Grand Designs 3D

Home improvement software is not always the most intuitive type of program, and it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted. But Grand Designs 3D has placed more emphasis than most on trying to avoid the headaches often associated with redesigning a home, or even just one room.

Built on the back of the popular Channel 4 TV programme, it offers three different packages catering for different budgets and visions: Kitchen & Bathroom; Renovation & Interior; and Self Build & Development.

We reviewed Renovation & Interior, which comes with Kitchen & Bathroom included, and tried remodelling a bathroom. Most interior designers and estate agents believe this room, along with the kitchen, can make or break the sale of a house.

The package comes with plenty of hints and tips, but first you need to get to grips with the way it works - you can’t just dive in and hope your vision will enable you to use the software. If you want to take on the star of the TV programme Kevin McCloud at his own game and don’t take time to find out how this application works, you’ll quickly become frustrated.

The first step is understanding the interface and learning how to use the dialogue boxes, which allow you to adjust default settings; for example, setting the floor size and room shape.

Although the software offers a step-by-step guide, it’s probably best for newcomers to practise first with either one of the templates from the Grand Designs TV programme, or use the project assistant and basic templates.

You can toggle between a 2D floor plan and a 3D construction view using F12. To add furniture, go to the catalogue icon and drag and drop what you want into the room. However, if you stay in the perspective view it’s difficult to place furniture exactly where you want, or even to rotate it.

The application allows you to create multiple instances of an object. You can use the standard fittings and furniture provided in the catalogue, but if it doesn’t fit you can tweak the sizes. This means that if you have particular furniture in mind you’d like to buy for a room, as long as you have the measurements you can tweak the size of furniture taken from the catalogue via the dialogue box.

The database of fixtures and fittings is comprehensive, and even includes toothbrush holders and towel rails, so each project can be fully furnished and decorated. The rendered images demonstrated nicely the effects of texturing, lighting and even shadows.

At any time you can take a 3D walk through the design and examine details close up. You can even change from day to night view and add lighting for a more realistic overall impression.

If you’re planning to have the work carried out by a professional, you can print the plans you have created in the format you wish; for example, A3 landscape. If you really get stuck, the software offers some tricks of the trade to help you start again.

Once mastered, this application is straightforward to use, but we can’t stress how important it is to read the manual to make the most of it. It has received the thumbs up from professionals.

If you plan to remodel just one room, the Kitchen & Bathroom package is probably all you need. The software is complemented by the 3Darchitect website which has additional content users can download.