Software Review of:
Design Your Own Home Suite 

• Architecture which enables you to create a floor plan and do plumbing and wiring details; 
• Interiors which enables you to arrange furniture and try colors and patterns; 
• Landscape which enables you to plan for trees shrubs and gardens; 
• Design Estimator for estimating costs; and 
• Mighty Draw to visualize costs and to create housewarming invitations. 

System requirements:
Windows 3.1 or higher. A product brochure inside the box states system requirements as Windows 3.1 or higher, 8MB Ram, 30MB hard drive space, and CD-ROM drive. Judging by the registration card, the CD-ROM can be any speed from 2x up. I could not find any indication of the minimum processor speed or any further information on system requirements; however, the program comes packaged on a CD-ROM. 

My operating system is Win95b, so I was very surprised to put the CD into its drive and have nothing happen - no auto-install. Once I clicked the install button of the Add/Remove Program the installation was quick and smooth. After installing the program, I found Aimbedded@ in the manual reference to the need for a 486 computer, an accelerated video board, and 8 megabytes of memory. 
 

The manual is good although it has been through revisions and would benefit from proofreading.
Chapter 1	deals with installation and getting started
Chapter 2	is tutorials
Chapter 3	identifies each tool with a picture of the icon and a written description.
Chapter 4	reviews every option in the menu bar as well as the options in each submenu and provides keyboard shortcuts.
Chapter 5	goes into special features including a tutorial on drawing a deck and
Chapter 6	covers the Design Estimator.
Each program window very much resembles the MS Paint program so that there was an immediate feeling of comfort with the suite. In Paint you can identify the tool icon by resting the pointer over the icon. Design Suite does not identify the tools by resting the pointer over the icon so initially I was constantly referring to Chap. 3 in the manual to identify what I needed.

I did the tutorials to get a feel for this software. Starting with Architecture I drew a room and calculated the studs needed for a wall. I then opened Interiors and placed furniture and a door into the room that I had drawn. Once I got the hang of the program I had a lot of fun creating. 

I chose to replicate my office/guest room since it is something that I am familiar with and I could compare what I had done with reality. The library that comes with the Suite is excellent. The library is grouped by rooms and after selecting the room one is able to choose the object. I was able to select desks, a hutch, file cabinets, a computer chair and a bed by going to the different room choices. 

Once I placed my furniture into my drawing, I was surprised to realize that I could size the furniture. As one works with sizing and placing of objects into the interior, measurements show on the screen so that one is able to do their drawing to scale. This was especially important to me because my guest bed is an extra long twin, which uses space differently. 

Although I did not work with color schemes on my interior, this program enables the user to try different color schemes and different patterns for furnishings, walls, exterior and wherever you want to see what difference a change would make. 

I next tried Landscape - another fun bit of software. First I drew the outline of our house (fortunately it is rectangular since I am not an artist) again using the measurements that showed on screen to get it to scale. I added windows and doors and proceeded with the placement of plants. Landscape also has an extensive library of objects/plants. The selection of trees seems especially broad including pines, ash and a variety of oaks. I was surprised to find cactus in the selection of shrubs. 

The last program in the Suite, Design Estimator, had to be loaded separately from the other four programs. Abracadata states in the manual that Design Estimator "is best learned by playing with it, in one hour increments." That statement should give the user a fair indication of what to expect. I have not mastered enough of Design Estimator to determine how it can help the individual who is using the program to design/build their own home. I feel that it is geared more for the construction business/contractor who must make bids on jobs as it provides for mark-ups and calculations that businessmen need. While the whole suite is very user friendly, the estimator even provides a help screen if you click the right mouse button. Abracadata also has a video training tape available for Design Estimator. 

There was one aspect of this software that I think needs improvement. All file names are limited to 8 bytes, which required some creativity on my part to name files, but most important, it made some of the library files hard for me to identify. Overall this software is good for individuals who have less powerful computers and for the construction business. It is easy to use and fun but with a more powerful computer, you might prefer 3-D Walkaround, also by Abracadata. 

Design Your Own Home Suite costs $99.99 for the windows version and $149.99 for the Macintosh version. It is available from 

Abracadata 
P.O. Box 2440 
Eugene, OR 97402. 

E-mail: abracadata@POBoxes.com
website: www.abracadata.com
telephone: 1-800-451-4871.