Google SketchUp

Ok, I might be completely behind-the-times (I know it's been out for a while)...

But SketchUp is absolutely fantastic.

I'm converting our spare bedroom into a second lounge. After a quick whip-round with a tape measure and a notepad, I had a plan of the room done in under an hour. I've never attempted something like this, but it was an absolute breeze to do (and a lot of fun too). It's great to browse sites for possible furniture, stick its dimensions into the plan, and see exactly how much floor-space it's going to consume, helping enormously with details like ensuring there's enough room to walk comfortably between tables, chairs, etc. A quick Print as PDF, and I've got something handy to print out and take around DIY stores (I also did a 'bare' plan of the room with free floor-space measured and noted on the room - handy for estimating when window-shopping).

Has anyone else used SketchUp for something similar? I know it's a multi-platform application, but it's certainly added another feather to my MBP's cap

phungy said:

Never heard of it but I just checked it out. Holy crap this is neat! This should keep me busy this weekend

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It's absolutely addicting. If I put this much effort into actually decorating the room, it'll be great

To start with, the plan was quite simple. 'This rectangle here is the futon' became 'this block here is the volume the futon will consume' which, with a few addition of some lines and deletion of others became 'this futon-looking thing here is the futon'

It's a small-ish room (372x330cm - sorry about the Godless Commie Metric Units, but it's what I'm used to ), so it's awesome to tinker with the layout onscreen rather than lugging around heavy furniture.

Take a look at the Walk feature. Brilliant!

zflauaus said:

I use it, but from version 5 when it was free from Google. I can't find the free version anymore, is there no more free?

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6 is still free. There's the 'Pro' version which you'd have to pay for.
http://sketchup.google.com/

Here's the plan I put together... nothing amazing to look at, but incredibly useful!

theBB said:

Isn't it gonna be tough to reach into that closet behind the futon.

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True, true But that wardrobe (words like 'wardrobe' come hand-in-hand with the godless commie metric system over here ) is rarely used - mainly full of old nurses' uniforms (oi - no giggling - I live with a nurse!)

Still, I checked with SketchUp's tape measure tool to ensure there's still enough room for the doors to open.

joshysquashy said:

i am an architecture student and although I know some professional architects who use the program, it is frowned upon in education. the main criticism is that it always has cartoony, simplistic renderings and there is limited control over the "mood" of the image.

other professional apps are much better at rendering textures and shadows, giving a photo realistic look to a building. i think it has its uses and market, and is very good for whipping up buildings quickly, but for the most professional looking 3d designs, it seems a little lacking.

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Agreed, but it's horses-for-courses, isn't it? The key part of your post is 'other professional apps...' - I don't think SketchUp's aimed at that level. Photo-realism certainly isn't one of the program's goals. However, professionals like skd still seem to find it a useful tool. I've no experience of pro-level architecture applications, so maybe I'm off-base here, but I'd imagine SketchUp could be handy for playing with layout possibilities whilst you're actually with the client, whilst advanced design software would be called in for the actual "it will look like this" stuff.