Your garage and garage door is important to your property. You need to create a great garage with lots of garage space that not only helps you store your vehicles but also lets you keep any workshop items inside. You can also use your garage to store a lawnmower and various other things you’ve got to use for maintaining your yard.
Fortunately, you can use many garage design software programs to help you figure out what can be done in your space. There are a few free options that give you a basic idea of what you can do to get your garage organized. There are also some paid choices that go into the more technical aspects of getting your garage ready.
You should look at the options available for your use and then determine a proper choice based on the types of software you want to apply. Make sure when looking around that you understand what you are going to get out of a program and that it will fit in with the needs you have.
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A. Free
Here are a few free options for you to take a look at when finding a garage design program. These are more rudimentary in terms of what you can use but they all come with their own basic features to help you get started with using a better approach to designing your garage.
1. Easy Garage
Easy Garage Storage offers all kinds of fantastic garage storage ideas, cabinetry, layout, etc. You can buy pre-designed options or design your own with their software. Once you design it, you can order it.
What’s great is you don’t have to order from them… you can play around with the software for ideas and then see what else is available. That said, if you like the specific design you come up with, you’ll probably want to order all the components you put together from Easy Garage Storage.
It’s a seamless process from design to placing your order.
This is not the first rodeo for Easy Garage Storage. They’ve been around designing closets for years (very successfully) and have recently branched into garage storage.
Try the garage storage software here.
2. Bighammer Do-It-Yourself Garage Designer
BigHammer has a variety of Internet Explorer-based programs that you can use in order to design all kinds of things in and around your home. The Garage Designer program is one of the top options from the company to use. This program lets you prepare a garage based on the materials you want to use in the construction project and the positioning of doors and other features.
This offers a 3D visualization setup with realistic shading. You can adjust the lighting in a simulation to get an idea of how well the garage will look in a variety of settings.
With this, you can specify the type of roofing materials and lumber that you want to use as well as sizes
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3. American Garage Builders Designer
The American Garage Builders company based in the northern part of Illinois has its own web-based software program to help you review how you’re going to design your garage. It is a rudimentary option that focuses more on how you’re going to organize the garage.
This is designed primarily with the intention of planning a more extensive design project. You should carefully consider the measurements of what you’re actually going to put into the garage when using this program so you will at least have some extra ideas on how well the design will look at the end.
Also, the program does not put specialized types of garages into consideration. Although it could help if you’re trying to build a new garage from the ground up, you have to watch carefully to see how it is organized.
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4. Floor Planner Garage Planner
The Floor Planner Garage Planner is an option similar to what American Garage Builders offers but it is designed to be a little more technical. It gives you 2D and 3D options and lets you sort items out based on the approximate sizes of whatever you are trying to add to space.
This program can be rather difficult to use if you are not careful with it. The layout is complicated and often hangs up on your browser as you are trying to use it. This might require a bit of trial and error for you to get a clear idea of how well it can work and what you can do to make it more functional for any intention you hold.
It may be best for you to get the paid version of the program as it works with its own dedicated application and comes with a few extra features. This leads into the next section worth discussing when it comes to garage planning.
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B. Paid
Some of the more advanced programs for your use are ones that require you to spend a little extra. These might be useful depending on the needs you have as they come with a better variety of features all the way through.
1. Elecosoft 3D Architect Home Designer
One paid option to see is the Elecosoft 3D Architect Home Designer program. It uses 2D and 3D setups alike. With this, you can draw a full floor plan to get a careful look at how your garage looks.
This comes with a full wall editor and a custom roof design feature. You can organize the parameters of the garage based on where items are to go and even choose individual textures.
As you prepare your garage, you will get a full 3D layout ready after you enter in enough key details all the way through. This will give you a beautiful organization in your home that adds a nice touch to its surroundings.
This can be used for any room in your home. It works best for garages as it offers a fully intuitive interface and a number of assorted control features to help you create a better and more customized garage in any space you have it in.
While the program itself is very detailed, you will have to watch for how it is organized. It will cost extra to get access to some of the packs that provide you with added help for producing extra surfaces or blocks of space.
Demo Video:
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2. RoomSketcher
RoomSketcher is a program that is used for a number of design needs. This works well with a drawing tablet although you can also take care of all the sketching features directly through the program if preferred.
You can use this to create 2D and 3D floor plans. Additional decorations can be organized based on what you feel is necessary. This allows for a better organization that helps you get the precise measurements for the room ready. It should be used carefully to give you more control over your design plan.
There is a free version of this program but it does not offer as many features. The paid version will provide you with access to 3D floor plans, scale designs, and personalized setups. It can also be used on most operating systems and even on a mobile device.
Also, while this program does let you add a variety of virtual environments, there are primarily there for representative purposes. Additional work is needed to help you figure out how certain items might fit into your garage as you design it.
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3. Virtual Architect
Every part of your home can be designed and remodeled when you use the Virtual Architect program. It helps you to establish new floor plans for any room.
You can use it to organize the fixtures that you will use in your home and how they will be placed all around a surface. This can also be used to arrange the physical dimensions of a room in terms of height, length, and other key features.
The Virtual Architect program works for all rooms but it can also be used for your garage. With this, you can upload a photo of your existing garage to the program. This is analyzed by the design wizard to get an approximate idea of its current layout.
At this point, you can adjust the individual features of the room to include new spots and areas. This might work well if you are planning a more detailed arrangement all the way through.
You can even use this program to get a full three-dimensional walkthrough of your garage when you are finished designing it. The full review will help you get a clear idea of how well something will look and what can make it stand out. You should look at how well it is made to get a clear idea of what will come out of your garage as you prepare it.
Screenshots/Video:
Watch the Home Design Software Video
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4. Chief Architect Home Designer
Chief Architect makes a great home design program that is available in a premium version with full support for a variety of room options. This works with its own garage design feature that lets you add virtual items based on their dimensions. This gives you more control over how well you can design a garage based on the items that you will add into it.
This program works with a better arrangement that is for more technical points. You can even measure how large cabinets for your garage can be.
As you prepare the appropriate dimensions for all the items to be placed inside your garage, you can use a 3D view of the entire space. This will give you an idea of what an area will look like when you are finishing building or renovating it.
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Chief Architect Video Demo
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5. SmartDraw Building Design Software
SmartDraw makes a building design program that is available for use on computers and tablets alike. It is made as an alternative to CAD programs that might be too complicated as it offers a much more basic option for getting your designs organized and prepared in a clear manner.
SmartDraw uses a layout that gives you careful control over individual measurements based on how you’re going to make a spot stand out. It lets you add walls and partitions, choose flooring options, organize how individual items like cabinets, tool boxes and other items are to be placed in the garage and so forth. The organizational features of the program will give you full control over how you’re going to make your garage more functional and suitable for many uses.
The designs can especially work if you are focusing on blueprints. These blueprints may be used for a good assortment of design needs but you would have to be careful when making it all work so you will have a well-controlled layout that is not too complicated or otherwise hard to follow.
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6. CADPro
CADPro is the last choice to see if you’re trying to get a quality garage designed. With CADPro, you can use computer-aided design support to help you figure out how your garage will work. This is suitable for all parts of a home but you should at least look at how it can be made with your garage in mind.
CADPro lets you choose measurements for your garage and allows you to add custom items. You can use as many physical parameters for the items you want to add as desired. These can then be dragged around to different surfaces.
This uses 2D and 3D options although the 3D option is the more powerful choice. This provides you with extra support for reviewing more realistic images of whatever is in space.
Although CADPro is detailed, it can be rather complicated and tough to use at times. You must take a closer look at how the program is listed and how you can make it work so you will not have too much trouble with getting it to be functional and ready for your use.
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C. Conclusion
As you look for the best garage design software programs, you should look at what your computer can support and how intense of a need you have for designing this part of your home. All of the options listed here are ideal for many needs but you should still take a careful look at how well such a program can work for you. Try out whatever options you can use to see what makes everything right for your needs.
Don’t forget to look at how well each program can be used in terms of controls and general functions. The options that you have to work with when using garage design software are vast but you should be cautious in terms of what you are using and how you can get different types of programs ready for any use.
