What’s new

Tables with aprons can now have shelves (as suggested by Josh).

I figured I might as well add a few stretcher combinations too. Both things are in the “Stretchers” tab.

I’ve added a new base type for both rectangular and round tops: staked legs (thanks, Peter, for the suggestion).

You might be thinking: how is this different from what we could already do with stools or benches? Well, tables can be bigger with thicker legs and stretchers. And you get battens.

I’ve reworked many diagrams to improve legibility, add useful elements and reduce clutter.

Curious about this effort and the philosophy behind it? Check out the latest blog post.

Other improvements:

• mitered dovetails

• narrower chair arms (thanks, Georg, for the suggestion)

• taller chairs (thanks, Dan, for not giving up)

You can finally go beyond the default oak/beech look!

Additionally, the Pro subscription unlocks a number of paint colors, grain texture controls and the ability to finish different parts separately.

I’ve revamped how your furniture looks in the app, with and without grain. The latest blog post is about how this all works behind the scenes.

Other improvements:

• chairs can now have three legs

• support for very low arms and backs (thanks, Amaryah, for the suggestion)

All sliders are gone, replaced with a new dial control. This makes it easier to support wide ranges of values. Additionally, you can now input numbers directly. In case you are curious, I talk about the design process in the new blog section.

Also, most controls now have a tooltip explaining what they do. Thanks, Richard, for the nudge!

All the existing features remain free. The Pro subscription gives you:

• unlimited projects

• 3D model export

• viewing models in your space with AR (augmented reality)

The export feature is handy for adding finer detail to your project in other tools, for prototyping on a 3D printer, or just for archival.

Also, you can now save multiple copies of a project to compare different versions. Look for the button.

You can now design tables. Choose between rectangular and round tops, with three different base styles for each.

I also added a little entasis for chair stretchers that connect to each other to make the joints look more realistic.

• Leg diagrams for symmetric seats now label the front edge to avoid confusion. Thanks, Tom, for the suggestion.

• The proportion of long sticks is now configurable for stick chairs.

• More clarity on how sightlines and resultants compensate for the seat angle. Thanks, Adam, for bringing this up.

• Narrower seats now supported for stick chairs. Thanks, Martin, for the suggestion.

It’s been a while!

This is a big release with many changes under the hood, but here are the highlights:

• You can now sign in to save projects in the cloud and access them across devices

• Of course, you can still create and work on a project without signing in

• All projects are now on a dedicated page

Also, everything looks nicer with wood grain.

• Added seat bevels for stick chairs and stools

• Added square legs for casework. Thanks, Brian, for the suggestion.

By popular demand, Layout Computer now supports designing stools.

Also both stools and chairs have a new stretcher diagram.

Layout computer finally uses the entire screen on desktop or tablets.

In other news, when designing casework, you can now add doors and drawers.

Design cabinets, credenzas, bookshelves and other casework. The approach was heavily inspired by Industrial Arts Design by William Varnum.

Once again, Layout Computer was featured by Lost Art Press.

You can now set board width down to 1 mm or 1/16 inch. Thanks, Joseph, for the suggestion.

Settles are basically very wide chairs (or benches with a back). Thanks, Todd, for the suggestion.

More sticks and higher backs for stick chairs, because why not! Thanks, Mikko, for the suggestion.

In addition to Welsh chairs (D-shaped seats), you can now design Irish ones (trapezoid seat, split arms). Backstools (no arms) are also supported.

You can now design comb-back chairs. According to Chris Schwarz, the higher the back, the better it sells.

Also, Layout Computer was featured on the Lost Art Press blog!

Initial release of Layout Computer with dovetails and lowback stick chairs. It looked so simple.