Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Suite 8.0 Review

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(More customer reviews)i've owned this program for one week. i was initially concerned, as it did not come with a manual. well, after a week, i've found that a paper manual is not necessary to fully operate this program. i can not claim that i'm an expert after one week, but, i do re-assure you that this program is quite simple to operate, it offers possibilities that i never before imagined in my previous architecture program. this program is challenging, in that it offers so many options that i can spend hours looking through all of them. while $99 isn't cheap, especially compared to some of the other programs, i assure you that it is leaps ahead of my 3 year old 3D program. i haven't purchased other programs to know how it compares to other more recent products. i can say that it is phenomenal in comparison to three year old programs. i am very glad that i made this purchase and i would do it again, knowing what i know now, i might even pay more for it. it is likely to become one of my favorite toys. [after i've owned this program for a month or two, i'll submit an addendum so that you can read more of my findings.]

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Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Suite 8.0 is powerful software for any home design project.With over 5,000 integrated tools it is perfect for home design, remodeling, interior design, landscaping, decks, cost estimation, and site planning. Design in 2D and 3D simultaneously; even do a virtual walk-through.Choose from over 6,000 library items or download free bonus items.Create base, wall, full height, curved, corner cabinets and more for your new kitchen or bath.Choose from over 1,500 popular plants and get detailed information including Hardiness Zone Maps.Import custom colors or materials.Track costs for materials, quantities, unit costs and more.

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Realtime Landscaping Architect 2011 Review

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(More customer reviews)I've tried several landscaping programs before and this one is definately the best. I feel much more legitimate as a landscape designer now that I can put together plans in a timely manner that look just right. Their technical support is also great and it's nice that they offer a demo on their website.

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Landscape, Deck and Patio Designer with NexGen v2 Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been searching for a good, but in expensive, program for helping me get some ideas for building a deck and patio for my back yard. I basically "took a shot in the dark" and decided to buy this program (Office Max was the cheapest I found - ~$40). I was very apprehensive about this software because I had not had luck with similar software in the past, plus reviews for version 1 were not that great. However, I have been pleasantly surprised so far. It takes a little time to "enter" you house floor plan to get it ready for your deck ideas, but once you are there the program is great. The software gives you a lot of deck and patio templates to choose from, plus you can easily make changes to these templates to customize it to your home (i.e. it is very flexible). Most of the reviews I read on Amazon (on version 1) say that the program is not user friendly. I found it relatively easy. If you can navigate around Photoshop, CAD and similar programs, you should be able to use this program fine. If you have difficultly with productivity programs such as Photoshop or Excel and such, then you will likely have a hard time. There are a couple of glitches in the software, but nothing that causes a major crash or loss of material (just some minor inconveniences). I started using the software on a Thursday and by Sunday I feel I am about 80% proficient with it (working/playing on it for about 2 hours per day) and already have a design for a deck and patio. Bottom line: the program does what I wanted it to do, its relatively easy to use and its working above my expectations.

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Create beautiful outdoor living spaces! Start with a photo of your house or from scratch, Fast and Easy! Thousands of plants to choose from; the Plant Finder will help you select the right plants for your area. Create the perfect Deck or patio then add outdoor furniture and accessories. Place pre-made outdoor kitchens or create a custom outdoor cooking island. Custom fences, concrete stains and paints let you finish your outdoor spaces. Add a pool with Pool Designer and light it up with outdoor lighting. Integrated training provides help if you need it. Make Punch! your landscape design partner.

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Chief Architect Home Designer Architectural 10 Review

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(More customer reviews)I liked Home Designer so much I bought the Pro version right away and wrote an enthusiastic review giving it 5 stars (see the Chief Architect Home Designer Pro 10 Amazon web page). The Pro version may be a bit more than most home users need but my Amazon review contains some useful tips on getting the 30-day free trial, the PDF User Guide, and the PDF User Manual (very clear, well-organized technical reference manual). Since many of the features of the Essentials, the Suite, and the Architectural version overlap with the Pro version but there is only a free trial of the Pro version, my recommendation for people considering purchasing any version of this excellent product is to download the free trial Pro version and give it a spin using the excellent online video tutorials at the homedesignersoftware.com web site. The tutorial on each topic shows which software versions have that feature. Very useful in deciding what level of product is right for you. And by doing the tutorials, you can already be up and running by the time you decide whether to buy. I also recommend the free version of Google Sketchup 8 as a useful helper program. With Sketchup, you can craft simple 3D objects and shapes if you don't find exactly what you need in the extensive Home Designer library (need to save Sketchup objects in a previous version file format as Home Designer does not yet know about v8 of Sketchup, which just came out).
Home Designer is very addictive and fun to use. One of the best software programs I've ever owned with extensive video help actually showing you how to construct things. If you are drawing home plans from scratch and need measurements, be sure to get yourself a laser measuring device like the one I got Bosch DLR130K Digital Distance Measurer Kit. You'll still need a tape measure for very short distances but a laser measuring device really takes the pain and effort out of getting dimensions and is accurate to 1/16 of an inch at distances up to 130 feet! For $10, a pair of laser enhancing goggles is very useful for taking measurements outdoors in bright light or off very poorly reflective surfaces-see Bosch DLA001 Laser View-Enhancing Glasses
P.S. One of the best reasons for trying the trial version is to make sure you won't be caught short on needed features in the version you decide to get. Here is a link to a detailed matrix of the capabilities of each version. [...](EDIT:since Amazon deletes links, see Comparison Matrix, lower left HomeDesigner site-scroll thru list). Some of the details may not mean much to you until you try the trial version with the tutorials. But for example, I got the Pro version because I have a complicated roof and I wanted complete manual control over roof design.

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Home Designer Architectural 10: Advanced and easy-to-use software for home design, remodeling, interior design, kitchen and bath design, landscaping, decks, and cost estimation for any do-it-yourself user. Home Designer Architectural offers all of the tools you need to complete your next home project. It's fun and easy, start designing today!
Professional tools for designing your dream home. View larger.

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Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Pro 8.0 Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased HomeDesigner Pro 7.0, and then upgraded to version 8.0. The software is pretty good, especially for a one level floor plan. It gets pretty iffy, for multi level plans. The videos are helpful, but I keep looking at Barnes and Noble, for a book that would explain how to use some of the really great features of this product.
What really bothers me, is that when I now start the program, I get this popup window that informs me that an "update" is available. Normally, when I see that an update is available, it is a no cost update to the current version. But...no, this update is for a $200.00 upgrade to the next version. THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE!!! And it's pretty annoying to have to click the NO button, just to start the software that I've already paid for.
Functionally, the libraries don't really include uptodate materials, and eventhough this is supposed to be a Chef Architect product, it's really turning out to be a poorly supported product.
And then there's this UBS device, used to make sure that the software is being run legally. Well, if you can tell that I don't have the latest version of your software, why do I need to have the stupid USB device taking up one of my ports?
So, I have to say that the product is not really bad, and can be pretty useful, but this whole issue of making sure that the software is being run legally, and the annoying "Update" messages makes me sometimes regret that I've spent the money. It's beginning to look like a money pit.

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Design your dream home like the professionals with Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Pro 8.0 which is professional home design software for the serious home enthusiast. Developed by Chief Architect, this new product includes exclusive design advice by the experts at Better Homes and Gardens magazines. It is perfect for Home Design, Remodeling, Interior Design, Kitchens, Baths, and Deck and Landscaping projects.Some of the features include Advanced CAD tools, it enables you to create blueprints, includes manual framing tools, it contains over 9,000 items to create a 3D model of your home and more.

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