River City Referrals | February 2006 Newsletter | Is Your House a House of Cards?

River City Connection Newsletter
February 2007

Imagine That! Virtual Web-sites For Your Projects

Our Top 5 Favorites

Can you imagine your new room/paint/lawn/deck/kitchen? Can you imagine it but have a hard time putting it on paper?

Several clients have asked me recently, if I know of any design software or web-sites that allow you to design a room, a yard or an exterior. In fact, there are several and I’d like to share them with you. They come in various styles and all but a few are free. Some require you to remove your pop-up blocker or install Active X controls. I’ve tried most of them and enjoy using them (though you can lose hours if you’re right brained like me!). Keep in mind they are promoting their products, so the flooring sites, for example, have large expanses of floor. The painting sites show large expanses of wall, and the tile sites have tile on everything but the fixtures. But I digress…Check them out for yourselves and let me know which your favorites are!

1. Swatchbox.com. The Granddaddy of them all. This site compiles many virtual design web-sites including: cabinets, carpet, tile, countertops, flooring, garage doors, and painting. Web-sites with an asterisk (*) below are listed on this web-site. (Amazingly, only eight of the thirty one I found are listed!)

Virtual Painting Design Sites:
2. Benjamin Moore Personal Color Viewer*. Use sample images, or import your own house to sample BM brand paint colors on house exteriors and inside rooms. Download or available on CD. A neat feature is that you can apply a specialty finish once done, such as sponging, ragging, etc.
3. American Traditions Virtual Painter*. You can’t use your own images on this site, but you can choose from AT brand colors on online photos’ of interior rooms and exteriors.
4. Martin Senour Palette Match. Let’s you try out seven color combinations on walls, floors, porches, and exteriors. Includes stains, and paint colors.
5. Sherwin-William Painting Images Color Simulator. Choose from pictures of houses that most closely resemble yours and try color combinations from SW brand paints.
6. Bob Vila’s Paint Designer. Visit several house styles, choose one and try the BV Signature Collection from a color wheel. Cannot import photos.

Virtual Roofing Design Sites:
7. Virtual Roof @ Frey Construction. A Wisconsin based construction firm with a virtual roof/trim/siding feature. If you’ve wondered what color roof to get this is a great place to look? Stone and Tile Web-Sites
8. Crossville Porcelain Stone’s Cross Vision.
9. Florida Tile’s Virtual Design Center- See how ceramic tile can enhance your room.
10. Dal-Tile’s Design a Room*. Allows you to play with tile patterns and grout colors. Can change walls and trim as well.

Virtual Flooring Design Sites:
11. Invista Stainmaster Carpet Selector- Choose from Several Room settings and then decorate the room with Invista’s various colors and textures.
12. Anderson Floors Image Builder Design Center. Changes color of the hardwood flooring, walls, ceiling and trim for interior rooms.
13. Bruce’s Floors Select-A-Floor*. A wide array of hardwood flooring choices.
14. Mullican Flooring. Choose your room and select your wood species to view the Mullican wood floor choices.
15. National Wood Flooring Association’s Design A Room. Another basic site where you can change wall and floor colors, print, save or compare room projects.
16. Mohawk Dream Vision*. Choose your room, and style, and then pick your flooring, wall color and trim.
17. Armstrong Flooring’s Design-A-Room*. View your favorite vinyl, laminate, or wood floors in different interior roof settings. Upload your own photos.
18. Mannington Floors My Virtual Decorator. You can download your photos or use theirs, then save the samples you create. It even gives you a shopping list when you’re done.
19. Mirage Dreamer from Mirage Floors. Change hardwood floor colors in an instant from a great variety of colors.
20. Congoleum Room Vision. Allows you to change cabinet styles and colors, in addition to floor, walls, countertops, then save the rooms into a folder. There is a fee to use your own photos.
21. Pergo’s eShowroom. Select your room, wall color cabinet color and a floor color to see how the Pergo colors will work in your house.
22. Shaw’s Try On A Floor. Both Carpet and flooring are featured in this site.

Virtual Kitchen & Countertop Design Sites:
23. Corian My Color Designer. Allows you to change countertops, cabinets, and walls. Also comes with a price estimator to help you figure out cost.
24. Bob Vila’s Kitchen Room Designer. Build your own kitchen and then take a tour in 3D.

Virtual Window Design Sites:
25. Bali Virtual Decorator. At this site, you can change the style and color of the shades, the color of chairs, sofas, trim and walls, by simply clicking on it in the photo.
26. Springs Virtual Decorator. Choose from Bali products, including cellular shades, wood blinds and vertical blinds. Whole House/Project Sites
27. BHG.com. A wide array of coloring rooms, exteriors, closets, gardens, decks and arranging rooms. You can designate the size of your room and then click and drop furniture, windows, etc.
28. Home Depot’s Kitchen and Bath Design Center*. Allows you to change wall color, cabinet style, flooring, appliances and more.
29. Lowe’s Design Tools*- a wide array of interactive planners and design tools for homeowners.
30. plan3D. One of the few “for pay” sites, (though extremely reasonable at $2.95/month). A complete 3D way to plan everything from design, landscaping, remodeling, etc. One of the sites professionals use.

Virtual Landscaping/Exterior Design Sites:
31. Showoff.com. A fun interactive web-site and home makeover web-site for Landscape and Outdoor living products.

Isn't technology wonderful? After you've created your masterpiece, if you need additional help or advice, River City Referrals, LLC. can put you in touch with top notch professionals to bring your vision to life. If doing it yourself is not your cup of tea, we can also refer you to some of the best landscape, interior and kitchen and bath designers in the area.

Archived Newsletters
February 2007 | Imagine That! Virtual Web-sites for Your Projects
September 2006 | A Good Contractor Isn't Hard To Find
July 2006 | Is Your House a House of Cards
June 2006 | No Guarantees

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River City Referrals, LLC.
8602 Julian Road, Richmond, VA 23229
Phone: (804) 545-0822, E-Mail: info@rivercityreferrals.com