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| Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Suite 7.0 [OLD VERSION] | ![Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Suite 7.0 [OLD VERSION]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61MY4DFWGEL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | From: Chief Architect
Category: Software
List Price: $99.99
Buy New: $54.99
You Save: $45.00 (45%)
New (5) Used (1) from $49.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  46 reviews
Sales Rank: 1665
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows Xp, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows Vista
Media: CD-ROM
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 9.5 x 3
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: 045-501-7-m
Model: 045-501-7-M
UPC: 750839011325
EAN: 0750839011417
ASIN: B000HGFALG
Release Date: September 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Decent consumer home layout and visualizing software December 18, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Of course when you buy these kinds of programs, unless you go with the high end versions you will never get what you are hoping for - but in the case of Better Homes and gardens Home Designer Suite 7.0, you get a decent enough tool that works well enough.
I was hoping for better texturing, better overall visuals, a better library of furniture and fixtures, etc. But this suite will do its job in helping you visualize the layout of your home, or for a remodel.
The program is not the cleanest to use, and can be frustrating at times - but I have not used too many design programs (including AutoCAD) that are not frustrating at least at times.
So in closing, this product is ok but don't expect it to be picture perfect or to be too flexible.
Good functionality, poor selection in libraries November 12, 2007
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
As far as using the product to draw in the walls of my basement (I am planning a basement remodel), I was very happy and found the tool easy to use and the tutorials quick to get you started. The issue I have is in the poor selection of accessories, furniture and appliances that come with the product. No doubt that is the price differential between the different packages. Could I draw a plan view of my proposed basement with interior walls, doors and windows? Yes. Would I be able to submit that to my village for the permit application? Yes. Would it have been nice to have a bigger selection of accessories (bar counter, stools, home theater seating) to get a more realistic walk-through view of the proposed living space? Sadly, yes. But I accomplished what I set out to do, now my wife will have to wait and see what it really looks like finished.
Hours of fun October 25, 2007
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I bought this product for my wife to use to start the design of our new home. She's a regular computer user, but no kind of geek and is frequently confused by software features and functions.
Nevertheless, she's spent hours enjoying the process of designing our house using the software. Room layouts and adding furniture have been a breeze. The software has given us a very good picture of how big the rooms need to be and how the furniture will fit.
She's had some trouble figuring out mutliple floors. When she added the basement and then switched to a 3D view, the house was shoved sideways off the basement. We never figured that out. Adding stairs to the second floor is another function that she also hasn't quite figured out.
But overall we are enormously pleased with the software. It gives us plenty of design power without overwhelming us with complexity.
 awesome product for the price! October 22, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
this is a great product for the price! very easy to use, and they have a great web site where other users answer questions and give you great advice and tips/tricks. unless you want to spend $400 or more for more sophisticated software, i would completely recommend this.
Fantastic for amateur home designers September 14, 2007
40 out of 40 found this review helpful
I bought Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Suite 7.0 because we were planning to remodel our house.
When I installed the software, the first thing I did was run around for ten minutes with a tape measure and sketchpad so I could set up the initial floor plan in the software. After another ten minutes I had the floor plan in the computer.
Over the next three evenings, my wife and I experimented with tearing out walls, moving walls, adding walls, extending the size of the house, adding rooms etc etc. The software allowed us to put in all fixtures and fittings - showers, tub, kitchen sink, fridge, stove and more. There are several camera view options too, so you can explore how the home will look with the changes you make. Fantastic!
The software cost less than $100, but we think it saved us thousands by allowing us to experiment with design decisions without having to go build them to discover they would not work - from positioning the toilet and shower in one bathroom, to the need to add an extra 5 feet to the laundry room.
Once the builders started the work, we were able to tweak the design as we went to take into account necessary changes - supporting walls we missed in our ignorance, changind door widths, locations, new colours for the walls, different floor coverings etc. Changes never took more than a few minutes.
Soon we plan to build a whole new house from the ground up. We will be able to use this software to make our own plans and designs before handing them over to an architect or draftsman to create a blueprint and fix the rough edges.
If you are experienced using any sort of design or drawing software, this package will be easy for you to use. For the inexperienced, there are helpful tutorials and videos. With a little patience, anyone should be able to use this software.
My best software purchase in YEARS!
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