I have written before that I wholeheartedly believe that homes should be designed in both plan (2D) form and in the third dimension. Years ago architects and designers – in order to understand all aspects of space- would make physical 3d models. Physical models involve a considerable amount of time and attention to detail, and any little change to the design can add hours to the process. For that reason, designers would create rough models while working on concepts and save the detailed models for the very end stages of design.

 

Designers today have the benefit of technology on their side. Specialized software allows us to work in the third dimension through the entire design process. There are many 3D programs available for use, each with their own set of advantages. I personally use Sketchup, which I find to be extremely user friendly and powerful at the same time. One of the major bonuses of this program is that it is available FREE for personal use! In the future, I plan to offer tutorials here on the website – teaching easy steps to get started using Sketchup! In the meantime, I am offering the top five benefits of implementing 3D modeling during the home design process.

 

 

1: UNDERSTANDING THE FLOOR PLAN

Many people struggle to make sense of floor plans. Because we naturally don’t see walls cut through, or view furniture from above, a floor plan is difficult for the mind to process. It literally feels like a second language to some. Designers are trained to read these documents – but because their clients are not, frustration can arise when using a floor plan as a point of discussion.

standard floor plan view of Arrow Hill Cottage

 

By adding the third dimension, we are able to more fully understand how walls relate to one another, and also determine sight lines from one room to the next.  This is not only helpful for the designer, but also for the client that they may be sharing the information with.

three dimensional floor plan

 

2: ADDITION OF DEPTH + DIMENSION 

Construction documents are very useful for the crew who will ultimately build the house – these people are used to reading and understanding a plan set, and know how to transfer the information into a three dimensional built form. But the average person who sees a two dimensional drawing can not bring their mind to see beyond the flat image.

This is the front of Arrow Hill Cottage, as seen in a flat elevation drawing. From this view, it appears that the cottage is very long, and without depth.

 

Seeing the same design in three dimensional form gives you additional information – and as you can see, the garage is actually pulled back from the face of the porch by nearly 30′, giving it much less importance and prominence than what the elevation drawing would have you believe.

 

In this instance, the 3D model combined the information from BOTH the floor plan and the elevation into one image, making it easier to understand.

 

3: SCALE COMPARISON

Have you ever been in a space and found it to be either uncomfortably large or so small that it was not functional? The scale of a space is an important element that can be overlooked easily when working only in 2D.

Volume can only fully be understood with the addition of the third dimension. When designing in 3D you can easily determine the differences of how a room would look and feel with a flat ceiling versus a ceiling with a vault. In rooms with sloped ceilings, it is considerably easier to understand the amount of headroom available. Consider our boy’s bedroom design. This is a very unique space with a ceiling that slopes from 11 feet in the center, all the way down to the floor. In order to determine where to place the boy’s beds so that they wouldn’t knock their heads on the ceiling in the middle of the night, I turned to 3D modeling.

 

Once the Sketchup model of their room was complete, I was able to show these images to the boys – and they could literally imagine themselves IN the room. Huge smiles all around! It is really comforting to know that after all the work, they will enjoy the final product.

 

 

4: PRECISION IN PROBLEM SOLVING

There are many little details that can be missed when working only with two dimensional drawings. I find that adding the third dimension is especially helpful when I am fine tuning the design. For example, When I was looking at the cubbies in our future mudroom, I wasn’t sure which height would work best for the individual shelves and hooks. I measured items in our existing home to get a general idea of what would be most functional, but when I put those dimensions into the 3D model, I realized that the heights of the shelves competed with the height of the nearby trim, creating an awkward look.

With a bit of tweaking to the dimensions, the design is now visually appealing.

 

 

 

5: VISUALIZING THE FINISH PRODUCT SELECTIONS

Many of today’s 3D modeling programs, including Sketchup, have the capability to render in a semi-realistic way. Designers can add material selections, such as wood floors or a subway tile back splash. They also offer the ability to add furnishings and accessories.  These extra capabilities allow designers to create views of what the final product may look like, before the builder ever lifts a hammer.

When designing the living room of the cottage, I could tell that the space would benefit from the use of a sectional sofa. I was able to use Sketchup to find an amazing couch that fit perfectly. When the time comes to furnish the room, I can simply purchase the exact piece that I used in the design, or find an item with similar dimensions. Retailers are beginning to see this as a benefit, and have begun offering their furniture in three dimensional form, for designers to use in their mock ups – with the hope that their clients will purchase the exact pieces once they visualize how they could look in the room.

 

If these five reasons have convinced you that adding 3D modeling to your home design process is beneficial, I hope you will join me in the future as I share tutorials on how YOU can get started.  And, as always, if you need help in visualizing the space you can ask for a Makeover Takeover!