Virtual Renovating

Image via emmas blog (just because I liked it!)

I can't believe I never knew about these things until now: Renovating and decorating via free online websites that let you design houses and decorate rooms from the comfort of your ergonomic desk chair - or, in my case, my rather un-ergonomic dining chair.

And I can't believe I found out about one of them - Floor Planner - via my daughter. Yes, indeedy peoples, my 12-year-old is designing her very own virtual beach house for her Design and Technology class. Even my 10-year-old is doing it now and only last night showed me the top floor of her 'house' with its room full of arcade games - her idea of heaven clearly!

Then I read in the Sydney Morning Herald the other day about a whole raft of other such sites that I never knew about and quite frankly, could have used over the past year.

My Deco: where you can design a 3D room, add furniture, make moodboards and get ideas from other people's room designs.

Google Sketchup: which is a more architecturally inclined modelling program.

3Dream: uses video-game technology to allow you to draw up floor plans, add the joinery and then choose from real-life furniture, fabric swatches, lights and art.

They could be real time-wasters but I reckon if you're having a hard time envisaging a room or the plan of a house, they could be just what you need.

Has anyone used one of these before? I'd love to hear how it went!