Good evening everyone,
My problem in brief:
I am looking for “THE” 3D home design software that allows creating as photo-realistic house plans as possible. The program should also enable realistic furnishing of interior spaces and the design of the outdoor area. If possible, I want to be able to virtually fly around and through the design with virtual cameras, similar to a drone.
Ultimately, I want designs comparable to those published by various home builders in their catalogs. Unfortunately, it’s probably not allowed to mention names here.
The reason why (for those interested):
I would like to build a house, or rather my wife and daughter have been pushing me for a long time.
However, I have zero visual imagination when looking at drawings. The architects I met during initial contacts with building companies either did not understand or did not have the (financial) motivation to create a custom design with me. It was basically just house designs A through X from a drawer. They might generously move a wall or a window... “Try design No. 3, it’s very fashionable and popular…” That was all I was offered. A proper architect, if I could even find one, would cost me a large five-digit sum, because I’d have to engage them full-time for months.
To overcome these hurdles, I want to take on this task myself, working on the design evening by evening, virtually walking through and exploring the design, identifying needed changes, and adjusting until everything fits perfectly. Many years ago, I had the chance to create designs with the program Arcon, which worked reasonably well. But this program did not offer the current possibilities for photo-realistic rendering of designs.
What I don’t need...:
are pessimistic comments about how I wouldn’t be able to do it anyway. I’m not aiming to win an architecture award, and my lack of experience, feasibility, structural engineering, etc. is a different matter. I also don’t need any CAD or structural analysis modules, etc.
Let’s say others build model railways as a hobby, and my wife and I would like to design our tailor-made dream house.
Many thanks in advance for all serious advice!
Best regards,
MiHoe
My problem in brief:
I am looking for “THE” 3D home design software that allows creating as photo-realistic house plans as possible. The program should also enable realistic furnishing of interior spaces and the design of the outdoor area. If possible, I want to be able to virtually fly around and through the design with virtual cameras, similar to a drone.
Ultimately, I want designs comparable to those published by various home builders in their catalogs. Unfortunately, it’s probably not allowed to mention names here.
The reason why (for those interested):
I would like to build a house, or rather my wife and daughter have been pushing me for a long time.
However, I have zero visual imagination when looking at drawings. The architects I met during initial contacts with building companies either did not understand or did not have the (financial) motivation to create a custom design with me. It was basically just house designs A through X from a drawer. They might generously move a wall or a window... “Try design No. 3, it’s very fashionable and popular…” That was all I was offered. A proper architect, if I could even find one, would cost me a large five-digit sum, because I’d have to engage them full-time for months.
To overcome these hurdles, I want to take on this task myself, working on the design evening by evening, virtually walking through and exploring the design, identifying needed changes, and adjusting until everything fits perfectly. Many years ago, I had the chance to create designs with the program Arcon, which worked reasonably well. But this program did not offer the current possibilities for photo-realistic rendering of designs.
What I don’t need...:
are pessimistic comments about how I wouldn’t be able to do it anyway. I’m not aiming to win an architecture award, and my lack of experience, feasibility, structural engineering, etc. is a different matter. I also don’t need any CAD or structural analysis modules, etc.
Let’s say others build model railways as a hobby, and my wife and I would like to design our tailor-made dream house.
Many thanks in advance for all serious advice!
Best regards,
MiHoe
SweetHome3D is certainly a good starting point, but you will eventually reach its limits. The user interface is so-so, but it can be learned. The rendering engine is okay, but it is so poorly implemented (extremely slow) that it stops being fun after a while. My models became too large at some point, and the software started to feel sluggish. Still, you can get quite far with it, just don’t expect photorealism.
I eventually switched to Cadvilla Professional. It is a CAD program with a steep learning curve and a somewhat different approach compared to the “painting program” SweetHome3D. If you are willing to invest a lot of time, you can achieve really useful results. For furnishing, you can use various 3D object formats, including SketchUp. Additionally, it allows importing AutoCAD files to use them for planning. That means if you have an architect, you can relatively quickly and easily use the detailed construction drawings they provide, which is very practical. There are plenty of tutorials available to learn it. Costs are around 130€.
SketchUp is basically a 3D modeling tool that, after some practice, lets you achieve a lot. It runs very smoothly and is quite powerful. With the free Twilight rendering plugin, you can get basically photorealistic renderings. However, if you are aiming for true photorealism, be prepared to invest a lot of time.
I ended up using Cadvilla to create renderings for my wife as well, so she can visualize details. Currently, we are also using it for planning the placement of electrical outlets and ventilation vents. This is helpful for us.
I also once built a 3D model from foam boards myself. For that, I already had the initial working/draft plans from the architect. If you don’t have anything yet and find it hard to visualize in 3D, I think this approach is the most challenging.
One more note about the architect: I consider a five-figure amount for service phases 0 and 1 to be exaggerated. Usually, architects bill according to HOAI, meaning you would calculate about 10% of their fee for the first two service phases (basic evaluation and preliminary design including cost estimation), roughly around 1% of your total planned construction budget including ancillary construction costs, but excluding the plot of land. For a budget of 400,000€ that would be about 4,000€ – very roughly. The exact amount depends on the eligible construction costs, but this is a rough guideline.
Our architecture office charged us a fixed price of 1,500€ for one (in the end there were three) design drafts including cost estimation, which was deducted if we commissioned them. We found this fair....
Without some 3D imagination, designing on a computer will be difficult anyway. The programs can’t work magic either [emoji6]
I would probably start with SweetHome3D to see if you can handle the basic design of 3D buildings using a 2D program and if it suits you. It’s free, after all. I would hold off on investing in more expensive architectural software for now.
I eventually switched to Cadvilla Professional. It is a CAD program with a steep learning curve and a somewhat different approach compared to the “painting program” SweetHome3D. If you are willing to invest a lot of time, you can achieve really useful results. For furnishing, you can use various 3D object formats, including SketchUp. Additionally, it allows importing AutoCAD files to use them for planning. That means if you have an architect, you can relatively quickly and easily use the detailed construction drawings they provide, which is very practical. There are plenty of tutorials available to learn it. Costs are around 130€.
SketchUp is basically a 3D modeling tool that, after some practice, lets you achieve a lot. It runs very smoothly and is quite powerful. With the free Twilight rendering plugin, you can get basically photorealistic renderings. However, if you are aiming for true photorealism, be prepared to invest a lot of time.
I ended up using Cadvilla to create renderings for my wife as well, so she can visualize details. Currently, we are also using it for planning the placement of electrical outlets and ventilation vents. This is helpful for us.
I also once built a 3D model from foam boards myself. For that, I already had the initial working/draft plans from the architect. If you don’t have anything yet and find it hard to visualize in 3D, I think this approach is the most challenging.
One more note about the architect: I consider a five-figure amount for service phases 0 and 1 to be exaggerated. Usually, architects bill according to HOAI, meaning you would calculate about 10% of their fee for the first two service phases (basic evaluation and preliminary design including cost estimation), roughly around 1% of your total planned construction budget including ancillary construction costs, but excluding the plot of land. For a budget of 400,000€ that would be about 4,000€ – very roughly. The exact amount depends on the eligible construction costs, but this is a rough guideline.
Our architecture office charged us a fixed price of 1,500€ for one (in the end there were three) design drafts including cost estimation, which was deducted if we commissioned them. We found this fair....
Without some 3D imagination, designing on a computer will be difficult anyway. The programs can’t work magic either [emoji6]
I would probably start with SweetHome3D to see if you can handle the basic design of 3D buildings using a 2D program and if it suits you. It’s free, after all. I would hold off on investing in more expensive architectural software for now.
I believe the original poster mentioned the old Arcon last week: it is basically the best option for amateurs. And affordable! It is now available under a different name.
More advanced 3D simply doesn’t work unless you buy professional software costing a five-figure sum. But that’s not for me.
Kerstin and I use Arcon here. I do so with limitations because it doesn’t run on Mac.
Homebyme takes an hour or more to render a room with realistic detail.
For a whole house, you might have to wait overnight before you can continue working.
Rendering trees is impossible on a normal user PC. Same with grass. That’s just how it is! Forget about high detail.
Either you can imagine it yourself or you can’t. In that case, choose an architecture firm with professional equipment. But even they have limits.
More advanced 3D simply doesn’t work unless you buy professional software costing a five-figure sum. But that’s not for me.
Kerstin and I use Arcon here. I do so with limitations because it doesn’t run on Mac.
Homebyme takes an hour or more to render a room with realistic detail.
For a whole house, you might have to wait overnight before you can continue working.
Rendering trees is impossible on a normal user PC. Same with grass. That’s just how it is! Forget about high detail.
Either you can imagine it yourself or you can’t. In that case, choose an architecture firm with professional equipment. But even they have limits.
ypg schrieb:
I think the OP mentioned the old Arcon last week: it’s basically the best option for amateurs. Why? More advanced 3D just doesn’t work unless you pay a five-figure sum for professional software. NopeKerstin and I use Arcon here. I have some limitations because it doesn’t run on Mac. Oh, okay then... [emoji849]Homebyme takes one or more hours to render a room for a realistic image. For a whole house, you might have to wait overnight before you can continue working. Not sure anyone would like that. It would be fine for me...Rendering trees is impossible on a normal user PC. The same goes for grass. That’s just how it is! With all due respect, that’s simply nonsense... how many real-time renderers have you written? What is this assessment based on? Forget about fine detail. What do you mean by that? Are you familiar with LoD (Level of Detail)? Either you can visualize it yourself or not. Otherwise, hire an architectural firm with professional equipment. But even there, there are limits.I generally agree here, but with some limitations you can still get quite far in the private sector [emoji4]ruppsn schrieb:
Basically agree here, although with some limitations you can achieve quite a lot in private projects [emoji4]Dear Sir! The OP does not want limitations; he wants the program that can do both.
And now here you come!
Dear Madam, please read and understand: the limitation can also relate to the learning curve. I gave examples above. SketchUp combined with a photorealistic rendering engine is one of them. Since SketchUp is primarily a modeler and works with a variety of renderers, there is a suitable option available. Twilight was mentioned, which even integrates into texture and material management. By the way, it also runs on Mac (and has several architectural profiles). It’s always a question whether it’s wise to consider only what you know yourself as the absolute standard and argue with “This is how it is!” … the risk of a fall is then quite high.
Okay, my turn was over, now it’s yours. I agree with you on some points, but some claims are not entirely correct. I’m not sure if the original poster means photorealism as you understand it, so I find such generalizations problematic.
Okay, my turn was over, now it’s yours. I agree with you on some points, but some claims are not entirely correct. I’m not sure if the original poster means photorealism as you understand it, so I find such generalizations problematic.
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