Home Designer Suite

I purchased this product for a remodeling project that would redo a screened porch on our home. On the MacBook, some of the basic user interface operations such as panning and 3D model reorientation are cumbersome or impossible to perform. The program contains architectural jargon that is not easy to interpret by a non-professional. Schedules and layouts that are in Chief Architect appear to be missing In this version (or I have not found them yet). Some automatic operations which appear to be helpful at first become a problem when specific areas of the design are customized then return to the default values.

Not as user friendly as an older model that I used.

I purchased this download from Chief Architect’s site on 6/27/19 and have played around with it every day since. It’s easy to use and the online guides are pretty helpful. If I can’t figure something out on my own I Google it and there’s always an answer from CA in the form of a guide. I’m still trying to figure out the functions and I wish I could designate hot keys, but I can cope without. I’ve been using the Sims 4 to satisfy my architecture and interior design hunger and this is a step up.

It is a good program but takes time to learn.

I have been looking around for months for a decent program for design work for a home remodel. This program does a fairly decent job of that with some small exceptions. One thing some of the other programs I have tried out allow for locking of dimensions so you can set the length of a wall and have it keep that length when you add in other sections to build out a room. This one I have been unable to find any such feature so each time you add in something it would keep altering all the other dimensions around it to different sizes. While I can see it as a good thing to auto adjust for sizes, sometime you want a length to remain the size you set it at while you are still adding in additions. The biggest issue I have found was with the library, there are so very few options in there it makes it almost not worth it. Using the browse feature to find new libraries is super cumbersome, they are all broken out into different packages some free but most have a fee which ranges from low to high. Within those extra libraries though, you only get 5-8 objects where 1 is good and all the rest are just trash objects. These really should be modified to just get all of them for X price, or categories where you get everything for X price instead of Bathroom 1, bathroom 2, bathroom fixtures... etc. Trying to find a particular item in the catalogs is next to impossible and is either not available or buried inside something else. Then when you find the one you need, every time it is only available in the more costly version and not available in this version. Kind of poor setup for consumers since most people dont need the bells and whistles the more costly ones have because we arent architects, and if you get the cheaper version you cannot even buy the additional catalogs.

Tried buying this again, assuming/hoping it would now be the up-to-date version. But, alas, no. It was the 2021 version again. And, it doesnt matter if you buy this as a download or on a USB stick; itll be the 2021 version either way.

Purchased the Home Designer Suite 2020 to assist in the design of new home. It was easy to install and in less than a week I had an acceptable model of my future building project that I could evaluate in 3D format! I does require some study due to the numerous options and details. I contacted the technical assistance number and had excellent response to fix my problem. Saved a lot of back and forth with an architect and great for a DIY guy.

This program is terrific for quick and easy layouts and for putting in lots of little details too. My wife and I will be building a retirement home and have made six versions so far, each one building upon the previous version. Were still not there, but getting close. Its easy and intuitive to use, and the users guide and online tutorials explain things extremely well. We will give the finished product to a few builders so bidding will be apples to apples. The only problem is its so much fun, Ive been up til 2, 3 or 4 in the morning playing with it! Highly recommended.

I received the product about two weeks ago to begin designing a house. First, I have no design software experience as I only surf the internet and use Microsoft Windows /Excel/PowerPoint from time to time.

If you dont want JUST THE BASICS, dont buy it. Everything you want to do will cost you extra.