An Interior Designer's UPDATED Guide to Home Designer Pro vs. Chief Architect
It’s crazy to think it’s been almost three years since I wrote my ever-popular blog post, An Interior Designer’s Guide to Home Designer Pro vs. Chief Architect Interiors, on my original home to all things Chief Architect and Home Designer, www.kellyfridlinedesign.com. As of today, the blog has been read or viewed by thousands of Interior Designers, Residential Designers, Architects, and even Homeowners. The topic is still widely discussed, reviewed, and consistently questioned within the various Facebook groups, forums, and emailed to me. In addition to the popularity of the blog, I’ve also released several very successful online courses full of detailed instructions for all three versions and equate to over 45 hours of recordings.
Which version is right for you?
Since my last post, the software has now been upgraded twice and those promotions have really added some amazing features to all three versions. Oh, and yes, the three options we will be discussing are Home Designer Pro 2022, Chief Architect Interiors X13, and Chief Architect Premier X13. To start, I’m going to give you a very basic understanding of what the differences are between the three versions, I will then go a little more in-depth as to what each option includes. I will mention that of the three Home Designer options I will only be discussing Home Designer Pro, due to the extreme limitations, from a professional viewpoint, I do not recommend Architectural nor Suite.
An Interior Designer’s UPDATED Guide to Home Designer Pro vs. Chief Architect
PC or MAC | Does It Matter… Really?
#2 | The Computer Requirements and Models You Need as an Interior Designer, Virtual Design Assistant, and Rendering Artist
Alright, so you’re reading this post for a reason, and most likely because you’re an Interior Designer who’s looking for a new computer, but have absolutely no idea where to start. First things first, I will recommend you read my primarily dry and, yet, trying to be witty, previous blog post, PC or MAC | Does It Matter -#1 | What to Keep In Mind When Purchasing a Computer as an Interior Designer, Virtual Design Assistant, and Rendering Artist. Designed as the precursor to this post, I mainly discuss the technical details and definitions Interior Designers need to consider when purchasing a new computer. There is just too much information out there and many of us are too busy to try to earn another degree or let’s say always listen to teenagers of the Geek Squad pitch us a computer without fully understanding what we ACTUALLY NEED. So before you walk into Best Buy, Apple, or call Dell, brush up on the basics to make sure you can at least understand the equivalent of laying a beautiful and efficient kitchen design, but not necessarily drafting the shop drawings.
Home Designer for Interior Designers
An Introduction to a Learn-As-You-Go Online Course
So here’s the thing, I’ve built a course specifically tailored to Interior Designers using Home Designer Professional (HD Pro). This is (as noted in the title of this blog) a pre-recorded Learn As You Go Online course that will cover everything you need to be efficient in HD Pro as an Interior Designer. Keep in mind, that Home Designer is still considered a DIY software, so you don’t have the same bells and whistles available that you’ll find in the Chief Architect Interiors (with NKBA dimensioning standards built in) or Premier, but there are work arounds and a specific level of mind set that you need to move forward using this more basic option, primarily being organization and some patience. To learn a little more about the differences between the two software versions I suggest you check out the blog post I wrote, An Interior Designer's Guide to Home Designer Pro vs. Chief Architect Interiors.
The Benefits of Hiring an Architecturally Trained Virtual Design Assistant & Rendering Artist
Recently, the market for Virtual Design Assistants (VDA) and Rendering Artists has become more available than ever before. As the world of design is becoming a close knit community, via social media and collaborative dashboards like IVY.co and MyDoma, it can be difficult to weed through all the professional resources. Instagram feeds, Facebook groups, and Google search results all add that extra layer of stress when looking for right the team member.
So, with all these opportunities, testimonials, and connections how do you know you’re making the right choice?
An Interior Designer's Guide to Home Designer Pro vs. Chief Architect Interiors
So here’s the big question, one that I counsel Interior Designers on regularly, and I mean 2-3 time per week… minimum. Between Chief Architect and Home Designer which version (of the seven) is right for you and why? Well my immediate response is; what do your projects look like and what do you hope to get out of the software?