Interior Decorating: Part III – Gliffy Diagram Software for Room-Layout Design

To round out the àlaBuzz Interior Decorating series, I wanted to review some free online room-layout applications.  This kind of tool is handy when you’re moving to a new home, rearranging a room, or planning to buy new furniture.  Unfortunately, most of the tools I looked at are quirky or involve a lengthy learning curve.

BUT, after searching high and low, I did find one floorplan tool I’d like to recommend: Gliffy.  Of the several tools I experimented with, only Gliffy enabled me to successfully draw a room layout!

Gliffy

Gliffy is actually an online diagram software application (a competitor to Microsoft Visio).  Gliffy makes it simple to create, share, and collaborate on diagrams.  It’s useful for more than floorplan diagrams. You can render professional-looking flowcharts, technical drawings, user interface designs, and more.

The basic Gliffy account is free with registration.  Only your email address is required.

Gliffy Floorplan Library

The Gliffy floorplan library has plenty of drawing tools to help you plot your interior decorating plans:

• Structural Features – Walls, doors, windows, fireplaces, stairs, tile or wood floors, and dimension inserts
• Room Furnishings – Furniture, appliances, and furnishings for bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen, bath, and office

Gliffy has a clean, intuitive work space.  For instance, it’s fairly simple to figure out how to drag-and-drop or re-size diagram elements.  Check the Tips and Tutorials page for how-to’s and to join the forum.  With a little practice, Gliffy will help you design attractive and useful floorplans like a pro.

New Gliffy WordPress Plugin

By the way, a brand new Gliffy WordPress plugin was released last month.  It allows bloggers to add diagrams and flowcharts to their posts with ease.  It works seamlessly with your Gliffy account.

I vouch that the Gliffy WP plugin truly is easy to use!  As you can see, I’m demonstrating the plugin right here by displaying a simple floorplan I created with Gliffy:

#gliffydiagram(1790322)#

The creators of Gliffy chose its name because it comes from the word glyph, a symbol or character that imparts information non-verbally.

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