Punch Interior Design Suite 20 Review

Punch Interior Design Suite is equipped with the tools and features you need to design or redesign any room in your house or your entire home. This home interior design software lets you experiment with different color schemes, lighting, materials, furniture, finishes, paints and more.

Top Ten Reviews Verdict

Punch Interior Design Suite has a learning curve but includes the tools you need to remodel your home with eco-friendly features.

Pros

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    This software has features to help with the nuts and bolts of a project, including a cost estimator, HVAC planning tools and more.

Cons

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    You can't import or trace floor plans from third-party sources into the program.

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Punch Interior Design Suite is equipped with the tools and features you need to design or redesign any room in your house or your entire home. This home interior design software lets you experiment with different color schemes, lighting, materials, furniture, finishes, paints and more. You can also place and replace furniture, blinds, curtains, flooring and almost any element that constitutes a home design. It's a great option if you want to test your ideas virtually before spending money at a home improvement store or hiring a professional designer.

This program has an extensive toolset. However, it's not a program you can jump right into. It's somewhat complex and takes practice and time to master. One of the software’s standout features is its QuickStart wizard – it helps mitigate this learning curve and is useful if you've never used interior design software before. There is also a project cost estimator and expansive object and materials library as well as electrical, plumbing and HVAC plans. However, you can’t import or trace floor plans from third-party sources. If you need that feature, consider our top pick, Virtual Architect Ultimate.

You can set the software to display measurements in metric or standard U.S. units, view your designs in 2D and 3D, and set camera angles to view virtual models of any room or a section of a room. In addition, you can view your designs in several ways, including a dollhouse view, wireframe view and 3D walkthrough.

Punch Interior Design Suite lets you import photos and images into your designs. For example, if you see a light fixture or furnishing in a magazine you want in your dining room, you can import the photo and place it in your design to see how it looks with the rest of your plan.

We like this software’s click-and-drag feature – you simply click on the viewing icon in the 2D window and drag it where you want it. The changes you make in the 2D window update in the 3D view and vice versa.

Punch Interior Design Suite’s trademark Smartwand tool lets you change materials on a wall, in an entire room and throughout the entire house with a click of the mouse.

The object and materials libraries include thousands of items, some made by recognized brands. Its selection includes appliances, bathroom fixtures, cabinets, doors, flooring, interior furniture, light fixtures, stairs, windows and more. It even has plants, outdoor furniture and outdoor light fixtures. However, it doesn’t come with railings or additional free elements to add to your designs.

You can insert a full living room or dining room set into your plan. However, it shows up as it appears in the object library. Once it’s in your plan, you have to rotate each item in the layout so it matches your home’s design – that creates extra work.

The application’s decorator palettes let you create multiple color schemes and alternate between them to help you decide on your favorite one. You can also add light fixtures and turn them on as well as design controls for ambient lighting, shadows and more.

This software helps you create a green design with its eco-friendly tips tailored to your plan. For example, it helps you incorporate design features to save energy. You can also organize your space by designing closets or building storage in your garage with the Visual Array tool.

Punch Interior Design Suite offers limited customer support. There is an extensive online community forum as well as a FAQs section on its website. It doesn’t include much in-software training. If you need one-on-one help, you can contact the developer by phone but not over live chat.

J.D. Chadwick
Contributor

J.D. Chadwick started writing articles for Top Ten Reviews 2008 and, after filling the role of Multimedia Editor, the keen video creator and expert in software was one of the most prolific members of the TTR team, authoring articles on things like antivirus software, video editing apps, and more.