Carly Rubach
TCDIY

Playing House

Carly discovers DIY interior design with help from the free web-based program, Autodesk Homestyler.

By - Mar 3rd, 2013 04:00 am

The hits just keep on coming. In addition to planning for our wedding, my fiance and I just bought a house and are scheduled to move in at the end of the month.

The priorities with the move include: purging our current possessions, coming up with home design ideas, and packing! I’ve been getting so anxious; I just want to get in our new space so we can figure out where everything is going to go. We have the luxury of a large living room area, but this presents a challenge because there can be several ways to arrange and utilize the space.

While Pinterest is great for finding design ideas, color schemes, and products, I wanted to find a way to visually organize the space. One Google search later, I stumbled across the Autodesk Homestyler website and was on my way to designing our living room. This program is incredibly simple to use, just make sure you create your free account before you begin designing because they make the design difficult to save otherwise. I lost my original design this way (sad face).

This free, web-based program gives you multiple options for each room type, including furniture, windows, flooring, paint colors, art, and more. You start out in their 2D design mode to begin your layout, and then you can shift to the 3D mode at any time to get a more realistic view of your room. You can only add objects to your design when you are in the 2D mode.

The options for furniture and decor are not necessarily going to match your style and needs, but you’ll get the basic idea. I did find another program called Floor Planner that had more stylish items, but I preferred the usability of Homestyler. See what you think.

Homestyler’s paint selection option is pretty neat and, although it might not be completely accurate, it’s a great way to determine your palette preference.

I used wallpaper in my design, but the program allows you to use Mythic and Sherwin-Williams paints so you can actually purchase your color of choice for the design.

While the Homestyler program has been a big help, we’re still facing a few other challenges with the move. For one, we have a cat with claws, and he likes to scratch (as cats do). I can’t bring myself to get him declawed, especially in the name of furniture, but many rational people I love continually assure me that it’s normal and necessary. What do you think?

Aside from the cat, we’re finding out that our styles differ in some ways, and we’ll have to make a few design compromises along the way. Well, he’ll have to make some compromises. I kid.

So, if you’re making a move, or planning your business space, give these programs a whirl. This is truly the DIY approach to interior design, and it’s so much fun!

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