Design your room in 3D for free!

Coming up with a completely new design scheme for a room in your home can be a little daunting, especially for anyone who hasn’t an ounce of interior design training. Trying to visualise a scheme from all those ideas flying around in your head is also rather difficult. But there is hope!

Online interior design website MyDeco, have created a “Fisher-Price” version of CAD (computer aided design software which professional designers use) that is super user friendly and offers amateur’s a wealth of products, wallpapers, paint, flooring,  and so much more, to help build the ideal room scheme.

I decided to try this software for myself, now bare in mind im not a professional and have never claimed to be, so this was like delving into the unknown! Firstly I picked a floor plan, (you also have the option to upload your own floor plan with specific measurements which is extremely helpful) I then chose a door and two windows from the side bar where you can pick and choose from a range of furniture, staircases, accessories or paint, which you want to include in your design. You can then plonk them into the diagram wherever you like, It’s basically a “drag and drop” process from there onwards.

Users can switch between the 2D birds-eye view or the super cool 3D view that shows you a more realistic representation of your scheme. However to move certain items on to another wall or turn around, I found I had to change from 3D view to 2D, although I only had an hour or so to get to grips with the software and didn’t read any of the tutorials which may hold the key to doing this in a more efficient way.

2D Birds-eye view

There is a mahoosive range of furniture for every room in the home to choose from and the best part is the products are available to buy through the MyDeco site. This brings me onto another handy tool, when you pick a product the size, price, colour and supplier are displayed, so you can work out exactly what will fit and if the flow of the room will work. If it does, then you can surf on down to the online store and get your order in! If you’re on a tight budget, that’s okay, the system will calculate how much you’ve spent so you  don’t end up designing a room for £10,000 instead of £1000!

Finished render of design with price list

Plus, when you pick a colour of paint for the walls, you’re given an option to request a sample pot of that colour direct from Dulux! The possibilities are endless!

But there are few little snags with the software, Interior Designer at the National Design Academy, Vicky Arbuthnot had a little test run, she said, “I find it a little frustrating the I can’t put stud walls in my plan or change the size of the windows, so this meant I needed to alter the size of the whole plan. That said, the software is great for beginners who want to visualise a design, see manipulation of space and traffic flow. It’s also a great tool for those who want to progress onto more complex systems.”

The image below shows the back view of my design, but what it doesnt show is there are two arrows, left and right,  underneath the simulation that you can use to spin the design around and view from various angles.

After faffing about for over an hour, I was sort of happy with my design and decided I could brave the storm and share my creation with the world. From the top menu, I could tweet, Facebook or blog the design which I now regret slightly as the design team here kind of ripped it apart, but I do appreciate they’re pro’s in their field and only say what they see (tears welling up).

Sharing your design

I jest, MyDeco’s 3D room design is a beneficial tool to those wanting to accurately see what their design would actually look like without paying a penny. The site also has a large selection of designs uploaded by other users that are perfect for drawing inspiration and ideas. I’d suggest you have a bash and see what you can come up with! Make sure you forward them on to me and I’ll post your scheme up!