Product Description

This isn’t just a Mac-compatible version, but a complete, stand-alone product that puts all of Home Design Studio’s state-of-the-art features in the hands of Mac users,” says Pierce. “They can quickly explore an almost infinite number of ways to improve and enhance exteriors, interiors and landscapes, and then get a photo-realistic view in 3D, from virtually any angle.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3090 in Software
• Brand: Punch Software
• Model: 90500
• Released on: 2006-09-20
• Platform: Mac OS X
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: 8.10" h x 9.70" w x 2.80" l, 2.10 pounds

Features

• Intuitive interface and simple tools for quick learning curve
• Powerful home, landscape, and deck design tools for the Mac
• Cutting-edge technology creates breathtaking 3D views
• Unique power tools for designing and editing from within the program
• Files can be shared between Mac and PC platforms

From the Manufacturer
Punch! Home Design Studio provides powerful home, landscape, and deck design tools for the Mac. Design in 2D, view in 3D. A fun way to get serious design results fast.

• Intuitive interface and simple tools for quick learning curve.
• Cutting-edge technology creates breathtaking 3D views with controllable sun angle and shadows.
• Unique power tools allow designing and editing from within the program.
• Logically presented toolsets keep your workspace clutter-free.
• Punch! files can be shared between Mac and PC platforms.

• Work smarter and faster: simple tools make designing fun!
• Predrawn, editable room templates get you started fast: drag-and-drop rooms have you designing in minutes!
• Same plan, different planting regions: PlantFinder automatically chooses selections based on your climate or other criteria you select.
• Automatic growth tool: Show plant growth over time. View plant spacing and height with a simple mouse click.
• Automatic planting tool: Makes multiple plantings a snap. Plantings automatically follow lines or curves you draw in your design.
• Paint without a Brush: millions of colors and variations at your fingertips.
• Extensive drag-and-drop object library: drapes, blinds, furniture, wall accessories, and more.
• Brand-name designer products built in: experiment with faux finishes, flooring, paint, tile, and other brand-name design products.
• Deck templates: Predrawn, editable designs get you started fast. Change shape, add stairs and railings, skirting, and other details, in seconds.
• Precision Lighting Planner: design with lighting effects--interior or exterior!
• PhotoView: add any scanned or photographed object to your design!

Customer Reviews

Great Toy, Light on serious features
If you are looking for a program to do a 3d view of your dream home without any substance, this program is for you. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a program to help you design real projects for a do-it-yourselfer you are going to be sorely out of luck.

Punch Home design Studio is just a toy with little substance. You can put up a wall and throw down a sink but you cant run piping to that sink or electric to the bathroom lights. Its like a great big content editing program for a 3d video game with as much use as that. A toy to be experimented with but not appropriate for much more. When I querried about how to put in piping for my radiant floor I was told that you dont do that because the plumber does that. Now what if I am going to be the plumber, Im supposed to just shoot from the hip? Ditto for the rest of the details.

When it comes to the landscape editor, the joke gets worse. Of 32 plants I had planned to put in my renovated garden, PHDSP had 2. Yest, only two plants of 32 were found in the library and the interface to that library stinks.

While we are on the subject of the interface, the Mac interface is very bad. Clearly this is a bad hack port of a windows program. The user interface is not like a mac program but more like Office for Mac -- clearly a low quality hack. If that wasnt enough, when running it on leopard, it tends to crash and erase everything you did since the last save, so if you do intend to play with this thing, save often.

So why am I making this post? Well because I tried to return the software and was unable to return it even just the next day. I was told that the $149 I plopped down for a lemon with overinflated advertising was lost. Maybe I can eek out some cash on eBay for it. Yes I am upset.

In summary, I was looking for a program that was useful for helping me design my home do-it-yourself projects from installign radiant heating to planning my sprinkler system and what I got was a poorly implemented toy to assemble pre-fabricated 3d objects into a pretty picture. Advertising scores a 10 of 10 for promising much but the program will only be minimally useful.

Not Worth the Struggle
Being the only home design software for the Mac I could find at an affordable (but not inexpensive) price, I bought a copy of Punch! Home Design Studio to use in designing a remodel of our kitchen. I had used another vendor's software to do a bath redesign a few years ago, so this ought to be a quick learning curve. Wrong. This is the only time I have regretted gettng the Mac.
Punch! Home Design Studio is not in the least intuitive, and seems to have a mind of its own, which it cannot make up. So if you like surprises, you'll love Punch! Home Design Studio.
The process seems to want to start with the foundation. A good idea for your building contractor, but not for the designer.
The package does include a paper manual, which should make an old guy like me happy, but it is pretty pathetic. And of course the help screens just parrot the stuff in the manual.
So, to plan my remodel I had to get out the old t-square and pencil, and wish I had started there in the first place. Anybody need to design their foundation?

Bought It, Hating It
I bought this because I'm trying to go "all Mac", and I had enjoyed it's PC-based predecessor. But this version, for the Mac... I get errors when I try to print a model to assemble. There's no framing editor, and no lumber estimator! Worst of all, when my architect friend asked me to export into DXF or DWG format - these are industry-standard formats - that is when I found out 1) Punch! does not export to either, and 2) no other commercial app reads "Punch" format. So frustrating!