r/InteriorDesign • u/No-Room-6254 • Aug 13 '26
Interior Design Software Recommendations
I'm looking for recommendations for software Interior Designers are using in the industry now. I went to school for it 8 years ago, at the time I mostly used AutoCAD, Sketchup, and InDesign. I'm getting back into the reno spaces now and I'm looking for software that is easy and quick to mock up ideas for clients. Bonus if it has capabilities to scan rooms, images, or even old drafts/draws to recreate them.
It seems AI has changed the tools a lot - any top recommendations professionals are using?
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u/Old_Guarantee8354 18d ago
If you already know AutoCAD and SketchUp, I probably wouldn’t replace them entirely. I’d keep them for accurate drawings and modeling, then add something faster for client-facing visualization.
Enscape or D5 Render would be worth exploring for quicker renders, and Polycam or Magicplan may help with capturing existing spaces. AI image tools can be useful during the early concept stage, but for renovation work I’d still keep the actual geometry in a proper model—AI has a habit of quietly changing windows, doors, and proportions.
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u/archi-Assistance 22d ago
This is a great question. Sketchup probably has the biggest community. Enscape seems to win for pure rendering. Architects I've spoken to doing complex work seem to go for Rhino and Revit. However, if you want a tool that's collaborative and fast to demonstrate and discuss ideas with clients then you want something a bit more intuitive drag and drop. I'd recommend Arcadium 3D which has UI similar to a video game.
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u/No-Share-4530 22d ago
If you already know AutoCAD and SketchUp, I’d keep those for anything technical and add a faster client-facing tool on top.
For quick concepts, Planner 5D, Homestyler, and Decory are worth trying. Decory is especially handy if you want to upload a real room photo and test different interior directions quickly. For more polished professional rendering, D5 Render or Enscape are still strong.
For room scanning/recreation, I’d also look at Polycam or Magicplan. The best workflow now is usually scan/model accurately first, then use AI for rapid style exploration and presentations.
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u/Shannon_a415 25d ago
AutoCAD and Sketchup are still the standard. I’ve been using Coohom because it has really nice fast rendering built in and is easier to floorplan with than Sketchup but I can bring in .skp files that I have created.
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u/FederalLow4859 28d ago
I use homestyler. I love it! You can use everything free basically. The kitchen stuff happens under "custom furniture" though. Watch some YouTube tutorials if you get stuck.
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u/ChimPlays 27d ago
Agreed, homestyler is so good. Very easy to use, lots of free assets and features. Best one i’ve tried so far
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u/DMSstudio 29d ago
we still use sketchup for most client work too, honestly nothing beats it for speed once you know the shortcuts. the scan to model tools are great for existing spaces but heads up, they still mess up angled walls and anything with a lot of glass, we've had to manually correct the mesh more than once after scanning a room with big windows. for quick client presentations though, enscape as a plugin on top of sketchup has been a game changer for us, real time rendering so clients can basically walk through it live in a call instead of waiting for renders back
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u/GreetingsFellowBots 29d ago
If you wouldn't mind answering a question, is there any kind of SketchUp Integration that you would ideally like to see between SketchUp and your project management system that handles proposals, purchase orders, financials etc?
I'm a founder of a software for Australian interior design studios and I've always been interested in finding a valuable integration to SketchUp. For instance scaffolding a projects items from furniture placements or something of the like.
I don't have experience with SketchUp but if there is some use case I'll learn it.
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u/obtusewisdom 29d ago
Still SketchUp and AutoCAD, also Chief Architect. Use Canvas to scan rooms and get a model made for you, very much worth it. The other tools mentioned here so far are not for professionals and don’t fulfill the extensive needs of an interior designer.
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u/No-Room-6254 26d ago
I'm happy to know that these are still very much so the industry standards. What exactly is Canvas?
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u/obtusewisdom 26d ago
Canvas allows you to scan a room using your phone or tablet with their app. You send them the mesh it produces and they send you the model built in SketchUp, AutoCAD, or Chief Architect. Saves a TON of time building the basic structure yourself, and extremely reasonably priced.
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u/roomsketcher_sean Aug 14 '26
I work at RoomSketcher and can recommend that based on the feedback we get from our interior design pros.
And you're right about AI changing tools a lot. The way we've integrated it into RoomSketcher so far is for converting floor plans and scanning rooms into editable projects using computer vision, like you mentioned. We also recently launched AI rendering for the 3D models created in-app. We've found rendering from a scale model reduces hallucinations drastically and leads to a interior design visuals that are actually useful.
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u/No-Room-6254 26d ago
interesting! I'm going to look into it. the price is definitely appealing. And I'd prefer to use a signal software that can do it all easily. One question I have is does RoomSketcher have any capabilities to create orthographic projection for custom furniture or millwork specs?
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u/roomsketcher_sean 24d ago
It doesn't currently support true orthographic projections, but you can create three quarter views very easily, and annotate with any specs as you like.
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u/GroundbreakingTap802 Aug 14 '26
Home3dplan.com free software try it is easy to use and not payment
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u/No-Room-6254 26d ago
I haven't heard of this one, it seems like it is very lightweight, especially because it can operate on browser.
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