New flooring can make a huge difference in any room.
But the difference can be good or bad. You never really know. Generally, hardwood is a pretty safe bet, but should you get light, medium or dark?
When it comes to carpeting, do you go neutral or something with a bit of color? Same with tile – what do you do?
One way to help decide is to use floor design software, aka flooring visualizers. There are several good ones, all online and all available for free.
We scoured the Web for good options. Found a handful and set them out below.
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National Wood Flooring Association Software
This online tool allows you to design certain parts of the house for free. In the first tab, you will select the room style and specify whether it is the living room, kitchen, hallway, or bedroom.
There are provided images that you can readily redesign yourself. Users are allowed to upload their own photo of a certain room but it is required to create a free account first. If you already have an account, all you need to do is sign in with your registered email and password.
In the next tab, you will see the flooring options, which is what this tool is best for. Choose the wood flooring and the type of the product, which includes options like Oak, Ash, Birch, Red Oak, and Cherry. The online tool also lets you select the grade whether it is prime, natural, rustic, or heavy rustic depending on the product type.
Another nice feature is that you can change the color of the cabinets, walls and countertops so that you can see how different colors work with different flooring types.
Users can also specify the board width, shade, and angle. If you have the product code, you can enter it in the search box in the same tab. Onto the image, you can click on the paintbrush icon and choose the color you want to be applied on a wall, counter, and others.
When you are done, click “Save to my Gallery,” which you can access on the third tab. The saved images can be printed and shared with other people through email. You can also right-click the completed design and choose “Save image as,” which will allow you to save it in JPG format.
Click here to try this software
Carpet One Floor Visualizer
Another free online tool that lets you visualize how a room would look, Carpet One lets you choose from different areas, namely the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, dining room, living room, kids’ room, laundry room, foyer, and others. Users can upload their own photo but registering an account is required.
After choosing the room, select from the available images or upload your own. You can specify certain elements depending on the room you are working on. For instance, in the kitchen, you can pick the carpet, laminate, hardwood, tile, cabinets, and countertop.
On the left side of the screen, you will see if your choices work well together. You can zoom in and out and undo or redo an action. You can also rotate the image and switch to another room.
Saving requires you to be signed in but you can always right-click the image to save it to your computer. You can also print your draft, along with the product details.
Click here to try this software
Design Flooring by Armstrong Flooring
Another free tool worth trying is from Armstrong Flooring, which lets you design a bathroom, bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and living room. You can also upload your own photo without creating a profile.
After selecting the room type, the next step is to choose the style, which can be anything from eclectic to country to contemporary. The tool will take you to the design page where you can specify the product category, item, and paint color.
You can rotate floors or change room. One of the unique features of the site is it lets you find a store for a certain item. Simply enter your postal code to find the floor style that you want and it will automatically look for it.
When you are happy with your design, you can either save or share it. Saving is only available to members of the site, so you need to create an account first.
Click here to try this software
Quick Step Floor Designer
The free tool lets you design the floors of your kitchen, bedroom, dining room, living room, and bathroom. Choose the color for the floor and walls with this online app. You can also rotate the tiles if you wish.
Uploading photos is easy and even non-members can add an image from their gallery. The option also includes marking the floor area and changing perspective. If you want to use the provided images, you can proceed to select the floor style.
You can filter your choice by type, color, and range. See if it goes well with the wall and furniture color you want. Once completed, you can save the JPEG image by right-clicking on it or you can share it on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.
Click here to try this software
Karndean Floor Design Software
The easy-to-use online tool allows you to select from over 30 room settings and 150+ floor products. The styles you picked will be automatically loaded. The app also lets you select a design for the layouts and patterns where you can add strips if you want.
When you launch Floorstyle, you can immediately choose the color you wish to check, although the availability of the hues will depend on the room you are working on. Nevertheless, the app allows users to change the color of the walls and cabinets where applicable.
A unique feature of this tool is that it lets you evaluate two designs of the floors. You can divide the room and have two types of floors virtually installed.
This way, you can compare the styles side by side. If you are satisfied with the look, you can save it or print it out directly from the app. You can also share it if you wish and even order samples for free.
Click here to try this software
Floors and Kitchens Today Floor Design Software
The free app lets you design the floors in the bathroom, bedroom, foyer, living room, and kitchen. The room visualizer tool also permits users to modify a certain room up-close. For instance, in the kitchen, you can edit the counter to design it with a natural stone slab, natural stone, or tile.
When modifying how a certain room looks like, you can also identify which specific part you would like to design. If you are working on the bedroom, living room, or anywhere, you can choose the area on the right side of the screen.
You can save the image in .jpg format or share your work once you are done. If you want to remove the changes, all it takes is one click with the “Clear All Areas” option.
