Free home design CAD type software...Helping me remodle my kitchen.
 

I've been playing around with about 3 different free programs, and found this one is the best so far...Sweet Home 3D

Some of the options are top notch for a free program, while others still need some work. The fact that it's an open source program means that it's still evolving. I imagine the program you can pay for has more of the options I'd like to see.

Anyway, I was able to draw up the first floor with exact measurements, and place all furniture within an 1/8" of where it currently sits. I was interested in this because my mom isn't able to come up here for a visit, and has never been in my home. Through this, I'm able to show her how each room is connected to the other, and how everything flows. I was also able to show her just how small the kitchen is (10X10), and how poorly it was designed.

I originally wanted to turn the dining room into a kitchen, the kitchen into a first floor bathroom, and move the laundry room into it. I'm not going to be able to do that now, unless I pay a contractor for the work...and that would cost me over $10K, according to the estimates I got a few months ago. Having a fixed income, we decided against that.

The gas line that runs to the stove in the kitchen passes under the 'fridge, and logically speaking, that's where the stove should be. I have a portable dishwasher that is a perfect fit for where the stove is currently. I can move the 'fridge to the laundry room, and add a counter/cabinet where the dishwasher sits when not in use.

I have a plumber coming over this week to give me a cost to relocate where the gas line pops into the kitchen, so I can move the stove, as well as plumb the lines for the portable dishwasher. I can't imagine it costing too much, as it's simple work...drill a hole in the floor, run the gas line, which is right under the fridge and connect the stove, then cut a hole in the cabinet under the sink, connect the lines with a converter kit (they make them for this model), and push it into place.

What do you guys think?

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...psed6b89eb.jpg

This sounds silly but you can actually use the Sims game to do stuff like that too when you're building a house--that screenshot actually looks pretty similar. They have a bunch of different options for counters and appliances and stuff to build it however you want despite it being a game. When my parents did it out, they actually used MS Excel with square boxes to do a full 2-D layout.

I haven't played with a Sims game since it first came out many years ago...Simcity, I think it was called.

The neat thing with this program is that I can change many details, like wall height, thickness, etc. One think I like is being able to place a "camera" in a corner, and create a video as I move the point of view around...sort of like a full panoramic photo of sorts.

The screen shot is of the 3D at a bird's eye view in the middle of the house. I know you can change the flooring, but I haven't figured that part out. Once I do, I'll be able to view it with different colored carpeting and such.

Another feature is that you can create a picture from the information given, change the date and time of day so that it will bring exterior lighting in through the windows and show shadows and the like. It will also allow color reflection on walls from the flooring so you can decide on the colors you like before you buy the paint.

This is still in it's infancy, I think it came out late last year, so the features are still evolving.

I noticed that on the full program, the purchased one, that you can input the model number and manufacturer of different appliances and it will generate a template drawing so you can actually see that item in your house.

You can see from the picture that the kitchen and laundry room were added after the main house was built. According to pictures I found at the local historical society museum, the back was added about 1904, and then there was a fire in the front of the house on the porch in 1915, so they repaired it and added the foyer and stairwell in the front. The house was built in 1900.

I wish it had more natural flow to it, but it is what it is...an old house we picked up for under $30K without a loan.

wow now that is a nice feature. The sims is totally different than Sim City (one of my favorite games btw!). Sims is about controlling a virtual person/family/whatever in a virtual world. Kind of creepy but oddly fun. But you can build a house however you want it basically.

have you tried google sketch up?

I would start blowing out walls, a lot of the walls. The challenge will be how much of the load-bearing walls can be blown out, and still support the second story. Open these rooms up to one another, if I were doing it.

About the programs, I know nothing about 'em. That one looks pretty neat though.

Can't be done without a large amount of engineering...The wall between the living and dining rooms is the chimney, and is a load bearing wall. The one between the dining room and kitchen used to be an exterior wall, so it's a load bearing as well. At best, I may be able to open the doors a bit wider, but not knock out walls.

I'd be looking at the wall between the laundry and the kitchen- the laundry has lots of windows, the kitchen one. The laundry appears to have the door to the rear yard, and if it was all one large kitchen, it would be big enough to be eat in. Whats the sill height at the windows? Tall enough for counters underneath? If too low, nice place for a table and chairs. Is the kitchen window sill high? Can the kitchen counter be U shaped along that wall, the back wall and the wall to the dining room?

The rooms are small- what about a galley kitchen with counter against kitchen wall with window, with sink, range, dishwasher and fridge packed into it, and an island between the kitchen and the laundry room built to take the washer/dryer? That would provide a good work surface- for both cooking and laundry folding.

Hey, that's great! Most people spend that much on a car these days

The laundry room is actually an enclosed back porch. There used to be a door, which you can still see when looking at the washer. The door came into the dining room. The door from the kitchen to the laundry room used to be a window, and there's another window closer to the exterior door, which is covered up.

The wall between the kitchen and laundry room is a support wall as well, supporting my son's bedroom and the bathroom.

Because of how the back end of the house was added after initial construction, altering the walls would create more work than it's worth. The laundry room floor slopes off to the side about 1.5 inches, towards the windows. It's supported by a rock wall foundation that has sunk a bit over the years. If I were to do as you suggest, I'd have to lift the floor and resupport it with a proper system underneath before I could open supporting walls...the house isn't worth that much of an investment.

I'll draw the upper level later this week, followed by the basement, and post those in such a way that you can see what I'm talking about.



We thought so as well. The house has charm, even if it doesn't have a decent flow to it. The lack of closet and storage place has caused a bit of a problem for us, one that we are remedying by selling some items, and giving others away. It's a minimalists house, by no means made for the modern times and modern appliances...but it's got charm and warmth.

...And we don't own a dime on it. :D