Gag Gifts, Occasion Gifts - Better Homes and Gardens Architectural Home Designer

List Price: $199.99
Our Price: $199.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Chief Architect

Average Customer Rating:

Binding: DVD-ROM
Brand: Chief Architect
EAN: 0750839061009
Feature: Powerful software for Home Design, Remodeling, Interiors, Kitchens & Baths, Landscaping, Site Planning and more
Format: CD-ROM
Label: Chief Architect
Manufacturer: Chief Architect
Model: AD80MN0AZ1
Platform: Windows Vista
Publisher: Chief Architect
Release Date: 2008-01-15
Studio: Chief Architect

Features

Powerful software for Home Design, Remodeling, Interiors, Kitchens & Baths, Landscaping, Site Planning and more
Powerful Automatic Building and Design Tools like One-Click Automatic Roofs and Automatic Dormers, Material Painter, Color Chooser, Deck Designer tools and more
Better Homes and Gardens Design Inspiration Gallery organized by room type; Exclusive Design Planning Center with Expert "how-to" Design Advice
Create Accurately Scaled Floor Plans with 3D Design Tools and Virtual Walk Thru Tools
Choose from over 7,000 built-in Library Items or import your own for unlimited possibilities; Over 3,200 realistic landscaping plants--with plant encyclopedia data

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Editorial Reviews:

Better Homes and Gardens Architectural Home Designer provides an advanced yet easy to use set of tools for Home Design, Remodeling, Interior Design, Decks, Landscaping, Site Planning and Cost Estimation

Powerful building tools like automatic roof generation, dormers, stairs, framing and foundations. Choose from thousands of colors and textures or create your own materials using a digital photograph. Design single or multi-level decks complete with automatic deck framing. Choose from over 3,200 plants with the Plant Chooser. 3D Views are automatic with a point-and-click of the camera tool. Make your backyard design come alive using several easy-to-use landscaping tools. Add a pool or pond and visualize in 3D. Automatically generate a complete spreadsheet for your project costs, broken down by category. Tutorial DVD Packed with over 40 easy "step-by-step" training videos

Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Best for the price
Comment: For the price- this is the best program available. I do find it a bit tempermental when adjusting location of windows and doors- especially if you are setting it up in order to do a remodle or redocoration of an existing room/house. Does have a lot more options than others in the price range- but is frustrating if you want to be exact. So- don't plan on making it that way- it does give you the 3D- but the walk thru option isn't as great as the box says. It helped me do what I wanted to do- add an extension onto our house & also consider a remodle of our master bath- but if you are serious about building more than once- it might be better to invest in the next level.
I haven't used the landscape portion yet- plan on that next.

Customer Rating:

Summary: BH&G Architecural Home Design
Comment: I have used the Chief Architect Pro program and this is similar. I was very pleased with the "objects" in my design list and the final print out. I found that the camers did not work the same as the other program, but perhaps I just do not have that down yet. The program gave me everything I had on the Chief Architect, but at a much better price point.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A lot of fun and very helpful
Comment: Although there are some minor glitches or inconveniences this is an addicting program for anyone interested in making changes or buying a new place. It is very easy to plot out a floor plan and view it from any angle (inside or outside) in 3 dimensions. My guess is that the higher version is a lot more flexible but this version was way better than I expected and all that is needed for the amateur.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Powerful, but a bit frustrating
Comment: I bought this product to make a model of our existing home and property so I could plan some projects like a new master bath, garage, and landscaping.

We have a 60 yr old 1.5 story cape cod with dormers off the front and back + a 1 story addition. I viewed the video tutorials and refered to the User's guide as I made the first story and the basement in the software and everything worked pretty well. However, when I tried to make the complicated roof and 2nd story I ran into alot of trouble. The auto roof build feature might work well for a standard roof, but was a real pain for me. I viewed information in the forums and the other web resources and found alot of helpful information on dormers and Cape Cod designs, but nothing about my specific situation.

I have a help ticket in right now with their technical group and hopefully they will find a way to make my roof and 2nd story. I don't really want to spend another $250 for the full version.

Other notes - The 3D views and walkthroughs are very cool, but don't look as good as the pictures on the box. The landscape tools are straightforward, but I am having trouble with some items showing up in certain views.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Great for the price
Comment: I have had this product for two weeks now and just completed my first home. Not knowing anything about CAD software or architecture I was worried that this would prove extremely difficult.

Using this program was a breeze because I was able to just drag and drop doors, windows, walls into my plan. I was able to use the mouse to stretch and change the direction.

I was able to include my partner in choosing colors for the walls and floor tiles, we switched floor tiles about one hundred times before we arrived at the look we wanted.

I would recommend this program to anyone who is thinking of building or renovating a home, who is good with computers but not necessarily experienced with CAD software or Architecture.

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