The 3D Floor Planner in Houzz Pro is an indispensable tool for conveying interior design and renovation ideas to clients. The sophisticated visual technology makes it easy for clients to envision their soon-to-be transformed space, lets the entire project team share feedback, and helps homeowners move forward on a plan more quickly.
But homes – and the dreams for transforming them – often rise beyond a single level. That’s why building, renovation and design professionals can now add multiple floors to the 3D Floor Planner in Houzz Pro. With this new addition, designers and builders can easily communicate their vision for multi-floor homes within one 3D Floor Planner or showcase different versions of the same floor, helping clients to better understand their options and feel confident in their choices.
The feature is the logical next step for an already key technology tool for professional designers and contractors. “Pros tell us that the Houzz Pro 3D Floor Planner is an essential client collaboration tool,” says Alon Cohen, Houzz CEO. “Now, with the ability to design and present multiple floors, it’s even easier for pros to share their vision with their clients, and for clients to feel like partners in the design process,” he says.
Cutting-Edge Technology Made Better
The Houzz Pro 3D Floor Planner harnesses the latest technology for illustrating a project vision to current or prospective clients through 2D floor plans and 3D models. Pros bring 3D floor plans to life through photorealistic renders, in dollhouse and walkthrough views or present an in-person augmented reality (AR) tour on-site using the mobile app.
Now, to create additional floors or floor options within the Houzz Pro 3D Floor Planner, you simply duplicate the base floor, then choose which features to pull through to a new level including interior walls, ceiling, doors, windows, staircases, furniture and more. Then, it is easy to toggle between floors to customise each space and share it with clients.
“Houzz Pro's cutting-edge technology helps pros deliver an outstanding client experience, which is why nearly 3 in 5 homeowners prefer pros who use Houzz Pro software,” Cohen says.
A Key Tool From Start to Finish
One of those pros is Kirby Foster Hurd, Founder and Principal Designer of Kirby Home Designs. Using the 3D Floor Planner helps Hurd start client collaboration off on the right foot, and makes the entire project journey smoother because homeowners can see a realistic rendering of plans for their future space that is nearly life-like.
“The Houzz Pro 3D Floor Plan tool is incredibly helpful for spatial planning and client collaboration,” she says. Showing plans in 3D not only helps her team convey their design vision, but shows clients of her boutique design firm how each element within the new space interacts, providing an interconnected perspective of what’s to come. “Clients love how they can see the impact that changes to the room layout will make on the overall design and functionality of the space,” she says.
She also appreciates how easy it is for everyone involved in the project to collaborate through the 3D Floor Planner by adding comments directly to the “Floor Plan” or “Dollhouse” view. That way everyone is aligned on project direction, especially the clients. “We love how we can get their feedback directly on each aspect of the floor plan to keep projects moving smoothly,’’ she says.
Upping the Wow Factor
It’s easy to imagine the many uses for adding multiple floors within one 3D Floor Planner, allowing you to present one cohesive view to clients. If you are working on a project that spans multiple floors, you can showcase all those floors together in the same plan.
Your new and existing 3D floor plans can now hold multiple stories, like a first floor, a basement, or a loft. Or use the different floors to create multiple options for the same space – all within one plan. Display different versions of your floor plan so clients can see additional possibilities and select what they prefer. The feature lets you add up to six floors in the same 3D Floor Planner.
The multi-level feature also speeds up the entire process, helping pros create a 3D floor plan for an entire home twice as fast. Plus, they can now effortlessly present all the design and renovation ideas from a single file. It begins with designing the ground floor, and then duplicating that floor to another level, saving time. You select what you want to copy over – walls, doors, windows, staircases and more elements specific to your plan – and continue to customise the design as needed.
Making the Most of the Feature
To get started with the new feature, open up your relevant floor plan, or create a new one. Build out the ground floor the way you want it.
Read How to Add Multiple Floors in 3D Floor Planner.
Once you are ready to use your ground floor to create another level, select the New Floor dropdown at the top left of your floor plan. Click the Add Floor button.
Another screen will appear where you can input floor details. Add in a floor name, and specify what you would like to copy over from the ground floor – walls, ceilings, doors, windows, stairways, furniture or outdoor surfaces. When you check the box next to an item, it will copy over to the new floor to save you time. When you've made your selections, click Add.
Your new floor will now appear in the 3D Floor Planner, where you can make structural adjustments and add new features, furniture and more. The floors dropdown menu will now show multiple levels. From this menu, you can rename or delete floors, reorder the floor sequence, and add a new level. And there it is, multiple levels of design and renovation transformation all in one 3D plan.
The 3D Floor Planner is one of many tools in Houzz Pro that improves collaboration with clients, helping you to deliver an outstanding client experience. Homeowners can also add comments to Selections, Daily Logs, Notes, Files and Photos, and track their project status, communications and more on their client dashboard.
Houzz Pro is an all-in-one project management and design software for home building, renovation and design professionals. Try it today.
