Customers praise Virtual Architect Home & Landscape Platinum Suite Version 3 for its extensive house plans, landscaping features, and visualization capabilities that enable users to preview their designs. However, some users find the software difficult to use and not very user-friendly, with a steep learning curve.
This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.
The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
Page 1 Showing 1-20 of 126 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Not the simplest UI but a great value
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
My wife and I were looking for a descent program to do some home improvement design for the interior and exterior of our home. Many of the simpler products just did not have the flexibility of the HGTV application. We read several reviews and was made aware the UI is not all that straight forward but luckily I have a little experience with Autocad so it did not take long to get familiar with the environment. My only wish is that it have more objects available to import. While the inventory is pretty good, it could use more options. Solid product but do not recommend if you do not have any previous exposure to CAD applications.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Features
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Easy to download, but very difficult to use
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This product will take some time figuring out all of the features and how best to build our new home. Some of the features are testing our patience. Not sure if we will continue to use this product, or just go into a drafting or architecture firm....may be much easier and less time consuming in the long run.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Average product. Significant learning curve.
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
We needed a great product for producing floorplans...not whole house designs. This was too much but we're making it work. Having a nice selection of furniture and other indoor items was important. We didn't get that. Doesn't have a good selection. Expect a long learning curve while you uncover all that this program can do and not do. Importing objects not easy. Probably can be done if you have an engineering degree and can find the proper image with the appropriate extension.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Features
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Good program, lower 3-D graphics
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The program provides so many features that it takes some time to figure out how to build a room or house or landscape. It comes with an extensive user's manual. There is an online tutorial but is very basic. The 3-D graphics are leave something to be desired but for the price, it's acceptable. For personal use, it's a good program.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Overall, a good little program.
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
For the price, this is a good program if you like creating your own house plans. I would like to see the developers make the program easier to figure out without having to read the whole manual first! But, I'm pretty good with computers and have no serious difficulty in figuring out how to maneuver in the program. However, if you are a real architect, you will not be happy with this program...this is for people wanting to play around with house plans for fun, or to give to an architect as a starting point on what they are looking to build.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Takes a long time to learn
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
First time using a tool like this. There are a lot of details in it. It takes a long time to construct anything. So, if you are new to using this type of software plan on spending hours learning how to us it. I haven't had it long enough to learn all the features, so I am still uncertain if this product is worth the effort to learn.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great product for a fabulous price
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I am doing computer graphic work and was looking for a product that would let me create houses and landscapes to use in my photos. Most products are very pricey and rightly so they do a lot of things. This product did all the same things for less than half the price of the others. It takes a little getting used to but after my first house it became much easier. It even comes with some premade houses. I would recomend it.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Technical program / takes patience
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This program was way too in depth for my liking. It wasn't too user friendly and seemed to have limited ability. To do a complete landscape project you would need more software ($$$.). I turned out to be too much program just for creating a simple flower bed. Software seemed better suited for those in the landscape business, not for the simple homeowner.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
Not very user Friendly
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
In the landscaping design, there is quite a bit of difficulty placing items. It took me two hours to get a peach tree on my creation. The plant dictionary is pointless. I cannot look up plants by type (i.e. drought resistant, fruit trees, etc.) and I was also unable to find anything outside of their list. There is a large list of plants that seems completely useless because there is little to no detailed information about the actual plants, or typical size. You have to know what plants you want and all of the information about it before you go on this program - and hope it is in their dictionary. Not a huge selection for yard upgrades. I spent several hours trying to figure this program out and it is just not user friendly at all. If this is only for professionals - then it should state that on the product and not be sold in a retail store. There are very selective color palettes in the home improvement section of this program and in all honesty, I plan to get a piece of paper and a pencil and draw my own design that way. It would be far less frustrating.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Tricky to use
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is a nice program with lots of features but is difficult to use. It is not so user friendly. It's something you have to play with but the things it can do if you know what you are doing is about endless.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Tutorials
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
lots of detailed choices for the price
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I used a Punch product 15 years ago to do a remodel. Things sure have advanced. The tutorials are helpful. It does have an enormous number of choices for nearly every aspect of home design, sometimes so many that it is a bit overwhelming at first. Being able to scan a plan and trace it in order to match what you may have already started elsewhere is a big time saver.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Detail
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Potential for as much detail as you wish.
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Program is easy to start a project, I find it harder to use than Punch but a lot more detail is possible.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Features
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Nice product, good options for first time designer
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I'm new to the design field. I wanted something reliable and familiar to use to learn how to design. There are lots of wonderful options to choose from, including layout, size, materials and more. This is a handy piece of software for someone looking to redesign their home, whether a new home owner or experience vet.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Great starter program
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
the program was great for creating the house of our dreams. the program was easy to use and allowed for easy change. the 3d views gave realistic representation of our new house making changes easy to the layout so we will get what we want.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Save your back and work your imagination instead.
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I found this software to be a bit confusing initially, but ultimately it was great to use. Instead of my wife having to guess or have me move items around the house, she could use the program first to determine if that is/was she really wanted. We also used it to predetermine renovations!
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
1/2 the price made it much better than paid full
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
OK product for the price. worked OK once you got the hang of it. Would be nice if you can design and customize parts or furniture easier. could not bring other 3D items into program.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Ok product
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Watching the tutorials makes this disc look very easy to use but it is a lot more difficult than they make it look. Still playing around with it......
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Starter
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Good for small business that is getting started. Takes some getting use to. I do commercial construction so it's a little different.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Ease of use
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Seems complicated
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
For those that are used to this type of program it may be easy but for me seems complicated.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Detail
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Purchased to design a home
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
A lot of detail and need to read manual to comprehend its ability