![Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Suite 7.0 [OLD VERSION]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61MY4DFWGEL._SL160_.jpg)
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List Price: $99.99
Our Price: $99.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Chief Architect
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: CD-ROM
Brand: Chief Architect
EAN: 0750839011417
Feature: Expert design tips from the editors of Better Homes and Gardens magazines
Format: CD-ROM
Label: Chief Architect
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
Manufacturer: Chief Architect
Model: 045-501-7-M
Platform: Windows XP
Publisher: Chief Architect
Release Date: 2006-09-01
Studio: Chief Architect
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Features
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Expert design tips from the editors of Better Homes and Gardens magazines
Create a virtual look and feel of the design with actual colors, wallpaper, flooring, furniture, windows and window treatments
Easily design kitchens and baths with plans and 3D layouts
Choose from a library of over 6,000 items for your designs
Automatically validates the design against standard building principles
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Editorial Reviews:
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With Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Suite 7 is the all-in-one home design solution! It's the right tool for home enthusiasts using their remodeling and home design projects. This powerful software combines leading-edge technology with creaive home design expertise, courtesy of the Better Homes & Gardens magazine editors. It's got all you need for home design, remodeling, interior design, decks, landscaping, cost estimating and more. Inspire your designs with the Design Planning Center; create a virtual walk-through of your house; or design and visualize in 3D. Choose from a library of more than 4,300 items for your designs -- and generate automatic material lists for project cost estimating. Create the inspired designs you need for a true dream home! Create complete customized cabinets with drag-and-drop Detail cabinets with wood type, countertop material, door/drawer styles and more Create Plot and Perimeter Plans on flat or hillside lots and generate a 3D model Deck tools; post-and-beam foundation are automatically generated to match your lot Select from over 1,000 plants, terrain and outdoor items from the landscaping Library
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Poor software - buggy, crashes often
Comment: They list this software as Vista compatible. Their vision of compatible is the software runs 10 minutes then crashes - if you can finish all your work in 10 minutes, you'll be fine.
The drawing tools are weak, doing a simple 45 degree bend in a kitchen island is impossible. Doing something simple like putting a sink where you want it on a countertop is impossible - it always centers the sink in the space provided. If you're used to even the drawing tools in MS Powerpoint, this will be a big disappointment.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good buy!
Comment: We bought this product because we have a small basement and needed to figure out the best way to finish it for maximum space. My husband and I are both very happy with it, architecturally (placement of walls, space, cabinets, etc.) It is very easy to use and has done everything we have needed it to do. Whenever we've had questions we've called customer support and they have been extremely helpful. We have not used it for landscape yet, so I'm not sure how it is for that. As far as design goes (sofa fabric, wood color, etc.), it is adequate. It has a lot of options, it's just not very life-like(like a real picture). But it has been good enough for us to get a great idea of what it will look like. I would definitely recommend this product.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Useful, But Difficult to Decipher the Best Options
Comment: This is a very complicated software package with so many options it can be intimidating due to the lack of intuitive function for each of the options you can select. Maybe if you're into the construction business you will understand some of the terms used, but I don't get many of them. A comprehensive glossary would be helpful to show what each of the design options means. But given this is an attempt to put home design within reach of the masses, perhaps it's the price we have to pay. Prepare for a steep learning curve!
I have struggled with the elevation settings ever since I got the package installed. Trying to put the house footprint onto the site plan has been difficult; at times, the software puts the structure underneath the terrain and I can't figure out why. I have a narrow sloped lot and getting the house to fit with a daylight basement was the goal of getting this software. I'm still trying to identify the key variables after several weeks.
The wall textures seem to be reversed each time I have created a floorplan. The result is the exterior of the structure has the texture of inside walls showing and vice versa. I've had to manually fix each wall after building a plan.
The wall cutting tool is hard to use. It doesn't clearly show exactly where the cut is being made. Only after you select the cut-out section do you see what part of a wall is actually being removed.
Many of the roofing options are very hard to decipher. Putting a roof over a bay window has proven to be a real chore with trial and error being the only way to figure out what the end result is going to look like. Lots of wasted time.
Building a porch have proven hard when trying to specify if the porch is over the foundation or an extension from the foundation. I'm still not sure I have it figured out.
The room build wizard is the best way to start out to get a basic floorplan generated. Building a wall at a time is painfully slow. And the instructions state you must build walls in a clockwise pattern or they won't all connect up properly.
Having the ability to place furniture in rooms gives you a better sense of how practical your design really is.
The framing view is so small it is impossible to see any detail of the lumber. I have yet to figure out how to zoom in.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Waste of money....
Comment: You think if the software could do all the great things it says so easily, then a garage shouldn't be so hard, right? The simplest things like getting it to print right, laying out joist, wall height...pain in the... If you have never touched a tape measure or hammer and want to play pretend architect you might have found what you need. I recommend anyone with knowledge of construction, CAD, or decent software steer clear - it will only confuse and frustrate you - I though since it was created by Chief Architect it would have been worth a ****.
Customer Rating:
Summary: It was OK
Comment: We were excited to play with this program because we are designing our new home next year. We found it tough to use and not very user friendly. The house we designed with it had holes in the roof, missing cabinets and crazy pitches in the roof. We did not have the patience to learn it, decided instead to use pencil & paper.
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