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Customer Stories

Featured Student – Payal Thakkar


Bathroom design with blush nood basin, sconces, wall planters, and soaking tub

Headshot of Ariana BeaudryBy Ariana Beaudry

Originally acquiring her Bachelors in Accounting and MBA in Marketing in India, Payal has chosen to pursue Interior Design as her passion. Echoed in her design style are biophilic elements and sustainability, with the goal of creating spaces that invoke emotion and memories.

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100 Days to Home with Bellevida Designs


Brian and Mikas dream home design rendering

Headshot of Ariana Beaudryby Ariana Beaudry

Jeremy Stevens works with his wife Danielle Stevens on the HGTV show “100 Day Dream Home.” On the show, the couple work with Brian and Mika to leverage Chief Architect Software’s power, and deliver a dream home in 100 days or less.

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Creating Beauty out of the Ordinary


Modern bathroom with duel inset sinks and dark cabinetry.

Profile image of Danielle Schroeder By Danielle Schroeder

Creating beauty out of the ordinary is what Jordan Willaby does best. She believes our homes, relationships, and our daily moments can be unique. Jordan uses design to make those areas of life extraordinary!

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Build Small, Live Large with Larry Singleton Designs


Micro living house with 3 stories and deck over carport.

Larry Singleton, a micro living residential designer from Georgia, won 1st place in the Residential Design Contest. His focus on small spaces gained large interest.

After the 2008 recession collapsed his 20-year Design Build Business, Larry Singleton started his encore career as an Architectural Design teacher. Now in his retirement, he is pursuing a passion for building “micro homes.” The pocket neighborhoods battle the continued struggle for affordable housing and encourage a minimalist lifestyle embraced by newer generations. He used Chief Architect from 2001 to 2009 for his Design/Build business and has benefitted again from Chief Architect Software as a designer since 2019.

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Designing with a Purpose


Bedroom Rendering

Profile image of Danielle Schroeder by Danielle Schroeder

Savanna’s purpose is not only to create beautiful designs but to also promote independence in the workplace while giving a portion of her proceeds to the Down Syndrome Association.

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Award-Winning Residential Construction Designer from the Philippines


Asian-style home design in the Philippines.

Author's Portrait By Kendra Dorosh

Are you fascinated by the different architectural styles around the world? Travel with us to Laguna, Philippines as we uncover the source of Rodante Bernabe’s seemingly endless array of extremely detailed, beautiful designs… many of which have been featured in a Chief Architect Design Contest and won.

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A Designer’s Journey from Hand-Drafting to Design Software


Modern farmhouse style home with black windows, white siding, and a standing seam metal roof.

Author's Portrait By Kendra Dorosh

Have you spent hours laboring over a drafting table? Remodel/ Addition Design Contest winner Sandra Lukas can relate.


Black and white image of a woman with short hair and large sunglasses.

Sandra’s winning design in the Chief Architect Remodel/ Addition Design Contest caught our attention and inspired us to learn more about her story. It turns out that she hand-drafted designs for high-end spec homes for years before making the jump to Chief Architect’s Home Designer Professional software. Follow along as she takes us on a trip down memory lane from her days of hand drafting to how she discovered and fell in love with design software.

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The Live-in U-Haul: An Award-Winning Design


Rendering of a remodeled U-Haul converted to living space.

Author's Portrait By Kendra Dorosh

Emma Baumann is a high school student with a passion for interior design who placed 2nd in the Chief Architect Remodel/ Addition Design Contest. She’s intrigued by architecture that adapts to the evolving demands of life during COVID-19. Her winning remodel creatively converts a U-Haul into comfortable and stylish living quarters.

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Mountain Home Wins with Modern Yet Timeless Design


Modern mountain home design with tan stucco and brick accents.

Dani's Profile Image By Dani Walker

Steve Johnsen wins 2nd place in Chief Architect’s Residential Design Contest. His winning design combines warm textures and expansive windows to compliment both the home and environment with a cohesive, timeless flair. 

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Student Designer Wows with ‘Melrose Place’ Apartment Render


Rendering of the Melrose Place apartment complex.

Author's Portrait By Kendra Dorosh

Interior Planning and Design student Gisela Weissman-Everhard’s attention to detail and commitment to learning are driving factors in her early successes.

Woman with brown hair and red lipstick.

As a student at American River College in Sacramento, CA, Gisela seized the Chief Architect Residential Design Contest as a learning opportunity:

“I wanted to really push myself to grow. With previous projects, I had been focused on the interior structure and aesthetics of designs. The ‘Melrose Place’ design was going to be really challenging – how was I going to build an open area that overlooks the pool? I was also nervous about the complexity of the roof, with how it opens up in the middle. This is an apartment, not a house, so I had to build multiple apartment spaces. I watched many Chief Architect tutorials over and over again. I felt really good when it was completed, I learned so much in the process.”

-Gisela Weissman-Everhard

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