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Landscape Design Tools for Consumers
Key Takeaways
- SketchUp offers the ability to visualize ideas, communicate those ideas through 2D/3D visualizations, and collaborate with the community or others. "It includes extensive landscape design features with a free version for personal users." Users must sign up before they can access the web tool.
- iScape is a leading landscape design application used in the visualization of finished products. It has two solutions: for professionals and for homeowners. The homeowner solution can be used to visualize outdoor spaces using powerful tools, "including textures, cut-out & clone, spin/rotate, duplicate, favorites and so much more."
- Punch! Software offers various home and landscaping design packages for interiors, homes, and landscapes. Generally designed for Mac and PC users, the landscaping product package creates amazing landscaping and outdoor living plans by using the software's design features. The essential version of the software, for PC, is suitable for many do-it-yourself designers.
Introduction
In this research, we've provided ten apps and five web tools that are available for consumer use that provides automated landscape design solutions. These have been provided in the attached spreadsheet.
Summary of the Findings
- Chief Architect is produced by Home Designer Software. The solution is used to design and remodel applications specifically made for DIYers who use PC and Mac. It is used to visualize and design various projects, including decks, landscaping, outdoor fixtures, and interior rooms. The product offerings are Suite, Architectural, and Pro.
- Realtime Landscaping is a PC software used to create landscape designs, yards, gardens, decks, fencing, etc. The products include Realtime Landscaping Architect, Realtime Landscaping Pro, Realtime Landscaping Plus, and Realtime Landscaping Photo. However, with the Plus and Pro versions, homeowners can visualize even the most demanding landscape design projects.
- Offered by Better Homes & Gardens, Plan-a-Garden is a web-based landscaping and design-planning tool. The web tool is primarily designed for homeowners and DIY home designers by using a mouse to "drag-and-drop" hundreds of different plants to see how their colors and shapes work together - making it great for end-users.
Research Strategy
For this research, we leveraged the most reputable sources of information that were available in the public domain. Through these sources, we curated a list of multiple apps and web tools that provide automated landscape design solutions. These sources include Investopedia, Contractor Calls, G2, BobVilla, McHow, Epic Home Ideas, the Spruce, Learn.G2, Garden Chores, Small Biz Trends, Digital, and Trees. We individually reviewed each solution that was provided in these sources to determine those that are landscape design software applications or web tools for consumers. With these, we determined 10 of this software/apps and five of these web tools.
We attempted to find more web-based tools by searching more industry articles and blogs. However, we found no new data, as web tools in this regard (automated landscape design solutions for consumers) are limited. Moreover, others that are web-based are either for professionals or are mostly known to be more of applications/software rather than web-based. Also, note that the company website of Virtual Property Architect is unavailable - maybe they're no longer operating - hence, we used other third-party sources to provide their product details and pricing data.