Top Free Online Interior Design Room Planning Tools

Interior design room planning tools are essential to use if you’re thinking about redesigning a room in your new home or apartment and want to plan the best layout or alter the existing layout. These helpful room planning tools help you figure out whether your ideas will really work and if everything will fit in well, something that many people find hard to do just by looking at a room in person.

What Are Interior Design Room Planning Tools?

Online room planning interior design tools are digital platforms or applications that allow you to create and visualize interior design layouts for rooms or entire spaces. These tools are typically web-based, meaning they can be accessed through a browser on any device with an internet connection, and they often come with a range of features that help you plan and execute interior design projects.

The room planning design tools are ideal for those who have smaller spaces, or perhaps too much space, and need help bringing interior design ideas together, whether for a single room or an entire house. Using the dimensions of your home can help you to plan everything from the position of the chairs to the shutters for your windows, without the need to pay for a professional interior designer. It is also a great way to work out if you can really fit in that beautiful refurbed fireplace, huge designer sofa in your living room or if you need to change furniture ideas to something more practical.

Why Use Room Planning Tools?

One of the best ways of seeing whether or not your space planning ideas are actually viable, and to get an idea of how they might look, is to put together a proposed new layout of your room. If you’re not an interior designer, then this can be daunting. If you don’t fancy getting out your tape measure and drawing this all out on paper, then there are a wide variety of very useful free online room planning tools online, many of which are simple and easy to use. In fact, many interior design students and industry professionals use these room designer tools in their work.

Most virtual room design tools can be used to create plans for a variety of rooms, including the kitchen, bathroom, living room, home office, dining room and even the whole house. They allow you to create easy designs, help with furniture placement, allow you to determine a focal point in rooms and provide ideas for different layouts. Space planning in interior design is particularly important with rooms such as bathrooms or kitchens, when you’re considering totally re-arranging the existing layout but need to sure that you’re doing so in the best way possible.

Here are some more key benefits of using room planner tools:

• Ease of Use: Most tools have user-friendly interfaces that are accessible even to those with no prior design experience.
• Realistic Visualization: You can see your designs in both 2D and 3D, helping you visualize how the space will look in reality.
• Experimentation: Easily try out different layouts, colors, and furniture arrangements without any commitment.
• Time Efficiency: Quickly make changes and see results instantly, speeding up the design process.
• Accurate Space Planning: You can input exact room dimensions to ensure all elements fit perfectly, optimizing the use of space.
• Customizable Options: These tools often offer a wide range of customization options, including colors, materials, and furniture types.
• Design Flexibility: You can create multiple versions of a design, compare them, and choose the best option.
• Access to Templates: Many tools provide pre-designed templates or rooms that can serve as inspiration or a starting point.
• Reduced Mistakes: By visualizing your design beforehand, you reduce the risk of costly errors in the actual implementation.
• Cost Savings: Most of the tools are free, eliminating the need to pay for expensive design software or hire professional interior designers.
• Visual Aids for Communication: When working with contractors, these tools provide clear visual aids to communicate your ideas.
• Fun and Engaging: Designing your space online can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience, allowing you to explore your style and preferences in a creative way.
• Shopping Integration: Some tools link directly to online stores, making it easy to purchase the items you’ve included in your design.
• Sharing Capabilities: Easily share your designs with others for feedback or collaboration, whether it’s friends, family, or contractors.

Which Interior Design Room Planning Tool Should You Use?

There’s no ‘one size fits all’ answer when it comes to which tool to use. It’s worth exploring the various options available and seeing which online services offer the most intuitive tools, design themes and ease of use for your needs,

Some of the interior design room planning tools are useful for simply having an initial play with, to see how you could move key items around in a room and re-organize your space more effectively. But if you want to get a more accurate idea of how things could work in your particular room, you will need to take measurements and input these into the room planners. Don’t forget to also take into consideration where windows or doors are located and which way they open!

There are online room planning tools run by individual brands, which use examples of their own products to help you plan a room, plus generic room planner tools that guide you as to what size bath or sink you’ll require to meet your plans.

We successfully used one of the generic room planner tools to re-design our bathroom, completely altering the original layout. Using our measurements, it was very useful to see the maximum size of bath and shower unit that could fit in, whilst still giving enough space in the rest of the room. If you are altering a home and looking to add value to it for selling, then you also need a good estate agent. They can advise you on what would be best to do to a home and how to sell it. For example, Sheldon Bosley Knight offers estate agents in Kenilworth and the surrounding areas.

Once you’ve produced your perfect room plan, you can usually save it, download it or print it out. If you’re employing a builder or contractor to do the work, then the room plan will be useful for them to get a better idea of what you’re looking for and find products that match the required sizes. Whatever tool you use to plan out a room, remember to regularly save your creations!

Free Online Room Planning Tools

RoomSketcher – The free floor planner and home design tool from RoomSketcher makes it easy to draw out and plan your room layouts, as well as get a more visual idea of how things could fit.

Floor Planner – Floor Planner offers a useful tool (the basic option is free) to create new floor plans and room layouts.

Plan Your Room – An easy-to-use online tool that will help you plan out the space you have available.

HomeByMe – Allows you to create detailed 3D models of rooms and entire homes, with realistic rendering. It’s easy to use and offers a large library of objects and materials.

SketchUp – SketchUp is an interior design room planner that has both a free and paid version. It’s not the easiest option for beginners to start with, but they do have some free tutorials available and it’s useful for space planning in 3D.

Roomstyler 3D Home Planner – A free online room design tool that helps plan out different rooms in your home.

Sweet Home 3D – Free online interior design tool that allows you to create 2D plans and see previews in 3D. It’s available in a range of languages.

Autodesk Homestyler – Useful free drag and drop room planner tool that allows you to easily create floor plans, plus add decorating ideas too.

3Dream – A useful 3D room planner for all aspects of interior design and space planning.

BHG Arrange a Room – A useful tool that allows you to arrange a room and see how different configurations work. Great for helping you with effective space planning.

Bathstore – Free online 2D bathroom planning tool.

Ikea – Room planning tools from Ikea, including a kitchen planner.

Villeroy & Boch – A useful online 3d room planner tool, plus professional templates that you can use to inspire you.

B&Q – B&Q have several free room planning tools on their website, including a bathroom planner, kitchen planner and room designer tool.

Homebase – Homebase have a free room planner tool, plus various useful tools to help you calculate how much paint, wallpaper, tiles or flooring you’ll need to create an interior design project.

Magnet – Online kitchen planner tool that helps you create a 3D model of a kitchen.

Lowe’s 3D Kitchen Designer – Ideal to use if you are planning a kitchen remodel or renovation, this tool offers easy room design with items from Lowe’s product catalog, helping you visualize you space with actual materials.

Design a Room by Armstrong – Focuses on flooring, ceilings, and walls, making it ideal if you’re interested in experimenting with different surface materials and finishes.

Useful mobile room planning apps

If you’d prefer to have a go at room and space planning using an app on your phone or tablet, then here are some tools to try.

A Step-by-Step Guide To Using Interior Design Room Planning Tools

Not sure how best to go about designing a room layout with a free room design software tool? We’ve put together this step-by-step guide to help you get started. Do bear in mind that not all tools or apps will operate in exactly the same way – this is just a general guide to get you started.

Step 1: Choose a Tool

• Research Options: Start by researching and selecting a free online interior design tool that meets your needs. Popular options include Roomstyler, Planner 5D, SketchUp Free, and HomeByMe.
• Sign Up: Most tools require you to create a free account to save your designs. Sign up using your email or a social media account.

Step 2: Set Up Your Room

• Create a New Project: Once logged in, start a new project. You’ll usually find an option like “New Room,” “Start a New Design,” or something similar.
• Input Room Dimensions: Enter the exact measurements of your room. Many tools allow you to manually input dimensions or draw the room shape directly on the screen.
• Add Doors and Windows: Drag and drop doors, windows, and other architectural features into your room layout. Adjust their sizes and positions to match your actual space.

Step 3: Design the Floor Plan

• Arrange Walls: Use the tool’s interface to move walls around if needed. Some tools allow you to add or remove walls, depending on the flexibility of your space.
• Choose Flooring: Select the type of flooring you want (e.g., hardwood, tile, carpet) from the options provided. Apply it to the room to see how it changes the decor options and look.
• Experiment with Layouts: Try different furniture arrangements to see what works best in the space. The drag-and-drop feature makes it easy to move items around.

Step 4: Furnish the Room

• Add Furniture: Browse through the furniture icons catalog within the tool and drag items into your room. Most tools categorize items by type (e.g., sofas, tables, beds).
• Scale and Position: Adjust the size and position of each furniture piece to fit your room dimensions accurately. Ensure there’s enough space for movement and functionality.
• Include Decor Items: Add decorative elements like rugs, lamps, curtains, and artwork to enhance the design. Many tools offer a wide selection of décor items to help you create an inviting space.

Step 5: Customize the Design

• Change Colours and Materials: Select different colours and materials for walls, furniture, and other elements. Experiment with various combinations to find what looks best.
• Adjust Lighting: Some tools allow you to add and customize lighting. Place lamps, chandeliers, or natural light sources to see how they affect the room’s ambiance.
• View in 3D: Switch to 3D view to get a realistic perspective of your room design. Rotate and zoom to explore the space from different angles.

Step 6: Save and Review

• Save Your Design: Regularly save your progress to avoid losing your work. Most tools auto-save, but it’s good practice to save manually.
• Review Your Layout: Take a final walkthrough of your design in 3D. Check for any adjustments needed, such as repositioning furniture or tweaking colors.

Step 7: Make Adjustments

• Edit as Needed: After reviewing, make any necessary changes. You can modify the layout, replace furniture, or try different color schemes until you’re satisfied.
• Test Multiple Designs: Consider saving different versions of your design to compare later. This allows you to experiment with various styles and layouts.

Step 8: Export or Share

• Export the Design: Once you’re happy with your design, most tools allow you to export it as an image, PDF, or 3D model. This is useful for sharing with others or for personal reference.
• Share with Others: Many tools offer direct sharing options, allowing you to send your design via email or social media. You can also share it with friends or family for feedback.

Step 9: Use the Design for Implementation

• Print or Reference: Use your saved design as a guide during the actual room setup or renovation. It will help ensure that the final result matches your plan.
• Consider Shopping Links: Some tools link directly to stores where you can purchase the furniture and decor you’ve added to your design.

By following these steps, you can effectively use free online interior design room planning tools to create a detailed, personalized design for your space.