SketchUp - Interiors brought to life by Louise Booyens

SketchUp - Interiors brought to life by Louise Booyens

Louise Booyens Interiors specialises in residential projects in and around Cambridge. CAD system convert now Sketchup Pro user, Louise has embraced the world’s favourite 3D modeller with open arms. Possessing an instinctive ability to see the potential of a space and creating a timeless, bespoke and comfortable look for a wide ranging clientele, Louise took some time out to talk to us about the important role SketchUp plays in her business.
Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background.

Hello, I’m Louise Booyens and from a very young age, I’ve had a passion for all things interior and an instinctive ability to see the potential of a space.

After obtaining a law degree in my native South Africa, I moved to the UK and completed a Diploma in Interior Design as well as a Diploma in Curtains and Soft Furnishings. I set up my interior design practice about a year ago after having completed a degree in Heritage Interior Design.

Where did your journey start with Sketchup?

I was taught Sketchup and Autocad during my interior design studies and, although I worked with Autocad while studying, I found Sketchup more affordable when I set up my own practice. I also found Sketchup much easier to navigate. After I made the switch, I got used to working in the program fairly quickly.

People are always interested in learning about the creative challenges faced by designers, so how does SketchUp help you solve those challenges?

One of the challenges I face as an interior designer is to get my ideas across to the client. Clients sometimes find it hard to imagine what a space will look like with the walls in a different place or the furniture moved around, so Sketchup is a fantastic tool to quickly visualise any interior space and present my ideas.

As an interior designer, it is important to be able draw floor plans quickly and accurately. Sketchup makes this easy and I love the dimension tool in Layout.

Does SketchUp help you showcase the different stages of a design? Assuming a lot of the time you’re starting with 2D technical drawings and plans, then turning these into models and presenting, have you a typical workflow?

I always start with 2D floor plans and technical drawings. These are then turned into 3D models with wall finishes, furniture accessories etc. after which it’s all sent to LayOut.

Is there a particular feature of SketchUp that you couldn’t do without?

Probably Layout! I find it invaluable to create professional looking drawings almost instantly.

We’d have to agree with Louise. We still think LayOut is underused and undervalued. LayOut really does make it simple to take your 3D model in to a 2D space enabling you to show your client or partner that you’ve captured what you have discussed, and move the project forward with confidence. You can easily call out materials, lengths and details explaining the intricate detail of one model, and show real-world scale… all on one page.

Most used shortcuts?

I still only use a few basic shortcuts such as scale, move, tape measure, SHIFT Z Eraser, Circle.

And don’t forget these useful and frequently used custom shortcuts: M = Materials, C = Components, L= Layers.

Do you use any plug-ins or make use of pre-constructed models found in the 3D Warehouse?

At the moment I don’t use any other plug-ins., but I would definitely like to look into SU Podium for photorealistic rendering.

I do find the 3D Warehouse very useful, especially to show furniture layout in a 3D Model. It’s particularly useful if you need to make quick changes to textures, colours or other elements

Thanks, Louise. SketchUp is 3D interior design software that really does bring your ideas to life. Making the switch to SketchUp really has paid off for Louise, enabling her to create beautiful documents that get her clients excited, gaining their buy-in and winning business. Louise’s journey also illustrates how accessible SketchUp is whether your starting point is a hand sketch or a floor plan, for Louise, SketchUp just lets her get on with bringing these exquisite spaces to life.

You can learn more about Louise Booyens Interiors by visiting their website or following them on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or Facebook.

If like Louise Booyens Interiors you’re a Cadsoft Solutions customer and would like to be featured as a case study, John Quinn in our marketing team would love to hear from you. We’re particularly keen to hear from our SU Podium/Walker, Rhinoceros and SketchUp customers.
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