Virtual home design software is a type of

computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

software intended to help

architects An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, designers, and homeowners preview their design implementations on-the-fly. These products may differ from traditional homeowner design software and other online design tools in that they may use

HTML5 HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language 5) is a markup language used for structuring and presenting hypertext documents on the World Wide Web. It was the fifth and final major HTML version that is now a retired World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommend ...

to ensure dynamic previews of changes. This category of

software as a service Software as a service (SaaS ) is a cloud computing service model where the provider offers use of application software to a client and manages all needed physical and software resources. SaaS is usually accessed via a web application. Unlike o ...

may put an emphasis on usability, speed, and customization.

Background

Homeowners, contractors, and architects use virtual home exterior design software to help visualize changes to designs. Since virtual home design suites that use HTML5 are able to rapidly propagate changes to the home design, users can A/B test designs much more efficiently than with previous iterations of online design software. Virtual home design software has found widespread usage among homeowners who have suffered property damage, as server-side, HTML5-based design software is ideal for homeowners who wish to see what certain products will look like on damaged areas of their houses. Many apps are aimed at use by non-professionals.

Ikea IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...

have experimented with this technology and made various tools available online to the general public.

Augmented reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...

has also been used.

Examples

Several manufacturers use virtual home design software to display their products online. These companies that utilize virtual home design software include GAF Materials Corporation, James Hardie, Exterior Portfolio, and CertainTeed. Some companies, such as Design My Exterior, have built virtual home design software that is not limited to products or brands in order to allow for greater flexibility by the end-user. Design My Exterior also uses ImageMapster in order to generate a greater range of options with less processing time. Live Home 3D is a virtual home design software for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

and

macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

Future applications

Several companies are experimenting with virtual reality for architecture. They design virtual homes and allow customers to walk around with the help of a VR headset (such as the Occulus Rift). This way, customers get a realistic, true-to-scale idea of the result.

Gallery

File:Layout sweet home 3d.jpg, Sweet Home 3D Layout File:Overview_entrance.jpg, 3D view File:View from kitchen.jpg, Render

References

{{Reflist Computer-aided design software Architectural design Interior design