An Interior Designer's UPDATED Guide to Home Designer Pro vs. Chief Architect

It’s crazy to think it’s been almost three years since I wrote my ever-popular blog post, An Interior Designer’s Guide to Home Designer Pro vs. Chief Architect Interiors, on my original home to all things Chief Architect and Home Designer, www.kellyfridlinedesign.com. As of today, the blog has been read or viewed by thousands of Interior Designers, Residential Designers, Architects, and even Homeowners. The topic is still widely discussed, reviewed, and consistently questioned within the various Facebook groups, forums, and emailed to me. In addition to the popularity of the blog, I’ve also released several very successful online courses full of detailed instructions for all three versions and equate to over 45 hours of recordings.

Which version is right for you?

Since my last post, the software has now been upgraded twice and those promotions have really added some amazing features to all three versions. Oh, and yes, the three options we will be discussing are Home Designer Pro 2022, Chief Architect Interiors X13, and Chief Architect Premier X13. To start, I’m going to give you a very basic understanding of what the differences are between the three versions, I will then go a little more in-depth as to what each option includes. I will mention that of the three Home Designer options I will only be discussing Home Designer Pro, due to the extreme limitations, from a professional viewpoint, I do not recommend Architectural nor Suite.

Not Sure Where to Hire a Virtual Design Assistant? Here's 11 Boss Ladies Ready to Get You Started!

If you want to grow your design business, your first stop should be researching where to hire a virtual design assistant who can help you with renderings, drafting, and more.

You’ve got an eye for great design and your clients flock to you for creative, well-executed projects. Now, you’re wondering if there’s a way that you could take on more work, without stretching yourself too thin. You’re curious whether clients might be encouraged to buy more and expand contracts if they could clearly envision the plans that are laid out in front of them.

Maybe you’re a designer with extensive training in rendering, but you just don’t have the time to dedicate to thoughtful, beautifully-designed drawings. Perhaps you don’t have carefully honed rendering skills –– and aren’t interested in adding rendering to the list of services you personally offer. Or, maybe, you’re finding yourself bogged down in admin work and wishing you had time to focus on client relations and doing what you love, design. You need someone reliable to turn to when you need an extra set of hands and a trained eye.

Home Designer for Interior Designers

An Introduction to a Learn-As-You-Go Online Course

So here’s the thing, I’ve built a course specifically tailored to Interior Designers using Home Designer Professional (HD Pro). This is (as noted in the title of this blog) a pre-recorded Learn As You Go Online course that will cover everything you need to be efficient in HD Pro as an Interior Designer. Keep in mind, that Home Designer is still considered a DIY software, so you don’t have the same bells and whistles available that you’ll find in the Chief Architect Interiors (with NKBA dimensioning standards built in) or Premier, but there are work arounds and a specific level of mind set that you need to move forward using this more basic option, primarily being organization and some patience. To learn a little more about the differences between the two software versions I suggest you check out the blog post I wrote, An Interior Designer's Guide to Home Designer Pro vs. Chief Architect Interiors.

How Outsourcing Design Can Save You Time and Money

As small business owners, it’s all too easy for us to believe we have to handle everything themselves. Invoicing. Web Design. Public Relations.

“Self-employed interior designer” often includes a job description that, on any given day, could resemble administrative assistant, CAD expert, accountant, marketing team, web content director, human resource manager...and it doesn’t stop there.

5 Tips for Starting Your Own Virtual Design Business

Are you thinking of starting your own virtual design business? Are you curious whether you could strike out on your own or take an offline business online?

Maybe you’ve moved to a new city where the design options are limited. Maybe you’re a new parent who’s looking for a way to keep your design skills sharp while allowing for flexibility in your schedule. Or, maybe, you’re eager to find ways to expand your client base and portfolio into a niche area.

Grow Your Opportunities with a Virtual Design Business

Whatever your reason, starting your own virtual design business is a great way to grow your client roster and work with amazing people from all over the globe. You’ll meet designers and professionals from all walks of life –– people you may not have had the chance to meet had you not taken your business online!

Plus, you’ll have the obvious perk of setting your own schedule and discovering the flexibility to work from your home office, the local coffee shop, or even from vacation. As a military spouse, I’ve been able to follow my husband without sacrificing my career. Building my design business online has given me the privilege of continuing to work seamlessly while moving across the country and honing in on my strongest design skills so that I can use those talents to help other designers.

But, you’re probably wondering, “How do I even go about starting a virtual design business?!”

4 Reasons High-end Rendering Artists May be the Key to Future Design Trends

Look to a rendering artist for a pulse on what’s coming up next in interior design and decor.

When you present your clients with 3D renderings by a fellow high-end designer and artist, they’re thrilled to get a peek into how their final project will look. A board full of memos and images is wonderful for envisioning the feel and emotion of the room, but the realistic perspective lets a client dive in and visualize the finished space.

Your usual process may incorporate commissioning upscale, high-resolution renderings to bring your concepts, specs, and finishes to life. But, have you ever thought about sitting down with your rendering artist to chat about what they’re loving in the interior design industry right now? Have you considered that perhaps he or she may hold the key to identifying future design trends?

Growing As a Designer: Asking for Help When You Need It

Throughout our lives, we’re introduced to people who can have positive, or sometimes negative, impacts on us. This is especially true for entrepreneurs. On an all too consistent basis we’re putting ourselves out there, sometimes pushing our normal comfort levels of privacy. I’ll be honest, if someone told be a couple years ago I’d have an active blog I may have rolled my eyes and said yeah right. The truth is, it’s takes going out on your own, building your confidence, and learning to trust your value to realize there is a commodity to your words. And so, I’m going to introduce you to someone who’s changed my professional understanding of my business goals, opportunities, and clientele in the little more than the year that I’ve known her. Who is she you may ask and what does she have to do with renderings, design, and quite possibly my even more narrowed specialty of Chief Architect and Home Designer training? My colleague, mentor, and COACH is Nancy Ganzekaufer, Business Coach to Interior Designers….

I’ll be a guest on her weekly Facebook show, ‘Weekend Wine Down’ at 4:30pm in her FB Group ‘The Interior Design Business Forum’ , February 12, 2019. During that show, I’ll be making a BIG announcement that you won’t want to miss, so please join her group and put it on your calendar!

The Benefits of Hiring an Architecturally Trained Virtual Design Assistant & Rendering Artist

Recently, the market for Virtual Design Assistants (VDA) and Rendering Artists has become more available than ever before. As the world of design is becoming a close knit community, via social media and collaborative dashboards like IVY.co and MyDoma, it can be difficult to weed through all the professional resources. Instagram feeds, Facebook groups, and Google search results all add that extra layer of stress when looking for right the team member.

So, with all these opportunities, testimonials, and connections how do you know you’re making the right choice?