Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Apr 22, 2007 3:40 pm We have a interior design company here in Western Australia and have been doing some kitchen designing.
At the moment we are just drawing floor plan view and simple elevations but would like to do some better elevations showing colours and layouts on the computer. Can anyone recomend some software for us to purchase. It needs to be - Relativiely straight foward to use Have the std Australian cabinets as templates Ideally have the Laminex colours, for doors and benchtops Reasonably Prices There might not be such software available ? Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 3Apr 23, 2007 10:15 am You will find that any proprietary cabinet design and specification package is not cheap.
Last time I looked at 20/20 it was $18K for a single user license... We are about to acquire a license for Teowin (www.teowin.com.au) which is being organised by our cabinetmaker. The cabinetmaker is buying the full license for about $12K and then x number of aditional licenses for their clients...so the clients are paying about $3K each for a license and an installation which is completely customised to that particular fabricators catalogue and pricings. If you check out Renomart's site I know he has a few alternative suggestions for kitchen design software. Cheers, Earl Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 5Apr 23, 2007 12:47 pm Hello Renomart,
That software looks like it might ber American ? if that is the case the catalogue is probalry different to what we use in Australia ? Is that the case ? and the colours - would they have the Laminex range ? or can you import those if need be ? Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 6Apr 26, 2007 5:59 pm Charles Hello Renomart, That software looks like it might ber American ? if that is the case the catalogue is probalry different to what we use in Australia ? Is that the case ? and the colours - would they have the Laminex range ? or can you import those if need be ? Everyone in Australia makes their cabinets differently so there really isnt a standard. Some of the programs will let you modify and save your cabinets and colour rendition of some software leaves a lot to be desired so trying to design a kitchen with Laminex colours will be a hit and miss affair. Check out Plan3D on my site and follow the link. You can try the software for free before you buy. Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 7May 03, 2007 2:30 pm I recently ordered this software online, might be abel to tell you more once I received it.
MyVirtualHome http://www.myvirtualhome.com.au/index.htm It is now offered FOC + $9.95 postage Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 8May 03, 2007 2:38 pm jchan,
I have been using this software for nearly 18 months and it is a small but good package. It is a little inflexible at times but great for showing clients what a walkthough of their design will look like for colours and design ideas. It requires plenty of computer though.... Matt Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 10May 03, 2007 6:33 pm You wouldnt think so would you but watch...
It is very hungry!! Matt Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 11May 04, 2007 6:12 pm jchan I recently ordered this software online, might be abel to tell you more once I received it. MyVirtualHome http://www.myvirtualhome.com.au/index.htm It is now offered FOC + $9.95 postage Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ well good luck with that one Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 12May 04, 2007 7:04 pm Yep - Rendering objects takes heaps of computing power.
Go with the recommend specs, or more if you can, Unless you really love making another cup of coffee each time you move around. But looks like a great product. I'm ordering one. Cheers Steve Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 13May 04, 2007 10:06 pm jchan Matt, Glad to hear that you are finding that software useful, more anticipating now ... As for the computer power hope that won't cause too much grief on my Duo with 2GB RAM Without turning this into a geek session (and yes I am a computer geek, quiet Matt!!) It is a very power hungry application, but does a good job. You will need a heap of RAM, and a good graphs card, an on board card will not cut it. Adrian B Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 14May 04, 2007 11:05 pm Adrian B Without turning this into a geek session (and yes I am a computer geek, quiet Matt!!) Never said a propellor cap, I mean a word!! LOL Matt Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 15May 06, 2007 8:15 pm Hi Charles -
I draft everything on a CAD programme called vectorworks. You can import textures like timbers and stone - as a simple jpeg file. You can add colour, dimensions and draw at scale. It is great for construction drawings and to colour up elevations and plans for client presentations. I'm currently using version 11 - but I believe they've released a version 12. Let me know how you go. Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 16May 06, 2007 9:15 pm Vectorworks is a very "ground up" (as opposed to "top down") based package similar to the other big names such as AutoCad, SketchUp et cetera.
One of the big advantages of these programs is the complete flexibility offered by being able to create a unique design with relative ease, although creating an original layout each time can be a bit time consuming. What they are not good for is producing quick presentations of variations on a theme of, say, a standard catalogue of cabinetry as supplied by a particular manufacturer or a style of cabinets conforming to a set of given parameters; accompanied by quick colour renderings (especially perspectives) along with cutting lists and costings. I draw up kitchen plans and elevations using vector based CAD on a daily basis, and having a block library doesn't help when there are so many variables which influence each singular layout. I can and do use AutoCad, Vectorworks, SketchUp and ProEngineer along with a number of variations on the theme of proprietary cabinet design packages. As I stated previously, we too are considering the move into a proprietary cabinet package that is purpose designed to specify and quantify as well as quickly provide an accurate estimate for cabinetry layouts. The software we are looking at is like many others whose advantages are that one can quickly throw down a floorplan from which elevations and perspectives, featuring full colour and texture mapping, can be generated. Everything is pretty much "drag and drop" which, while not exactly high end CAD, can save a lot of time and repetition. The really attractive aspect of this sort of package, besides being completely parametric, is that they are normally set up to conform to a specific manufacturers catalogue/ standards as well as being able to provide accurate costings for a variety of brand name materials (such as Laminex) depending on how well the programme is set up in the first place. This enables one to generate quick and visually dramatic presentations for a potential client. For "one of" work you can't go past the total flexibility of eng drawing packages such as Vectorworks or AutoCAD...but if you are doing a lot of layouts featuring simailar cabinetry you will definitely benefit from a more specialised piece of software. The attached illustration was generated using a professional version of SketchUp (I chose not to colour this particluar file), but I would hate to have to go through the effort it takes for each individual quote I write. Cheers, Earl Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 17May 07, 2007 3:16 pm I agree -
sketch up s a great tool! You have the flexibility of scanning a plan (this could be something you have previously hand drawn) and importing it into Sketch up - to build your model up off plan. There is also a free version of Sketch up available to download from the internet - if you wanted to give it a trial period. All the best. Re: Kitchen Design Software ? 19May 07, 2007 4:05 pm Hey,
I know I'm not Kylie...but here it is anyway... http://sketchup.google.com/ Have lotsa fun, because this is an awesome package. Cheers, Earl Our Bondi Greenwall was impressive from day one with advanced lush plants to provide a wow factor to this recently renovated living area. The boundary was less than 1… 0 15303 Thank you so much for the effort. We will use it to talk with builder. We also had idea of building duplex instead and seeking suggest ions. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=106744 11 13832 |