Lawn & Garden

(NAPS)White picket fence, cedar shake roof and a wrap-around porch or maybe the art deco look complete with palm trees and pink flamingos. Everyone wants their dream home to reflect their tastes and personality.

With the U.S. economy moving along in high gear, Americans are remodeling and building their dream homes in record numbers. According to one recent survey, nearly half of all consumers plan to undertake a home remodeling project this year, with personal taste cited as the number one reason for doing the project.

Demographics for current and soon-to-be home owners and personal computer users are nearly a perfect match, so it's little surprise that many Americans today are reaching for home design and planning software to help them visualize, layout and build their dream homes. With a multimedia (CD-ROM) program costing less than $40, the family computer becomes a virtual gateway to dozens of remodeling projects, allowing users to "walk through" 3-D rooms to review design, traffic flow and decorating ideas.

One such program, Better Homes and Gardens® Remodeling Your Home, lets users visualize appealing remodeling options, including color and style suggestions for the new rooms in their home. It even takes users out to look at name brand appliances, furniture and building materials. The built-in feature automatically guides users to the Internet sites of selected manufacturers, including companies such as Anderson windows, Armstrong flooring, General Electric appliances, and others.

Along with dimensions and approximate prices, the program can provide information on obtaining products from manufacturers or nearby retailers. A materials guide offers suggestions on choosing appropriate building materials for each family's needs, such as whether or not to select a certain flooring, based on durability.

The easy-to-use computer assisted design features allow users to grab and move cabinets, furniture and various other components around inside a three- dimensional drawing to achieve the just right look and feel in their new kitchen, bedroom or home. Changing floor coverings, windows or appliances is as simple as clicking a mouse.

Beyond remodeling considerations, today's home improvement software will crunch all the numbers related to the project. Better Homes and Gardens® Planning Your Home contains a
complete interactive financial workbook, in addition to its comprehensive selection of new home plans and virtual walk-through tours of designer showcase homes. This CD-ROM will calculate everything from the cost of a monthly home loan payment to financing an entire building project.

So turn on your computer and take a walk through your new home. Knock out a few walls, switch plumbing and add a fireplace. When you're done with the program you'll even know how much you have left for your dream car.

Most home design and planning software can be found at leading book and software stores. The sample titles here and other do-it-yourself CD-ROMs for the home can be found by calling
1-800-850-7272.

Back to the Top of the PageBack to the Lawn & Garden Home Page