It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking at a back-of-the-napkin sketch, architectural floor plans, or even a fancy HGTV-style 3D rendering. The dilemma is the same for any homeowner trying to visualize a major remodel: It’s not until the project is finished that you know what it’s actually like to stand in the space. By that point, of course, it’s too late to make any meaningful changes. This was the quandary I found myself in during the renovation of my 19th-century brownstone in Brooklyn, N.Y. The initial design, refined through multiple trips to the drawing board, called for an L-shaped kitchen on the parlor level of the house, with large French doors opening onto the back terrace. But then my contractor had to remove the entire back wall of that level to fix several unexpected structural issues (at considerable added expense). Once my wife and I saw the light-filled opening, we wondered whether we should go for a full glass wall and a smaller galley-style kitchen. (Follow the progress of my project by going to the Home Renovation Survival Guide.) Our architect provided 2D drawings and 3D elevations of both designs, but staring at them wasn’t getting us anywhere. So I decided to commission virtual models from a Canadian company called Cadsoft, which I had first encountered at the 2016 Design & Construction Week in Las Vegas.
Use Virtual Reality to Visualize Your Home Renovation
