It’s springtime, and a not-so-young man’s fancy inevitably turns to remodeling, landscaping and deck-building. Fortunately, when yours truly is on vacation, his better half collects his credit cards, car keys and billfold (except for $2 for incidentals), as a way to keep him away from Home Depot.
Piled up in the garage are stacks of plywood, two-by-fours, bricks, cement, tile and other remnants of projects that never got off the ground. Still, I would like to finally build that deck, plant a drought-resistant yard, paint the living room, panel the den and build a better dog house. Which is where I’ll be if I buy as much as a bag of nails.
Still, I can dream. The latest edition of 3D Home, Landscape & Deck Premium Suite would let me do all those things and much, much more. It’s easier to use than earlier editions, has more features, and with the click of a mouse, lets you see what a project would be like in countless variations.
Using the program’s tools, you can draw up plans for remodeling your kitchen and bath, stock both with an endless variety of fixtures and appliances; use your neighbor’s blueprints and revise them for your project and figure out how much it’s all going to cost.
You’ll be able to take the guesswork out of which plants and shrubs will work best for you, and design simple or elaborate landscaping for your humble home or mansion. A plant encyclopedia has more than 4,000 entries, and you’ll find out how to build an irrigation system that will save water and help your landscaping thrive.
Indoors, you can produce visualizations of color schemes, choose carpet, tile and hardwood floors, add ceiling fans, track lighting and other fixtures and do walk-throughs of your design.
Rather than dealing with surly contractors, you can change your mind as often as you want.
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If your room just needs freshening up, you can scan in a photo, and play with minor redesigns. But if you want to make an addition to your home (or start from scratch), there are thousands of floor plans that let you customize your dream home. Instructional videos will help you turn them into reality.