I recently wanted to buy a new work desk. However, almost every desk I saw online are either overpriced or not good enough. So, being a DIY guy, I wanted to make my own modular desk that can meet my specific requirements. Of course, I’m no professional. So, I took some help from YouTube videos and furniture design software to design the desk. If you are in the same position as me or if you are a professional and looking for good software that makes it easy to design furniture, then here are some of the best furniture design software you can try.
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Best Furniture Design Software
1. SketchUp
SketchUp is a very user-friendly and feature-rich 3D design software. Though not a dedicated furniture design software, it is pretty good a designing the furniture. In fact, this is the software I used to design my own desk. One of the best things about SketchUp is that it is pretty minimal yet fully featured. This combination makes it quite easy to use and the learning curve is not that hard. Add to that, SketchUp has a huge 3D library which can be used to design your own furniture. Additionally, once designed, you can export the 3D models in a variety of formats like CAD and 3DS.
Of course, being software designed for professionals, all the measurements are precise. If needed, you can even try out different design variations of your current design with just a couple of clicks. Apart from Woodworking and furniture designing, you can also use SketchUp for 3D printing, construction working, interior design, etc.
Object library - The best home design software packages include libraries of free objects, like furniture and fixtures, that number in the thousands. For more flexibility, look for home design software that supports importing even more objects from SketchUp, Trimble 3D Warehouse, or both. Sweet Home 3D is another free interior design tool that helps you to draw your house/room plan, drag and drop the furniture in the way you want, and then visualize the results in 3D. The application comes in 2 versions; you can either install the software on your computer or use it online through your browser.
Pricing: The base version of SketchUp is free but is limited in terms of features. For instance, you will not have access to the 3D library, 3D modeling options, support for 2D designs, style builder, etc. For advanced features, you need to subscribe to one of the paid plans. Depending on your use case, the subscription fee varies greatly. I recommend you check this page.
Platform support: Windows and Mac. If you want to, you can also use the browser version.
Download SketchUp
2. SolidWorks
When it comes to 3D modeling and designing, SolidWorks is one of the most popular and gives you a ton of options to design the furniture the way you want. Since SolidWorks is a CAD software, you can pretty much create any type of furniture design you want. Add to that, you can try out different materials, textures, and other 3D elements for your furniture designs.
What makes SolidWorks special is the amount of flexibility you get and the ability to use third-party software alongside or within the SolidWorks. In fact, SolidWorks has a whole catalog of partner products that tries to enhance and make it easy to create your own furniture. Of course, being a popular software, SolidWorks has a great community and some huge woodworking libraries to get you started.
As good as it is, SolidWorks is not for everyone. Compared to SketchUp, the learning curve is steep.
Pricing: As of writing this, there is no pricing information on the official website. You need to contact the developer and request a quote. Depending on what your needs are and who you are the pricing may differ.
Platform support: SolidWorks is only available for Windows.
Download SolidWorks
3. CAD Pro Furniture Design
If SolidWorks is too much for you, you can try CAD Pro Furniture Design software. Now, just like SolidWorks, CAD Pro, being a CAD software, can be used for a variety of needs. What makes CAD Pro special is that it has all the specific tools you need to design your furniture.
Features of CAD Pro include but not limited to autoshaping, drafting tools, sketch tracking, MS Office integration, a huge library of DIY projects and plans, smart dimensions, etc. All in all, if you are looking for a software that is simple to use but has all the essential features then do give CAD Pro Furniture Design a try and see how it works for you.
Pricing: CAD Pro Furniture Design is a premium only software that costs you a one-time fee of $99.95.
Platform support: CAD Pro is Windows-only software.
4. SketchList
SketchList is a purpose designed software that lets you create any type of furniture design you want. Being a purpose build software, it has almost everything a woodworker or designer needs to design good furniture. Those features include drag and drop objects, Snap-On objects, alignment tools, one-click contours, One click joints, drill hole emulation, wood types, custom materials, etc.
The greatest asset of SketchList is its ease of use and the detailed how-to articles and videos showing usage and tricks of the software.
If you are looking for a purpose-built software that is straightforward to use, then go with SketchList.
Pricing: SketchList is a premium only software that costs $149.99 per license.
Platform support: SketchList supports both Windows and macOS.
5. Woodwork for Inventor
The name says it all, doesn’t it? Woodwork for Inventor is designed by AutoDesk to specifically meet the needs of woodworkers and furniture designers. Of all the software in this list, Woodwork for Inventor has the most features for furniture designing. In fact, the software comes with some interesting features like automatic mortises and tenons, box components, automatic measurements, material generator, size calculations, etc. As a bonus, the software can also work with a CNC machine, if you have one.
Now, with all these features, it is no wonder that it is a paid product. However, the deal breaker for most might be that you need to purchase the software from the local vendor. Depending on where you live, the website will give you the details of the vendor from whom you can purchase the software. Other than that little hiccup, Woodwork for Inventor is a pretty good software to design furniture.
Price: As of writing this, the website did not list the pricing. You need to contact the local vendor to find out. You can use this link for that purpose.
Platform support: Windows only
Hope that helps. If you think I missed any of your favorite furniture design software, comment below and share them with me.
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What would you do when you plan to design your dream house and rooms? May be some of you will surf websites that talk about architecture, buy some interior design books or visit IKEA store to get some ideas and inspirations? Well they are all good planning before you start your renovation works or buying furniture. However, if you really serious about designing your home that suits your needs, wouldn’t it be great if you can plan virtually though home design tools?
Today we would like to introduce you some helpful free tools to plan and design your home, rooms, kitchen, bathroom as well as office space, without requiring any prior knowledge. All these online apps and software allow you to drag and drop furniture, floorings, decors and finishes into your virtual room, in the style and color you like. Sounds interesting? Just give them a try and you’ll love them!
Any other tools you’ve been using isn’t listed here, share with us in the comment.
Homestyler Autodesk is famous for its 3D design software such as AutoCAD, Revit, Maya, and Inventor for industries from building, engineering, and manufacturing to entertainment. When it comes to home design, Autodesk also has a product called Homestyler allowing you to create home, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom designs and visualize it in 2D or 3D view. The software is pretty easy to use, you can simply drag and drop doors and windows into the room, and then experiment it with real-world furniture. Once your design is completed, you can share it on social media sites.
dmLights 3D Homeplanner This is a free online tool that helps you to plan your room in 3D. Of course, you can also use it for planning your entire house, kitchen, office, etc. Once you’ve entered the site, you can either start designing from scratch or uploading your floor plan which saves you time and efforts. The online room planner has a wide range of 3D furniture which can be dragged and dropped, this helps you virtually plan where and how your actual furniture should be located and positioned. In addition, you can also decorate the room using paint, carpet, stone, tiles, wallpapers, and wood.
Sweet Home 3D Sweet Home 3D is another free interior design tool that helps you to draw your house/room plan, drag and drop the furniture in the way you want, and then visualize the results in 3D. The application comes in 2 versions; you can either install the software on your computer or use it online through your browser.
Design A Room This is a virtual room design tool that enables you to design your own room the way you want. To use the online tool, you will first need to choose a room: living room, bedroom, Kitchen or bathroom, and then select the room style you like, from casual, contemporary, traditional, eclectic to European country. Now you can try different type and color of flooring, wall and cabinets until you satisfied with the results. Once completed, you can either save your room design to My Project or share it with friends.
Floor Plans – SmartDraw With SmartDraw’s Floor Plans software, you can choose the template you want to create floor/house plans, landscapes, kitchen, bathroom, and office spaces. The software offers thousands of ready-made visuals for furniture, kitchen fixtures, cabinets, plants, landscape elements, as well as textures for flooring, countertops, and furniture. With the help of SmartDraw, you don’t have to be a professional designer to create awesome results.
IKEA Kitchen Planner and Pax Planner With the IKEA Planner tools, you can design your rooms and kitchen to suit your needs. Simply drag and drop your favorite furniture into the room and try different positions and styles until you happy with the results. The software also lets you calculate the cost and print out the furniture list so that you can pick them up at IKEA store.
Floor Planner – SmallBluePrinter Floor Planner provides users a simple way to create floor plan. Similar to above applications, the program lets you drag and drop doors, windows, walls, furniture, landscapes, and shapes into your floor map without requiring any prior design knowledge.
Garden Planner – SmallBluePrinter SmallBluePrinter has another product called Garden Planner. Instead of designing home and rooms, Garden Planner is used for planning garden or landscape from the ground up. Just drag and drop trees, flowers, paving, and ponds into the large grid and lay them out as you like. You can zoom in or out the garden and try different colors.
Best Free Interior Design Software Mac Free
Arrange a Room This is a simple online home planning app by Better Homes & Gardens. It lets you easily change the shape of the room, adjust the size of the furniture, experiment with the style and color you like, and many more.
Free Interior Design Software Mac
3Dream 3Dream makes your space planning, decorating easy. With over 7500 models, textures and materials in the product library, you can create an awesome 2D and 3D room designs easily and share with your friends.