AlexaNW Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 Please forgive me if my questions are basic for anyone in the field, but to me it's all a bit overwhelming. Home Owner. We have an old cabin that needs to be completely remodeled, including a few very awkward corners. Here are some pictures of the cabin if this helps. http://www.alexaphotography.com/Other/Klahanie-before/n-w65Pj/ I spoke to a local Interior Designer and really like her, but after meeting a few times, I realized that I may still not end up with the 'product' I was hoping from a designer after paying thousands of $$. I am a very visual person and need to see what the finished product could look like before I can commit. I have seen some design competitions on Arcbazar that I really like and would be open to posting a contest on there OR find a program myself that I can learn in a reasonable amount of time for me to play with. The I could take that back to my Interior Designer and a Contractor and work with them on the actual design and practical implementation. A couple of examples of what I am really drawn to: https://www.dwell.com/collection/the-perfect-getaway-beach-house-renovation-4310d7cd https://www.arcbazar.com/designer/france-lyon-qarch-team I asked the Arcbazar people and they said that different designers use different software, hence the varying looks of all submissions. So...here are my questions: - Is this photo realistic view achievable in Home Designer? - if not...any suggestions on what software was used here? Any other suggestions, opinions or helpful comments? I'm really starting from scratch here, and the first contractor we hired ripped us off big time just on foundation repairs, so I want to make sure I am taking the next steps with eyes wide open Thanks, Alexa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefArchitect Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 Hello, Thank you for your interest in Home Designer and for your questions. The rendering will be similar across the products in our Home Designer line. You get more control over lighting effects in Home Designer Pro versus the other Home Designer products, but the quality of the rendering is the same. You can look at our samples gallery to get an idea of what the renderings look like. The sample images are exactly what the program is capable of producing (not enhanced). Here is a link to the samples gallery. https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/samples.html Our Chief Architect products can render a truly photo realistic image. You can find information about this product at www.ChiefArchitect.com Looking at the examples shared, I think you will be happy with the Home Designer renderings. You can download a trial version to test it out here. https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/products/trial.html Feel free to contact us in sales with any questions. Call 208-292-3400 or email sales@chiefarchitect.com Kind regards, Derek Chief Architect Software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidJPotter Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 6 hours ago, AlexaNW said: - Is this photo realistic view achievable in Home Designer? Home Designer is not capable of "Photo Realism". It is useful for general space concept planning and beautiful render views can be achieved once the software is thoroughly learned. This requires a commitment from you to achieve such results. That said, to achieve good professional results as to "Photo Realism" requires Professional grade Architectural software and a professional grade, learned user to achieve which from your post I perceive that you are NOT willing to 1. spend the money to become a design professional and 2. You are not willing to spend the personal time necessary to do so. If my assumptions are correct, you need to post at the Chief Talk website in the "Seeking Help" section where respondents will be professional users of Chief Architect Software, many of whom are also certified Interior Designers as well. They can work closely with you to obtain the end product you seek which you can then also see "Photo Realisticly". Software designed for hobbyists like Home Designer get DIY (useful but not "Photo Realistic") results. DJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexaNW Posted July 27, 2017 Author Share Posted July 27, 2017 Thank you for the information, I will check out the suggestions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard_Morrison Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 This is just a suggestion based on decades of experience. If you are working with a design professional such as an interior designer, you will get far better results in the end if you let them come up with a design(s) and then input their design concepts into your own software to tweak and make it yours. If you go to a designer with your own designs, then you are mostly likely handcuffing the designer and losing a lot of the value of their hard-won experience and training. I have had clients come to me with the rabbit warren that they've designed, and it is very hard to talk them into something better at that point. After all, it's THEIR rabbit warren that they've been slaving over for many months, and they are totally emotionally invested, even if the design isn't very good. I respect the impulse to have control over the design of your own house, but you need to ask whether it's more important to have YOUR design, or a really GOOD (if not GREAT) design. That said, I think the Home Designer tools are great for facilitating communication between a design professional and a homeowner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidJPotter Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 On 7/26/2017 at 0:48 PM, AlexaNW said: - Is this photo realistic view achievable in Home Designer? - if not...any suggestions on what software was used here? Photo Realism is in the eye of the beholder, Home Designer software is for amateurs mostly. The most stunning Photo Realistic results you see here and on the Home Designer website were produced by dedicated persons who spent months perfecting their knowledge of how to get those stellar results. The software does not do anything past what an educated end user tells it to do. Design Professionals use professional grade software (I use Chief Architect Premier, it costs about $2,800.00 to buy or rents for $199.00 per month). It took me about a year of work to really learn how to use it for any Architectural result and style. I can name several other applications that Others use (Architectural Desktop by Autodesk, ArchiCAD, a European based application, it is a lot more expensive than Chief Premier, Softplan, Sketch Up and several others. Whether or not any of those produce Photo Realism is due to the knowledge and skill of their end users and NOT the software. Users of Lumion consistently create photo realistic animations and render views of 3D models created in Chief Architect Premier then imported into Lumion for the final views etc. Lumion by itself costs $3,000.00 but if you are a professional, it is cheap because of the potential it makes possible. If you want to measure and input those measurements into a Home Designer software title for viewing in 3D and sharing with other building professionals, it is perfect for that even though its output is limited by the individual skill and perseverance of its end user. It is easy to learn and use but any kind of professional grade produce comes from many hours of applied study, practice, failures, and successes. Be honest with your own purposes, any acceptable results are because of the end user and NOT the software they used. DJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBaldus Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 Alexa, As a fairly new user of Home Designer (Pro) software, I would warn you that everything David J. Potter says about the commitment of time and practice is true. I would go much further to say that without a major commitment of time and practice you will get no results worth the cost of the software, let alone your many hours of toil. I learned drafting on paper at 19, spent 18 years as a contractor, but all that left me nearly at ground zero when attempting to learn the software. Home Designer software, in spite of being as David says: "for amateurs" is still so rich with features that the learning curve is FAR too steep to be worthwhile for one project. The Reference Manual for my version is 1008 pages and it does NOT read like a good novel. For one project this software would be, as my attorney once said to me: "using an atom bomb to swat a fly". Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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