Does anyone know of some good interior design games or programs?

I work in the design biz. and never watch any programs and rarely look at magaizines. I have a natural eye for color and arrangement.

To keep it simple and easy, yet with maximum impact start with an area rug as a focal point and then add compatible colors with throw pillows and window treatments, then move on to complementary art, paintings, sculpture, etc.

Any room can be transformed with this simple formula.

There are many relatively inexpensive decorating sources from the usual import stuff to thrift stores for unusual pieces.

All import stores such as Pier One and Cost Plus, Ross, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Ikea, are all good sources for fun and creative items that fit your budget.

Decide on a color scheme and theme first, bold, dramatic, romantic, modern, eclectic, etc. and then implement the tips above.

Oh, and don’t forget painting some accent walls or rooms for optimum effect along with lamps and lighting to enhance the total environment.

Lighting is EVERYTHING! ( from she who has a mood lighting fetish. lol )

Most of all have FUN!

If my SO and I were both strapped to a track and there was a train coming at us from a day’s distance at 1 mile per hour, we still would not be able to come up with a proper design. I’ve purchased interior design and outdoor landscaping programs, to no avail.

The best thing I’ve found is to do what Coloma advises, or seek bids for a project from experts. I called 17 different landscapers and settled on the one that understood my vision and desire. If needed, I would have set aside money for the estimate until I could afford to hire him. It was worth the cost.

Am I reading this question wrong or is the person just looking for GAMES and not actual designing? I’d get the Sims2. You can get it fairly cheap and there is a program somewhere that lets you recolor stuff in the game. Ever since Sims3 came out, its been fairly cheap to get.

The Sims3 has a better recolor system, but it’s not cheap right now. Sims1 is VERY cheap, but not as detailed as Sims2 and it’s difficult if not impossible to customize objects if you aren’t used to playing around with sprites.

Whoops.

@Pied_Pfeffer If it’s any consolation, your answer helped ME a lot. Hehe.You answered something that I didn’t even know I was curious about. I am terrible at decorating—even on games.

You might take a look at Second Life. It’s a free software you can download. You create an avatar and interact with people from all over the world. It mimics real life in that you can earn money (Linden Dollars) by working. People in SL design all kinds of things, including houses and items to decorate virtual housing. Some of the items that they come up with are incredible.

If you aren’t familiar with the site, just go to YouTube and search for Second Life videos. It will give you a good idea of what others have created.

Some people do spend real money that gets converted into Linden Dollars, but it is minimal. And there are a few who have claimed to have made enough real life money from their efforts to make it a full-time job. I just don’t have any proof.

@keobooks Yes, thank you. Your answer was greatly appreciated.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned The Sims. A huge part of that game involves creating and decorating houses for your Sims. You can get the latest game, The Sims 3, for about $25 these days according for Google Shopping. The expansion packs for TS3 are typically $20—$30 apiece, depending on how new they are.

If you don’t want to shell out that much, The Sims 2 is pretty cheap now. You can get bundles of The Sims 2 with two or three expansion packs for $15. The Sims 1, now ancient in terms of PC games, can be purchased for even less, I’d assume under $10.

The advantage of The Sims 3 over 1 or 2 is the extent of customization available to you. In the first two games, you are given a set number of objects, wallpapers and floor coverings to use in designing rooms, although new ones are added with each expansion pack. In The Sims 3, you can create and apply textures and designs to any piece of furniture in the game, mixing and matching colors and patterns to your heart’s content. Then, after you’ve completed your designs, you can make Sims to live in them! Yay!

@ParaParaYukiko ahem…read @keobooks first post.

@Pied_Pfeffer whoops. And I thought I’d read them all. Still, I did add more detail about the games!

@ParaParaYukiko No problem. I erred as well. And yes…you did add more detail. Sims sounds pretty cool.

@Pied_Pfeffer Seriously, Sims is one of the most addicting games ever. The only reason I stopped playing is because my PC died… I’m pretty sure I had some withdrawal symptoms for the next few weeks after that. It’s a lot of fun though.

I can’t get TS2 to play on my laptop anymore now that I have Vista. I know it’s something with the video card, but I still can’t get it to work even with updates. sad sad. I didn’t get that into TS3. I mostly like the goofiness of the characters in TS2 and they seem a bit sterile in TS3.