling, design, animation and even mobile applications, but for creating houses it is better to use one of the AutoCAD versions. 
How to use the Autodesk program:
- Download the demo version of AutoCAD from the official website and install it on your computer.
- Select the size of the plot on which the house will be built.
- Adjust the terrain of the area as close as possible to the real one.
- Outline the foundation and walls of the future building.
- Build a roof, windows and doors.
- Choose the interior decoration of the rooms.
Enjoy the hard work of several weeks of work by printing out the project in two copies: one to build a house on, the other to frame and hang in a place of honor.
There are also many instructional videos on how to use the AutoCAD program.
Designing a house yourself is not an easy job, requiring sufficient perseverance, diligence and the desire to acquire new knowledge and skills. You can't do this kind of work in 30 minutes. However, if the goal is simply to better convey your idea to professionals involved in home development, or to have fun, you can use one of the online programs.
The following video shows an example of working with one of the programs for designing houses.
IN The basis of any successful construction is a project worked out to the finest detail. Drawing up a construction project with your own hands is a feasible task, but far from simple, requiring knowledge, experience and certain skills.
Plant a tree, raise a child, build a house... All these actions begin with something tiny: a tree is a seedling, a person develops from two cells. And a house arises from an abstract idea embodied in a construction project. In the first two cases, the basis is given by nature, but let’s try to figure out how to make a house construction project ourselves.
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Beginning – conditions of the construction project problem
If we consider a project as a task, then any project will combine the need for at least two basic conditions.
First condition
Know what result you want to get. In construction science this is called “ design assignment».
When we talk about the construction of a residential building, more precisely, for now only about how to draw up a construction project, the design task will have to include:
- spatial organization of the building, in particular the number and height of floors,
- living space,
- desired design style,
- a list of functions performed by the premises, with the number of corresponding premises (bathrooms, hallways, bedrooms, etc.)
and this is the minimum list.
Second condition
Where and with what boundary conditions will all these requirements be embodied in stone, glass, metal and wood, that is, the characteristics of the construction site and the main issues related to the operation of the building. In construction, this part of the project is called “ technical specifications».
The technical specifications should outline the framework within which it is necessary to draw up a construction project (by yourself, or by inviting an assistant - the second question). And also formulate the requirements and conditions that the project must comply with as much as possible, namely:
- climatic zone of construction;
- geological and hydrogeological conditions, incl. relief, bearing capacity and nature of soils, groundwater level, etc.;
- availability of connection points to the main utilities (electricity, sewerage, water supply, heating, etc.), distance to them and connection conditions;
- adjacent facilities and transport communications;
- special conditions (availability of part-time jobs, increased seismic activity, proximity to specific zones, including environmental protection ones, etc.).
Of course, questions arise: where to get it, who should do everything and how? Let's start with the design task.
What do we want to get?
At first glance, it is obvious that all basic data must be provided by the customer. Who else if not he imagines what exactly his future home will be like?
