What Design Software Does Joanna Gaines Use for Garden Design?

When you think of Joanna Gaines, you picture warm wood, farmhouse sinks, and gardens that look like they’ve been gently kissed by sunlight. Her designs feel effortless-like they grew naturally, not planned. But behind every Instagram-worthy garden and backyard retreat she creates, there’s real software at work. So what does Joanna Gaines actually use for design software?

She Doesn’t Use Fancy CAD Programs

Many assume Joanna Gaines uses high-end architectural tools like AutoCAD or SketchUp. She doesn’t. Her team, especially during the early years of Fixer Upper, relied on simple, visual tools that let them sketch ideas fast and talk through them with clients. The real secret? She uses SketchUp-but not the professional version.

Her designers use SketchUp Free, the web-based version that’s easy to learn and perfect for laying out spaces visually. It’s not about precision measurements or load-bearing walls-it’s about seeing how a patio flows into a garden, where a vegetable patch fits next to a pergola, or how a tree casts shade over a seating area. SketchUp lets her team drag and drop plants, furniture, and structures like building blocks. They tweak layouts in real time while sitting with clients on the porch.

Why SketchUp Works for Her Style

Joanna’s design philosophy is rooted in livability, not perfection. Her gardens aren’t symmetrical showpieces-they’re layered, lived-in, and full of personality. SketchUp’s strength here is its flexibility. You can model a raised bed with aged cedar planks, place a vintage bird bath near the herb spiral, and drop in a string of fairy lights all in under an hour. No need for complex terrain mapping or soil pH calculations. Just pure spatial storytelling.

Her team also uses the 3D Warehouse, SketchUp’s free library of user-uploaded models. They’ve downloaded thousands of plant shapes, garden ornaments, and even custom-built trellises from other designers. This keeps their designs authentic and avoids generic stock assets. You’ll see the same wicker bench or stone path repeated across her projects-not because they’re lazy, but because those pieces feel familiar, like they’ve always been there.

Hand Sketching Is Still Part of the Process

Before any digital tool comes into play, Joanna’s designers start with pencil and paper. They sketch rough layouts on tracing paper, overlaying them onto property photos. These hand-drawn plans capture the emotional tone-where the morning light hits, where the wind picks up, where kids might run barefoot. These sketches are scanned and imported into SketchUp as background layers.

This hybrid method is common among top residential designers. It bridges the gap between human intuition and digital precision. You can’t digitize the feeling of a dappled afternoon under a magnolia tree, but you can draw it, then build it.

What About Landscape-Specific Tools?

You might wonder: doesn’t she use landscape design software like Landscaper’s Companion or Vectorworks Landmark? The answer is no-at least not as a primary tool. Those programs are powerful, but they’re built for commercial landscaping firms that need to calculate irrigation zones, slope gradients, and drainage systems. Joanna’s projects rarely need that level of technical detail.

Her gardens are more like living rooms with dirt. They focus on texture, color, and flow-not engineering. That’s why she sticks with SketchUp. It’s like using a camera instead of a microscope. You don’t need to measure every leaf-you just need to see how everything looks together.

Her Team Adds Custom Elements

One thing you won’t find in most design software: the handmade touches that define her style. That’s where her team gets creative. They build custom 3D models of unique items-like the wrought iron gate from her Waco farmhouse, or the weathered birdbath from a local antique shop-and save them as reusable components.

These custom models are shared across projects. So when you see a similar bench or planter in two different homes, it’s not a coincidence. It’s a library. Think of it like a designer’s mood board, but in 3D.

What Can You Learn From Her Approach?

You don’t need expensive software to design a beautiful garden. Joanna’s method proves that. Here’s what works:

• Start with a photo of your space. Print it out and sketch over it.
• Use SketchUp Free-it’s free, web-based, and easy to learn.
• Build a library of your own favorite elements: plants, furniture, decor.
• Focus on flow, not perfection. Where do people walk? Where does the sun sit at 4 p.m.?
• Don’t overthink soil pH or drainage unless you’re building a vegetable kingdom.

Her most successful gardens have one thing in common: they feel like home. Not like a brochure. That’s not software magic. That’s intention.

Other Tools in Her Toolbox

While SketchUp is her main design engine, her team also uses a few other tools to support the process:

• Canva - For creating mood boards with plant palettes, fabric swatches, and color schemes. She’s known for her signature sage green and cream tones, and Canva helps lock those in.
• Pinterest - Not just for inspiration. Her team saves hundreds of images into private boards labeled by theme: "Cozy Corners," "Herb Paths," "Stone Edging Ideas."
• Google Earth - To check sun angles and wind patterns across seasons. A garden that looks great in spring might be buried in shade by summer.
• Adobe Lightroom - For editing before-and-after photos. The lighting in her project shots isn’t accidental. It’s carefully tuned to highlight texture and warmth.

None of these are garden design apps. But they all serve the same goal: helping her team see the space clearly, feel the vibe, and build something real.

What She Avoids

She doesn’t use apps that force you into rigid templates. No Garden Planner, no iScape, no Houzz Pro. Those tools are great for beginners, but they often lead to cookie-cutter designs. Joanna’s style thrives on irregularity-a crooked path, a leaning trellis, a patch of wildflowers that didn’t get planted on purpose.

She also avoids software that requires monthly subscriptions. Her team prefers one-time or free tools they can own and reuse. That’s why SketchUp Free works so well. No contracts. No limits. Just a clean canvas.

Final Thought: It’s Not About the Tool

Joanna Gaines doesn’t design with software. She designs with observation. She listens to how a client describes their morning coffee spot. She notices where the dog likes to nap. She remembers how the wind moves through the trees in October.

The software just helps her draw that vision. It’s a translator-not the artist.

If you want to design a garden like hers, start by walking your yard at different times of day. Sit still for ten minutes. Notice the shadows. Listen to the birds. Then grab SketchUp Free and start dragging in shapes. You don’t need to be an expert. You just need to care enough to see it.