Imagination is perhaps our greatest gift. What our minds can imagine and conceive, they rarely fail to create or achieve. However, a creator must have an image of his creation, ready in his mind, before he can realize it. If you are planning to build your dream home, it helps if you can visualize its overall design, before it's bought. Creation of virtual reality software and CAD programs has actually made virtual house building possible.
Building a house and even designing one, is not a simple job. One needs to take functionality, as well as aesthetics into consideration. Learning to build a virtual model will help you actually visualize the plans that you have, for your dream home. You can design and build every layer of a house, starting from the foundation, to framework, and interior designing, using computer programs.
If you have watched the recent psychological thriller - 'Inception', you know what lucid dreaming and creating virtual dreamworlds actually means. Like the dream architects, you can actually learn to design a virtual house and its surrounding landscape, using advanced software programs. Most of these programs are of the WYSIWYG (what you say is what you get) kind, where you go on building your home, floor by floor, and adding features on the go.
Software Programs You Could Use
Here are some simple ways in which you can design a virtual house. With the arrival of display technologies that can handle advanced graphics and software programs, building graphic models was never so simple. Here are some tools that you may use for the purpose.
Get a CAD Program
There are hundreds of software programs out there, that have been specially created for architectural design. Most architects use them nowadays, to create blueprints. Some of the popular programs are 'Punch Home Design Suite', '3D Studio Max', and many more. Download and install any one of these programs, and follow guidelines, to build your virtual home. You will need to learn the basics and tools used in these programs. Most are simple and intuitive to learn, as they mostly belong to the WYSIWYG category.
Use Google SketchUp
You can also use a product sold by the Google search engine, called SketchUp, to create a three-dimensional model of your house. Download a trial version and look at the arsenal that Google places in your hands, in the form of this software. If you are into architecture, you want this software installed on your PC.
Use a Virtual Blueprint Offering Website
The last option is visiting websites that offer blueprints, that can be viewed in 3D. You can browse through many designs on offer and opt for customized ones. There are many such websites that offer blueprints to be seen in virtual reality.
Even if you don't intend to build an actual one in the near future, design a virtual house, just for the fun of it. Architecture is an interesting branch to study and using CAD software programs, you can live the excitement of creating your virtual dream homes. The beauty of virtual reality is that you can try out several designs for your house before you choose the best one. Of course, going for the actual home construction is a daunting task in itself, but it can be made simpler, through planning.