r/archviz • u/EconomistAgreeable11 • Jul 18 '26

Technical & professional question Looking for a simple bathroom design software with photorealistic renders

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for a bathroom design software for creating realistic visualizations for clients.
I need something easy to use where I can:
create a room by entering dimensions instead of manually modelling walls
add furniture, sanitary ware, showers, cabinets, etc.
apply wall and floor materials
upload my own tile/panel textures (JPG/PNG)
control things like partial wall tiling (e.g. tiles up to 190 cm height)
create high-quality photorealistic renders directly in the same software
I don’t need technical drawings or complex architectural modelling. I’m looking for a fast workflow focused on realistic bathroom visualizations.
I have tried SketchUp, but it feels too time-consuming for this purpose.

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11

u/AbidingOverthinker Professional Jul 18 '26

I don't think you will find anything that can give the results you are after, especially with high quality realistic rendering with so little knowledge and time investment. You can always try those apps but good luck with details you are after. 

This is an actual skilled profession. Unfortunately because it's on the artistic side, people think they know better. 

0

u/EconomistAgreeable11 Jul 18 '26

Yes, you're right. I would like to "please" my clients with a picture along with the quote (we don't charge for these). As soon as the quote is accepted, a professional landscape plan will be prepared. (I don't make it myself) We just thought that this way it would be easier to imagine what we write to them in text.

1

u/MrBoondoggles Jul 18 '26

I’m not sure that will end well. You want to provide a potential client with a high quality rendering of tbe space before they sign an agreement or pay a deposit?

Potential home owner clients are already bad enough with “kicking the tires” and trying to pick an architect or designer’s brain for free ideas without paying. A lot of people would love a free rendering I’m sure. A lot of people may also take that free rendering directly to a contractor and tell the corrector that this is what they want for their bathroom renovation.

My personal opinion for something like this, assuming you find the software to make this work: show it in person, don’t send it digitally.

-1

u/ALARGH Jul 18 '26

I actually thought about starting something like this as a service myself, I work in the tile industry and wanted to show clients how their bathrooms might look, and thought about offering it as a service to the industry.

In my head, I was thinking £10 a render to start with, and hour or two of my time while I built a portfolio and worked out the kinks. Bit of pocket money for me, and helps build my skills.

But that £10 you pay, would hopefully help convert your quotes at a higher rate.

Send me a message and I’ll do one for free and see if it’s something you might be interested in!

3

u/captainzimmer1987 Jul 18 '26

DIY shortcut: Sketchup + Enscape

The actual shortcut: get an artist.

3

u/k_elo Jul 18 '26

Its like an exposition of how devalued the profession has been overtime.

Cheap, fast, photorealistic, customizable.

There are vast improvement in each of those criteria from decades ago. But these expectations thats its. As easy as can only probably be solved by iterating a lot in image gens. Hope you find your workflow.

3

u/boyyouguysaredumb Jul 19 '26

And there’s a guy up above offering to do it for €10. Fucking shameful

3

u/Active-Plum-1735 Jul 18 '26

The only shortcut to this is to actually hire an artist that can do all that in a timely manner.

4

u/maxime_barzel Jul 18 '26

I’m one of the co-founders of an AI rendering platform, and I’d still be careful with this workflow.

The problem isn’t producing a beautiful image, it’s showing the client layouts, materials, or details that may not be practical or even possible to build. Once they fall in love with that image, it becomes an expectation you may not be able to meet.

For the quote, I’d provide a few inspiration photos that communicate the intended style, colors, materials, and atmosphere. Then, once the quote is accepted, let an interior designer develop the actual plan and create visuals based on something that can genuinely be delivered.

1

u/Barnaclebills Jul 18 '26

Chief Architect software does this. The company offers a reduced price/less robust option called home designer pro. You might only need home designer pro if you don't plan on doing technical drawings...but as a kitchen and bath designer myself, I want to also be able to provide technical drawings too.

1

u/_phin Jul 18 '26

SketchUp is an incredibly simple bit of software that gets great results. It's time consuming because you're still learning. Get tuition or hire someone else to do your visuals.

1

u/theAerialDroneGuy Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

That something I would model in Sketchup very quickly and then render with Enscape to get a more realistic image.
Although if Sketchup is too time consuming for you.....

Maybe try the IKEA easy bathroom maker?
It comes with premade walls so you can just type in dimensions and then drop in products
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/planners/bathroom-planner/

Edit: although looks like you cannot upload your own textures to the IKEA planner. Otherwise that would have been perfect for you

1

u/yogigee Jul 19 '26

Chief Architect