ᐅ Free software for floor plan design – any tool recommendations?

I can only recommend taking a look at SketchUp, as it offers more flexibility in the long run. For me, projects in SweetHome3D eventually became too large (I had also modeled neighboring buildings to understand sightlines from our house), and some constructions were difficult to implement (for example, internal shed roofs, terrain gradients, light wells, etc.). SketchUp is much more flexible in these cases, but it does take some time to get used to it, as you need to understand the modeler’s approach. Drawing walls, adding windows and doors, and so on works a bit differently. In my opinion, the learning effort is worth it.

However, you can get pretty far with SweetHome3D as well. It really depends on your personal requirements. A small tip for SweetHome3D users: SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse has many useful 3D models (Ikea furniture and similar), which can also be exported into object formats. This way, you can import them into SweetHome3D. It’s a bit fiddly but definitely doable.

The renderer in SweetHome3D, however, is really poor and inefficient. That was one of the reasons I switched, as the time required for sun and shadow simulations eventually became very frustrating. But for quickly putting something together and getting an impression, it definitely serves its purpose.

@ruppsn

Maybe asking for too much, but: Is it possible to use SketchUp to simulate sunlight exposure at specific times of the day (ideally depending on the season), including the neighboring buildings?

And can you also create walkthroughs of the property with photos and videos, making the process faster and more efficient, as I understand it?

I don’t remember off the top of my head. However, it should be possible with animations. Just try searching on Google [emoji6]