I Tried Three Online Home Design Tools and here's My Verdict

Floorplanner, roomstyler and homestyler.

Image via Flikr ( MSU IPF Facility Information Services)

Designing your home has never been easier thanks to today's online tools. I tested a few of them and ended up liking Floorplanner, Roomstyler and Homestyler the best. Since I was simply testing, I looked for tools that were free. The main criteria for me was :

Ease of use, options available without having to upgrade to their paying version, being able to import an existing floor plan, and being able to add custom-size objects such as furniture.

The tools I tried offered plenty of options and possibilities at no cost. There were limitations too that could be overcome if you upgraded.

Roomstyler was great at first. What bothered me was the fact you can't upload an exisiting floor plan which leaves the user with no option but having to draw the plan herself and of course there is a learning curve that required some time.

Homestyler lets you import an existing floor plan! It looks user-friendly and the images/drawings look top-notch. The same thing goes for Roomstyler.  The big letdown is adding furniture or other objects. You can't really change the size of furniture. So what good is this tool if you can't change the dimensions of objects? Beats me. Other than that it looked ok. But wasn't good enough for me.

Floorplanner

Thank goodness I found Floorplanner. Easy to use and gets the job done fairly quickly with no steep learning curve. The user can import an existing floor plan and he/she will be able to add custom-size furniture and other objects. Their free version will only add one project, but since I'm no Donald Trump that should be ok.

I know there's Roomsketcher, Ikea has an online tool too, but one can only add Ikea objects.