Home design software for Mac

[maxnine11]

Home design software for Mac.
Any recommendations ??

Not looking for anything Pro quality. Just want to play around for now.
( should be relatively easy to understand and not too expensive )

So far, this is about all that i have found:
Punch! Software

max

[jyl]

If you simply want to draw rooms, structures, etc then Google Sketchup is free, powerful, and flexible.

[Sapporo Guy]

crayons, or my favorite etch-a-sketch

Seriously, you might just be better off getting a few good books on house designs, I'm really big fan of Wright!

Are you planning on designing your own house?
If so AutoCad then maybe just for basic floor layouts use sketch that's sort of part of the OpenOffice group (or is it???). It's free and is basically an open source illustrator.

[looneybin]

+1 on Google Sketchup

[john70t]

+2 on Sketchup.
It has a very forgiving learning curve, even for "specially challenged" individuals such as myself. I've been playing around with the Architecture layout and it's pretty good for making basic forms. Curves and circles are a bit challenging


Some tips:
1)Use the square tool for almost everything at first.
Using the measuring tape tool first is a safe way to add boundrys.
If you can't get them to connect(for some reason Sketchup seems to switch axises and/or purposely ignore the reference points), bring it close, and then connect it.
In the long run, its faster to work slower and hover over points to recognize them.

2)Do the simple layout first, double check measurments, then add details.
Much easier that way. Trying later-on to highlight a feature, make a component, and then move it usually ends up with the rest of model being pulled into a horiffic Picassoisque-result. Highlighting something picks up even the invisible lines all the way through the model.

3)Keep clean religeously, and switch to the view tool for viewing.
Erase extra construction reference points and lines to make the model simple and complete(switch to wireframe and then double-check the model didn't get in shaded).
If, for example, you spastically use the point tool while spinning the model, you will create hundreds of reference points which the corners of your boxes will jump to. After spending hours building off those boxes, you will then realize to your dismay that the original boxes are not square and you will have to erase everything and start over.