Best Barndominium Design Software: Design Your Own Barndominum - Barndos.com (2024)

At the time of this writing, #barndominium on TikTok has over 100 million views and “barndominium” is searched for on Google more than 240,000 times each month. The appeal of barndominiums (aka barndos) stems partly from the open space they offer, which lends itself to customization and how they can be adapted according to your particular needs. So where do you begin in terms of designing your own barndominium? You can find barndominium floor plans online to provide inspiration or to build from directly. There are also a number of easy-to-use floor plan creator tools that enable you to make your very own barndominium design. These tools allow you to visualize, plan, and experiment with spaces and layouts, and how they’re going to be used. This article provides an overview of the best barndominium floor plan software in 2023. Concise summaries of fifteen different options are listed to help you find a tool that best fits your needs.

Contents hide

1 Planner 5D

2 RoomSketcher

3 Floorplanner

5 Floor Plan Creator

6 Magic Plan

7 SketchUp

8 Cedreo

9 Sweet Home 3D

10 PlanningWiz

12 VisualParadigm Online

13 Microsoft Paint

14 Virtual Architect

15 CAD Pro

Planner 5D

Planner 5D lets you design your dream home in three easy steps. It has both a 2D and 3D mode that let you create the layout and design of your choice. You can then furnish and edit your designs using their roster of colors, patterns, and materials to customize your floor plan. Further, customize the look of your dream home with its Snapshots feature. The program is also compatible with all platforms, including Web, Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS.

Designed with amateurs in mind, Planner 5D has an easy-to-use interface, HD visualizations, 5000+ item catalog, and more.

Best Barndominium Design Software: Design Your Own Barndominum - Barndos.com (1)

RoomSketcher

RoomSketcher is another easy-to-use downloadable app that gives you two design options for barndominium floor plancreation: create the plan yourself or order a design from their Floor Plan Services. RoomSketcher offers an interactive floor plan that you can edit online. It offers 2D and 3D floor plans that come with measurements and room names. It also has 3D visualization features including Interactive Live 3D floor plans and 360 views.

Floorplanner

Floorplanner makes drawing 2D and 3D plans faster and easier. It lets you create accurate 2D plans that you can render in 2D or 3D. Additionally, it has over 150,000 items that you can use to decorate your plans, allowing you to better visualize your space.

You can choose from four Project Levels that you can upgrade with credits to unlock more features. Floorplanner is a browser-based program that’s compatible with a range of devices, such as laptops and tablets. Best of all, it’s free for personal use.

SmartDraw

SmartDraw is a versatile tool that you can use to create a variety of projects, from flowcharts to color plans. It showcases CAD-like drawing abilities that let you create and print both architectural and engineering diagrams. It’s backed by an Intelligent Formatting engine that lets you create and edit diagrams easily.

It can even be integrated with most tools, such as Microsoft Office, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and more.

Floor Plan Creator

Floor Plan Creator makes creating and sharing floor plans a breeze. It’s fast, precise, and multi-platform, allowing you to access projects using your smartphone or your PC. With it, you can create projects that have multiple rooms, have access to accurate calculations via its automatic calculation feature, and enjoy cloud synchronization to automatically save and back up your data.

Magic Plan

Magic Plan is the only 100% app-based tool to make our list, but its functionality even for being just an app is excellent and it’s easy to use. Created primarily for residential contractors to use in the field, it can also be used by regular, everyday people to casually create floor plans on their mobile phones. Magic Plan enables you to sketch 2D and 3D plans while saving notes and images along with each plan. You can also save your plans in various file formats like PDF, JPG, PNG, XLS, and more.

SketchUp

A popular smart 3D modeling software, SketchUp is used for 3D modeling projects. It lets you create models of buildings, landscapes, and even video game designs. It has a 3D Warehouse feature that lets users select models that they can use for their designs, from furniture to game pieces. There is a SketchUp Free version and a SketchUp Pro version, along with a host of other offerings such as SketchUp Shop and SketchUp Studio.

Cedreo

Cedreo takes designing projects to the next level and lets you create your own unique design in less than two hours. This easy-to-use software can be used by architects, home builders, interior designers, and more. Start designing your barndominium floor plan with Cedreo in just three simple steps: draw, furnish, and create.

Sweet Home 3D

Create your ideal interior design with Sweet Home 3D. It’s open-source software that can run on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris. Download the program to your computer or use it online and start drawing, decorating, and creating realistic photos of your dream house. Best of all, it’s available in English and 28 other languages, including French, Spanish, Greek, and Japanese.

PlanningWiz

PlanningWiz is an online floor plan design software that lets you create both indoor and outdoor spaces. It has something for everyone, from individuals and interior designers to property developers and property managers. It’s capable of handling multiple users and offers data visualization features.

Homestyler

Create 2D or 3D floor plans with relative ease with Homestyler. It’s an online design software that showcases 1:1 furniture from real brands. It also has accurate measurements and lets you view your work from various angles. It has a completely free version that offers standard, HD, and ultra HD rendering capabilities.

VisualParadigm Online

This web-based floor plan designer offers an intuitive and straightforward solution to creating your barndominium floor plan. It’s an ideal option for anyone who doesn’t like interruptions of any kind. It’s ad-free and has no limited period of access. One of its best features is it doesn’t impose limitations on the number of diagrams and shapes that you create. It even supports collaboration and gives you and your team a cloud-based workspace.

Microsoft Paint

Here’s something simple, straightforward, and free for Windows users. The latest version Windows 10 carries both the standard and Paint 3D options. The latter is equipped with 2D and 3D tools that you can use to create a customized barndominium floor plan. Paint 3D has brushes, 2D and 3D shapes, stickers, 3D view mode, and a set of unique effects that help bring your designs to life.

Virtual Architect

Virtual Architect offers a bevy of design software that’s geared toward specific projects. The roster includes home design software, landscape design software, and home remodeling software, among others. Its home design software also features a wizard-driven interface that’s easy to navigate. You don’t need to have prior design software experience to use this program. Not sure where or how to start a project? The software comes with free video tutorials to help you get started.

CAD Pro

CAD Pro is a versatile design software tool that can be used for home designing, landscaping, mechanical drafting, and design projects. It’s a powerful tool with a user-friendly interface that helps you save time and money. With CAD Pro, you can share your plans with clients, family members, or colleagues using cloud-based storage programs such as Dropbox and Google Drive. It also gives you access to a wide range of free plans and projects, including home plans, deck plans, and outdoor kitchens.

Best Barndominium Design Software: Design Your Own Barndominum - Barndos.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the best barndominium floor plan creator? ›

Cad Pro computer drafting software is used by barndominium builders and contractors for barndominium architectural drafting, electrical drafting, and landscape design. Traditional barndominium builder programs can be complex, expensive and difficult to use. But CAD Pro is easy and affordable.

Can I design my own barndominium? ›

How to Make Your Own Barndominium Floor Plans. A few years ago, there was only one option for developing floor plans, which involved hiring an architect or interior designer. Today, 3D technology has changed that, offering anyone the ability to draft their own plans with incredible detail and accuracy.

What apps can you build a barndominium with? ›

Some of the easier programs are Planner5D and Sweet Home 3D, while more advanced ones are AutoCAD and SketchUp. No matter what level of skill someone has, they can find a program that fits their needs. These programs not only help with design, but they also have special tools that make building the barndominium easier.

Can you build a barndominium by yourself? ›

Barndominiums can be built by a licensed contractor, a remodeler, or even a do-it-yourselfer. Since barndos are often erected by machinery, the process tends to be quick and efficient.

What is the most expensive part of a barndominium? ›

The most expensive part of building a barndominium is often the interior finishes. Customization, high-end materials, and intricate designs can significantly impact the overall cost.

How much would it cost to build a 5000 sq ft barndominium? ›

Barndominium kit prices
DimensionsSquare footageUnfinished kit costs*
50x502,500$75,000 – $125,000
50x804,000$120,000 – $200,000
50x1005,000$150,000 – $250,000
60x603,600$108,000 – $180,000
6 more rows
Oct 13, 2023

How do I draw up my own house plans? ›

These are the essential steps for drawing a floor plan:
  1. Determine the area to be drawn for the project.
  2. Measure the walls, doors and other features.
  3. Draw the walls to scale on graph paper or using software.
  4. Add architectural features, utilities and furniture.
  5. Review with the homeowner.

How to design and build your own barndominium? ›

  1. Overview of the Barndominium Building Process.
  2. Pour the Foundation.
  3. Construct the Frame.
  4. Add the Roof.
  5. Install Plumbing and Electrical.
  6. Add Insulation.
  7. Drywall and Interior Features.
  8. Exterior Features and Landscaping.
Apr 3, 2024

Is it cheaper to build a 1 or 2 story barndominium? ›

Obviously, a single Story home is Going to Cost Less to build, it has a smaller overall footprint and uses fewer materials. This choice significantly impacts the overall design, functionality, and, most crucially, the cost of the project.

How to finance a barndominium kit? ›

Can You Finance Barndominiums?
  1. Traditional Mortgage Loans. You can apply for a traditional mortgage loan to finance your barndominium, but it's essential to meet the lender's requirements, such as credit score, income, and down payment. ...
  2. Construction Loans. ...
  3. Barndominium-Specific Lenders. ...
  4. USDA Loans.
Sep 13, 2023

What makes a barndominium cheaper to build? ›

Barndominiums have a quality that often makes them very customizable, which is that typical barndominiums are often constructed from a metal building. Metal structures are usually less expensive to construct than traditional buildings, which is one reason why they are used so much in commercial construction.

What does a barndominium kit include? ›

Our standard steel frame kits include everything you need to build your home. Err … barn. That means all main framing, secondary framing (for all steel), exterior metal siding, metal roofing, trim, closures, fasteners and stamped building plans.

What do I wish I knew before building a barndominium? ›

Here are the most important things to know about building a barndominium.
  • Obtain a permit for your project. Photo by Bridger Steel, Inc. ...
  • Test the paint. Photo by Justin Doyle Homes. ...
  • Prepare for surprise costs. ...
  • Plan for electrical work. ...
  • Choose your windows and doors wisely. ...
  • Add insulation—it's important.
Mar 14, 2022

How long does it take to build a barndominium by yourself? ›

All the finishing touches – drywall, paint, built-in furniture, moulding, roofing, siding, and fascia – can take 1 or 2 months, depending on the level of extravagance and detail. Minimalists will save time in this stage! All in all, most barndominiums take about 6 months to build.

Why not to build a barndominium? ›

Pros of barndominiums include a cheaper cost, fully customizable space, and lower maintenance. They're also highly durable with lots of extra room and are a more eco-friendly housing option. Meanwhile, cons include higher upfront costs, difficulties finding financing, and not all cities allow them.

Can any floor plan be a barndominium? ›

Whether an existing floor plan or a custom design – virtually anything you can imagine, can be converted to a post frame barndominium kit, provided it is possible to do structurally at all!

What kind of flooring do you put in a barndominium? ›

Many barndominium floor plans even include a focus on sustainable concrete flooring finishes such as polished concrete floors, epoxy floors, and stained concrete floors which naturally feature many of the same advantages in craftsmanship and longevity that make the barndominium so popular in the first place.

How much do most barndominiums cost to build? ›

A barndominium typical costs between $112,800 and $540,000 to build, with homeowners across the country paying a national average cost of $265,000.

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