Finding the Best Closet Design Software for Your Needs

The first step in finding the best closet design software is to determine what group of users you belong to.

There are two main groups of users, and the requirements for them are very different.

Therefore I am discussing these separately.

1. Homeowners who want to design closets or storage solutions for their home.
2. Custom closet companies and other industry professionals who are looking for software that supports their business.

Read on if you belong to the first group. Go to the page about closet design software for industry professionals if you belong to the second.

Closet Design Software for Homeowners

As a homeowner, you have one or several places in your home where you want to create or improve a closet or storage area, and you are looking for software to support you with it.

Should You Use Closet Design Software at all?

This might not be what you expected, but it is a very good question to ask. For several reasons.

Each New Software Has a Learning Curve

Whenever you start using a new software, it takes some time to learn how to use it and to produce some results. You might be better off spending that time on learning the basics of closet design.

Closet Design Software Doesn't Guarantee a Good Design

The software allows you to specify and visualize a design - which can definitely be helpful, but it does not guarantee that a design is good, and does not prevent you from making design mistakes. Reading my tips and advice about closet design might help you more to come up with a good design than learning to use a software.

Many Professional Closet Designers Use Pen and Paper

Yes, that's right! Many professional designers (including myself) design closets with these very simple tools, and create beautiful and efficient solutions. Which proves the point that an understanding of design basics is more important than the design tool.

Use a Software That You Are Already Familiar With

If you are already familiar with a software that allows you to draw designs, by all means, use it for your closet design. It could be a CAD program such as AutoCAD, or a drawing program that allows you to draw exact shapes. Don't waste your time searching for a better software.

Closet Design Software

If you enjoy learning new software and creating solutions with your computer, here are my recommendations.

Google Sketchup

This software from Google allows you to create 3-dimensional models and 2-dimensional drawings. It comes in a basic version that is free and a professional version that costs $495. The free version is all you need for designing closets and storage solutions.

You can download it from this page.

Start with the very helpful video tutorials.
For specific tasks or questions you might want to refer to one of the available help guides.
If these basic resources don't help you solve a problem, do a Google search for it. As the software is very popular, there are many discussion forums and additional resources on the web for it and very likely someone has already asked the same question.

Once you understand the basics you can use the software for all kinds of drawings or models, not only for designing closets. For example, my husband created a floorplan for our house and a layout of our back yard with it.

SmartDraw

SmartDraw is a graphics software that lets you create all kinds of drawings, such a flowcharts, org charts, floor plans, network diagrams, etc. It also has templates and a symbol library for cabinet and closet design. It is commercial software that sets you back between $200 and $300. I have not used the software myself and the reviews on Amazon are mixed, so be sure to download the trial version before buying the full software.

Online Closet Design Tools

Several companies offer online tools for designing closets and storage solutions. If your project is very simple, one of them might work for you.

While I will review them in more detail on other pages, here are some general considerations:

• They usually only work for very simple designs (e.g. a simple reach in closet, a simple walk in closet.)
• Each tool only provides design elements from the specific company.
• Some of the tools generate a recommended design after you have entered your measurements. Be sure to have a basic understanding of closet design before just ordering the recommendation, so that you can assess whether it really serves your needs.

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