Home Designer Suite

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.

As the other reviews say, this software is difficult to learn and use. It is more cumbersome than many other softwares, but that is not the reason for the low score. They do offer many videos and step by step guides on how to use and once you get started learning it, it starts to flow easier. You just need more experience in home building to be able to use this. The reason for the lower review is that everything I read said you can install this software on multiple computers at once, which is true. But what they dont tell you until after you buy it, is that while you can INSTALL it, you can only activate it on one computer at a time. Every time you want to use it on another computer, you have to deactivate the key and activate it on the other computer. If you want to use the software on 2 computers without deactivating, you have to have another key, which will cost you another $100. But no where in their advertising does it say this.

This was a gift for a valued friend who has used the same application on my home computer. I have used the home designer for several years and found it helpful for communicating with our architect and designer when we added a new room to our house. Its powerful enough for the average home owner. While its easy to learn the basics, it is robust enough to make it difficult to learn everything there is to know about its capabilities. Having the entire application suite delivered on a thumb drive makes it easy to give it as a gift.

I purchased the 2020 edition and even the Get Started Guide doesnt work! After 35 years in tech support I know that the first thing you do with a new release is MAKE SURE the Get Started Guide works. I am returning mine to the company.

Still learning my way through it

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.

At first you might think the program is low budget but its not. It takes some time to get used to and figure out all the tools. Its took us about two months to figure it all out but once your passed that stage its a great program. Lots of fun building your home or even a small project. Use the online tutorial and take your time,dont rush, do a little each day and you will figure it out sooner than you think.

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

The software is easy to use but basic. Ok for making models in the most basic form. To turn it into a useful form you have to purchase upgrades. If you have that money to spend, buy a proper piece of software.

very hard to use. waste of money. I want my money back!!!!!!!!