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When you are ready to start designing, go to the Project Details Page and open one of the Design cards on web or mobile app: 2D Design or 3D Design. This takes you into Hover Workspace, and both tools work together to help you guide homeowners from early inspiration to a fully scoped project.

Start designing in 2D when you want to create quick, photorealistic designs from a single photo. It is ideal for helping homeowners explore ideas, compare styles, and get clear on what they want before you talk through measurements or pricing. This is the fastest way to spark interest, build confidence, and move the conversation forward.
Start designing in 3D once you have a full scan of the home, and the scaled model is ready for review. Here, you can view and edit the property in 3D, work with precise facets, apply materials with full control, and prepare the design for estimating. This experience is built for scoping decisions and connecting design choices directly to the estimate.

Watch a walkthrough of Hover 2D Design

We're rolling out an update to the design experience. If your app looks different, you're either on our legacy experience, or you're already seeing the update.

Starting a design project

2D Design can be used with a single photo before a scan or with photos from a completed scan. 3D Design becomes available once the scan has been completed and processed. Together, these options let you choose the right starting point based on where you are in the project.

2D design before a scan

From the Hover home screen, tap the plus (+) to start a new project.
Select the Design ideas or Design instantly option.
Choose exterior or interior project.
Upload a clear photo of the home or room you want to design.
Label the space if prompted, then click Create designs.

2D design from a scan

Open the Project Details Page for the scanned property.
Tap Start designing in 2D to enter Hover Workspace.
Choose one of the photos captured during the scan as your design image.
Scroll through the inspiration feed or customize to edit an image directly.

Note: the scan does not need to be fully processed for you to begin designing in 2D.

Transferring materials from 2D onto the 3D model

Inside Hover’s 2D workspace, you can use the action bar at the bottom of your screen to transfer materials you’ve selected into the 3D experience.

Once you transfer the 2D model materials to the 3D model for scoping, you won’t be able to ‘toggle back’ to the 2D design. You will need to reopen it from the project details page whenever you need to return to it.

Note that your saved work does not automatically transfer across the 2D, and 3D experiences. Designs you save in 2D stay in 2D, and designs you save in 3D stay in 3D.

Important: When you take a 2D design into 3D, only the material intent from what you’ve explicitly selected in 2D may carry over — not the exact visual look, colors, textures, or inspiration styling. Materials in the 3D design will often look different and should be reviewed and adjusted before generating an estimate or finalizing the project.

Generate ideas, and design

2D Design gives you two simple ways to help homeowners explore ideas and make decisions: the inspiration feed and customizing the design.

Inspiration

The inspiration feed is the fastest way to help homeowners start exploring ideas. 2D Design applies pre-determined, color specific design styles to the photo and creates instant makeovers.

This gives homeowners a clear visual starting point without requiring you to make manual edits.

Upload a photo to start a new project or select a photo from a scan
Scroll through the automatically generated designs

As you scroll through the feed, pause on designs that feel realistic for what you install and ask the homeowner to react. What stands out? What feels close? What does not work?

Note: Designs shown in the inspiration feed are visual references only. Materials are not automatically applied or associated with these designs. To view specific materials, you must click Design on an image and explicitly select and apply products.

Design

Design gives you full control to edit specific parts of the home and guide homeowners toward material level decisions. You can customize an original photo or any design you selected from the inspiration feed.

Tap Design on the image you want to edit (original or inspiration).
Work from the menu on the left or directly from the image.
Begin applying materials to walls, trim, fascia, the roof, windows, doors, the garage, or designated paintable areas.

Adjusting the Inspiration Settings

When you generate ideas through the inspiration feed, you can refine the results to match the homeowner’s style, comfort level, and project needs. These tools help you guide the conversation and keep the design realistic and focused.

Tap the filter icon at the top of the image.

Style filter

The style filter lets you narrow the feed to the colors, and looks that fit the homeowner’s preferences and your installation offerings.

Click the Styles dropdown menu
Select or deselect color styles, based on the homeowner's preferences
Tap Apply

This will change which color styles are presented to you.

Note: Admins can manage which color styles appear in your organization settings.

Sharing feedback

Feedback is a gift. If something doesn't seem right about a generated design, tap the sad face icon that appears in the upper right corner of the design, and share your thoughts with our product team. We're working hard to further innovate and improve the experience.

Customizing a 2D design

Once you switch to design, you can make precise edits to specific parts of the home using real materials from Hover’s product catalog. These are real SKUs from trusted brands like James Hardie, GAF, and Pella, so homeowners see options you actually install rather than generic placeholders.

You can start with the original photo or one of the auto-generated designs.

Select areas to edit

You can apply changes to the whole home or to specific areas. Use the left menu to update entire groups like all walls, trim, or the roof at once, or tap directly on the image to change individual areas such as accents or feature walls.

Use the left menu:

Toggle on groups such as All walls, All trim, or All roof.
This highlights every facet in that category so you can update them together.
The menu then displays all available products for that area.

Tap directly on the image:

Each facet of the home is isolated and clickable.
Tap the exact area you want to change to apply materials only to that surface.
This is helpful for accents or feature walls.

Find the right products

Once you select an area, Hover walks you through a guided drill-down so you land on the exact product you want to apply.

Choose a product type (for example, siding, roofing, or trim).
Select a brand.
Select a product line.
Choose a color.

If you want to go back and change an earlier choice - like trying a different brand without starting the drill-down over - use the back-navigation toggle at the top of the flow to jump directly to any previous step.

Note: Admins can work with their account team to configure their product catalog.

Paint over areas

Use the paint tool to adjust colors without changing the underlying material. You can select multiple areas either through the menu or directly on the image.

You can paint:

Walls
Trim
Shutters
Garage doors

How to use it:

Select paint from the menu
Highlight the areas you want to update
Apply your chosen color

Review your materials

Once you make a change to the design, a Review materials action will appear in the left menu. This shows the specific material(s) you have applied to the image. It is a quick way to confirm your selections before saving or sharing the design.

Does your app look different?

You may be seeing the previous version of this update - the Review materials action is located in the bottom left as shown below.

Save and share your designs

Now that you have a clear design direction, you can save your work and share it with the homeowner. Saving your designs gives you a place to organize different options and prepare good, better, best comparisons for your proposal.

Tap the save icon

Tap the save icon (bookmark) to save the current design.
Saved designs stay organized inside the project
Creating multiple saved designs helps you review options with the homeowner and build a clear set of choices for your proposal.

Share the design

Tap the share icon (paper airplane) on a specific image or share all button to generate a shareable link.
Choose one of two options:
- Copy View-Only Link — copies a link that lets the recipient view the 2D design and review materials for that specific design. They cannot make edits.
- Invite Collaborator to Edit — opens the share modal to invite a homeowner or pro to actively work on the design with you.
Paste the link into an email or text message.

What the homeowner will see

When a homeowner opens the shared link, they will see:

A clear before and after comparison
The design you created
The ability to explore and adjust the design on their own

Note: At this time, you and the homeowner cannot work on the same design simultaneously. Real time collaboration is planned for a future update.

Sharing your designs keeps the conversation moving and helps homeowners stay engaged before, during, and after the appointment.

2D Design for construction pros