I’ve searched for kitchen design software via google and yahoo. I have followed the links to track down prices and called companies to research their help lines. I have listed the names of these packages and written a report on what I found and compared them to TurboCAD when appropriate. These are only short reports on what I can see from reading their information on-line, so there may be mistakes, but where they are it is because it is not clear on the site. I’ve tried as much as possible to have a ‘good points / bad points’ approach. More will be added as and when I come across them.

There are two very different types of packages, there are CAD packages and design packages. A CAD package is both, but a design package is not a CAD package. Generally speaking a CAD package will take you longer to learn, but give you a far greater degree of flexibility and functionality and is essential if you are needing to swap files, include layers to show electrics or other detail. A design package will be easier to learn, as you’ll only be taking cabinets off a ‘shelf’ and inserting them in you drawing.

Don’t take what I say as fact as some of the information below may have changed a little since I gathered it. Please check them out for yourself. The prices I’ve quoted are what I’ve found, I’m sure that some you will able to find cheaper and in other places more expensive, but always haggle, don’t take the first quote, software is like anything else, a salesman will prefer to get a sale at a smaller commission that loose the sale. If they quote a price and then at the last minute add 15% vat, something I personally hate, then just point out that you agreed to a price and that’s what you are prepared to pay, they can take it or leave it, 95% will take it. If you buy from a person and not a machine there is always a deal to be done and 15% is the very least discount you can expect. The last week in the month is always a good time to buy from a salesman as he or she may be desperate to hit a target, your sale might just be the difference between a carpeting from the MD to salesman of the month with a free weekend away.  All of these prices, unless stated are ex vat.

The software is listed in three sections, First the CAD packages, second the kitchen design packages and thirdly the packages under £100.

CAD SYSTEMS

AutoCAD

AutoCAD was just about the first CAD system on the market. Everybody was trained on it, (including me), and years ago there really was no choice. So we now have a large pool of CAD professionals that were trained on it and hell will freeze over before they consider looking at what else is out there. The reality is that there is a lot out there which many, again including me, think is a lot better. The main AutoCAD product was originally a 2D package and although now it does have 3D functionality it is a round plug in a square hole. Drawing in 3D is not a task for the faint hearted. So training up on 3D for this would be a long and expensive road.

Cadpoint run training courses, Essentials, a three day starting off course is £585, which you will need to follow up with an Intermediate two day course for £495. The main package will set you back £3,195, plus a subscription, which I presume means that they upgrade you after a year is an extra £425, (and you pay this year in year out). Technical support comes with the package for 30 days, after that you start paying, £450 pa. Remember this is technical support, not practical support, so no good trying to call them if you’re a bit stuck with your drawing.

AutoCAD LT

This is only 2D, costs about £995, plus the optional subscription, and describes itself as the world’s number-one-selling 2D drafting and detailing product. I have only two comments about that, firstly I’d be interested to see that proven and secondly anyone wanting to simply design in 2D can buy TurboCAD Designer for £30 and it saves in the same formats.

AutoCAD Inventor

A 3D design package, but not for interior design, I suppose that you could use it for kitchen design, but you would be the only one to do so. It is also expensive, a training CD from CAD Courses costs £186. I believe it is an excellent program, but for other disciplines.

Ashlar-Vellum

This is a new one to me, but I came across a blog by a chap that was singing its praises, so here’s what I’ve found.

It comes as Mac and PC. The site is quite extensive, unfortunately much of it tells you little, lots of waffle, however in amongst is you can find a few facts.

Graphite v8

This is a 2D application at about £860, which is a very fancy price for a 2D package. I’ve looked through the info pages and am at pains to see why it’s so expensive, but I may be missing something. Of course AutoCAD ask even more for their 2D package so maybe the pricing is pitched at that point to compare it to AC, but that’s just speculation. You can, however, rent monthly for about £35, there is also a yearly rental price.

Xenon

Xenon is a 3D drawing package. Under the heading ‘Who uses Xenon’? it states, ‘Those doing products that are more highly customized and less mass-produced are more likely to use Xenon. These include furniture and fixture designers, those working in ceramics and glass, jewelry makers, exhibit design and architectural rendering professionals’. The price is about £1,543.

Argon

More for engineers, can’t see use for interior design.

Cobalt

This is their top of the range tool. The site talks of designers using it in conjunction with Solid Works, which is an engineering package, so despite its merits, I can’t really see this as an interior design tool. The cost is £1,852, which is considerable if it’s just a side kick for SolidWorks, but I’m sure that it’s a bit more than that. The upgrade from v7 is a bit steep at £800, especially if they come out every year, but I’m only presuming that.

My general impression is of a tool for furniture designers/makers rather than interior designers or kitchen fitters and it also has the line ‘Software that works the way you think’, not very reassuring for me, I want help, not hindrance.

Vector Works

This is an odd one for me. It’s very easy to point out the shortcomings of CAD software although I do try to keep an open mind. However, I have seen extremely extravagant claims over its market share, yet seldom meet anyone who uses it. I’ll just recount one VW story, then record what I’ve discovered via their UK site.

Last year at the Magic Museum in London, they had an open day to show off the merits of their new version. They were also going to demo their Furniture Maker plug in. I was particularly interested in the plug in as TurboCAD has one which I think is over complicated and as yet not perfected. So I was hoping to see their one in action as a comparison. When the demo started, (late), there were only two of us in the auditorium. The chap that gave the demo simply turned on a power point, (or similar), presentation and started talking through it. It was telling me nothing and they could have put it out on the web. When I interrupted the chap giving the demo and asked him to show us practically how it would work by drawing a cupboard and showing what the ad on will do, he told us that he didn’t know the package well enough to be able to do that. So I had taken the day off work to travel to London to see the merits of an add on and was presented with a salesman with no or little practical skills. If that’s the way that they treat potential customers then think how they’ll treat you when they’ve got your money. I stayed on for the main presentation where two men showed us an array of ‘new improvements’ that TurboCAD had already sorted years previously. As I left I discovered that the price was twice that of TurboCAD.

Anyway, putting that behind me, lets see what I can find out from their UK site. Firstly turn off the audio, because you will be bombarded with unnecessary ‘music’ as well as a lot of claims, (also made by another CAD package), such as ‘It works the way you think’, so I presume that it starts thinking about retiring, buying a boat and a house in southern Italy and having a beer at about 2pm.

I’m very aware that many CAD sites consist of lists of meaningless drivel that say nothing, but the paragraph below takes the Oscar:

For the designer who needs it all, VectorWorks Designer has it all. A brand new offering, VectorWorks Designer combines all the exclusive technology found in VectorWorks Architect, VectorWorks Landmark, VectorWorks Spotlight and VectorWorks Machine Design into one easy-to-use program. Providing advanced production, presentation and collaboration features that VectorWorks Fundamentals doesn’t, it’s the ideal solution for multi-disciplinary firms and designers who do it all.

I’m afraid that the product information part of the site could be better, there are few examples, but no explanation of how it works.

Coming down the My VectorWorks part of the home page in order:

Support. A long list of FAQs with a link to contact them if the answer to your problem was not there. I clicked onto the link to get a message that the page was not found.

Training Tools. Lots of information, including training books and videos, which look good.

Community. Job postings, the latest one for 2007.

Downloads. Updates and patches.

Events. A list of events that VectorWorks will be attending. Worth attending one if you are thing of buying.

Demo CD. Order a demo CD.

Next there is a section entitled Visit Our Other Sites, there are two listed:

Design Unlimited and Training Unlimited. Both of these are the same company Training Unlimited are a fairly new wing of Computers Unlimited and also run courses on Google Sketch Up. The prices seem fair and I’ll be booking myself on a Sketch Up training day soon to check them out.

I had to look elsewhere for pricing. There are a few companies selling the various products. It comes in as Architect/RenderWorks at £1,599, Landmark/RenderWorks at £1,495, Spotlight/RenderWorks at £1,495, or it seems all three for £1,975. However VectorWorks Fundamental, £863, which boasts ‘With Vectorworks Fundamental’s flexible platform, there are no limits to what you can do’, it would appear that this product is all anyone could possibly need.

There is an array of training materials including a Visual Quick Start Guide, which are an excellent series of software training books. There are also a couple of dozen tutorials on YouTube. Another advantage is that it comes in a Mac version as well as PC, so if Mac is your preference then worth taking a look. However I can’t really see any special provision for interior design.

I’m aware that this particular ‘review’ can seem a little picky, but the truth is that they claim so much, but do not explain, or deliver. If they sell something for £863 with which ‘there are no limits to what you can do’, why do they sell all these other more expensive packages and how can anyone else in the software field survive – it can only be nonsense and I find it hard to take a company that talks such obvious rot seriously.

Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite X4

I don’t come across many people using Coral software, so I have a totally open mind on their products. This one comes in at £638. The site says that to increase your 3D capabilities you can upgrade at £319. At least that’s my understanding, it’s really not very clear. Certainly the Coral design family is quite wide, but there is no real leaning towards kitchen design. I’d need to see this demonstrated before I’d buy it, that’s in no way knocking it, I’d just want to be sure. I could not find a phone number on their site to check through things. That always worries me, it smacks of wanting your money, but not wanting to help out when you’re stuck.

KITCHEN DESIGN SOFTWARE

Virtual Worlds

This comes in three parts, Bathroom, Kitchen and Tiling. If you want all three then it will set you back £2,700. They do not post the price on the site, which always annoys me, I had to phone to find out and was very surprised.  Their web site is rather lacking in clear practical information and the on-site introductions to how it works would not convince anyone. On the site it boasts that the three sections are ‘the most powerful and sophisticated programs on the market today’. Well if that is the case it’s not obvious from their site. There are some peculiar statements on the site such as ‘The SAR machine, (is this extra?), ‘can do your renders 24/7’, well I suppose it’s reassuring to know that the package still works outside off office hours, but I kind of expect that. You are able to access manufacturer’s packages, which is very useful if they are the manufacturers that you use. There is no initial charge for this but if you want to be able to keep up with the latest products then there is. They list quite a few kitchen and bathroom suppliers that use it, so presumably to check it out all you have to do is go into one of these places and have a word with them. I did just that for the only company that they listed in Winchester. A young lady there told me that she had been using it for over a year and said it was ‘fine’, they did use the manufacturer’s list, so it worked for them. I think she was a bit wary of me just coming in off the street asking her about the software she was using, so ‘fine’ was probably her being guarded.

Lastly and importantly it must be noted that this is a kitchen and bathroom design package, not a CAD package. There is nothing wrong with that, but it does mean that, as with others on this page, it can be inflexible. You would not be able to import a DXF file of a house and then insert the kitchen that you have made in it. As far as I can see it will not file swap. To send your designs to someone else you save it as a picture, as a JPG. The other thing to look into out is your computer. It sounds unlikely that it will run on a regular lap top, ruling out taking it to a customer’s house. Check out the section on computer specifications, you may need a new one.

In conclusion. If you have a showroom where customers come, look through catalogs, choose styles and a layout and you use the suppliers from their lists, then this might be the one for you. If you are going to go to a customers house to do some of the initial planning, then you will need to insure that your lap top is up to it.

Vision House Software

This comes as VR Kitchen £795, VR Bedroom £795, VR Bathroom £795, or all three for £995 and there is an extra Planner which works with either of the ones above for an extra £295.

You also have the option to lease which can cost you as little as  £10 a month, but I’d expect that you have to sign up for a certain period, still this is an inexpensive way in.

You can get a free demo CD and there is an e-mail address and phone contact details published. It looks like another drag and drop type package that I’m sure will be easy to pick up and certainly worth getting the demo CD to see what it has to say for itself.

SmartDraw

This is an inexpensive 2D design package. You can download a free trial and if you decide to buy the cost is $197, about £119. More expensive than TurboCAD Designer 2D, but easier to pick up if you are just looking for a space planning package for a one off package. It has lots of templates to help get you started. A disadvantage is that it only saves in its own file format, so you would be unable to send your drawings to another company to edit or add to unless they also had the package, but that is often the case for software at this price.

UNDER £100

Encore 3D Home Architect Landscape Design v9

I can see how to buy it, but the only thing that I can find out about it is that it’s £6. There are others in the range going up to a top price of £24.

KitchenDraw

This is an interesting one. It seems that you do not buy it, you rent it by the hour. The first 30 hours are free and then you subsequently pay up to 3€ per hour, depending on your usage. There are also a few dozen catalogues of kitchen furniture suppliers that you can access, I can’t tell if there is a fee for these, but I can’t see one. It saves as a DXF, which means that you should be able to swap the files with users with other CAD packages, which really I think is essential. It can generate a cutting list and directly create a chart to show costs, both useful. E-mail technical support is free and distance learning is charged at 75€ an hour. This seems excellent for what it is and if you need to give an impression of the kitchen you intend to create and you are dealing with a room with walls that meet at 90 degrees, then fine. If you are actually going to use kitchen furniture supplied from one of the manufacturers on the catalogue list then this may be the perfect easy to learn cheap system. The problem with this and similar software is that they can be inflexible. Visually impressive, cheap and initially impressive – yes, but try customizing a cabinet to accommodate for an unusual shaped room or some other oddity and you’re stuck. Having said that, as it saves in DXF, you should be able to save the drawing as a DXF file and then open within a CAD package. If this works perfectly, then it is defiantly top of the list for a closer look.

Designeasy

This is a company that supplies a wide range of kitchen and bedroom furniture. From their site you are able to download a free kitchen design package. I don’t know how good this is because the download requires you to lower your security level and at that point I didn’t proceed any further. I’m sure that it would be fine, but I can’t afford to take a chance.

plan 3D

Another one that you pay a subscription for. $2.95, about £1.80 a month if you pay for a year up front, or $15.95 a month otherwise, less than £10. It’s always difficult to tell from demos on site how good these cheap packages are, but for the money it’s got to be worth a look for a month for a tenner.

Ideal Home

This is a very easy to pick up home and garden design package. When I gave a copy to my daughter to check out she had drawn a large detached house with a car in the garage and a nice garden within an hour. Via Software Paradise it only costs £25 inc vat. The pictures on the box are impressive and it has sample floor plans, 10,000 objects to choose from, 3,500 plants to choose from as well as a plant encyclopedia, a deck builder and so on. For the money it’s probably the best in the field.

FloorPlan

In reality the same as above.

TurboFloor Plan 3D Home and Landscape Pro

This retails at £63.61 inc vat. Essentially it’s the same base product as Ideal Home, but with a lot more bells and whistles, 7,500 plants instead of 3,500. It will not be any harder to learn, just give you more options once you get the hang of it. Information can be found on the Avanquest UK site.

DesignCAD 3D Max

From the same stable as FloorPlan and TurboCAD it sits somewhere between the two. It is a CAD package so has the advantages of being able to save in several file formats and being opened in TurboCAD, AutoCAD etc. It is a big seller so a lot of people must like it. There is a training CD which I’m sure you could get thrown in with the price if you tried and some extra symbol CDs. It retails at £59 inc vat. In my opinion you are better off going the extra £21 and buying TurboCAD Deluxe, for the simple reason that at that cost level you get a great deal more for just a few quid.