Are you designing the floor plan of your new home or changing up your current home? Whether it’s one of the two or you just love drawing, designing the layout of a house isn’t necessarily easy.
You can’t draw where the rooms, doors, and furniture will be and call it a day. Everything has to be drawn to scale. Measuring and math are involved.
There are other things to consider when deciding which rooms are where and so forth. Continue reading for tips and tricks that will help you create your perfect floor layout.
The Purpose of a Room or Floor Design
A floor design is a layout of a room, house, or building. The size of the room(s) is scaled down from their original size, as is every other object in the design. These layouts are top views of the spaces being depicted.
Other objects that may be included in the plan are furniture, wiring systems, and appliances. Seeing everything drawn out helps the architect or homeowner envision what the design will look like in real life. Not only this, but they’ll be able to work out any problems they see.
For example, when drawing the furniture in the living room the designer can figure out the size limit of the chairs or couches. The living room is only so big so adding in a scaled-down large couch could raise a red flag. Maybe the room isn’t spacious enough for that couch.
An excellent floor plan is key to great flow throughout a room, building, or house. You’re more likely to get a higher price for the house or building when you sell it. Leasing companies and real estate agents like to use floor designs to show possible renters and buyers.
What to Consider When Designing
There are a few things to think about as you design your perfect floor layout. This includes room sizes and placement, lifestyle, the future, practicality, and more.
– Room Sizes
If you’re building a new house, consider the sizes of each room.
How many maximum people can be in a room at once? Two children sharing one bedroom should have ample space for their beds, dressers, and other items such as desks. They also need closets somewhere.
Make sure fitting everyone in the living room and dining room for parties and holidays isn’t a problem. Once furniture and appliances are added in, do people have enough room to move around or will they bump into things?
– The Future
It’s also a good idea to think about the future. You may want to change a bedroom into a gym or an office at one point. Design your house so you can do this.
Maybe you’ll sell the house down the line. Rooms need to be versatile enough so that your future buyers can turn them into what they want. A flexible floor layout is an appealing one.
For example, you or future buyers will have more trouble transforming an office into a kid’s room if it’s right next to the kitchen.
– Room Placement
Think carefully about where you’re putting each room. Bathrooms shouldn’t be facing any main areas of the house like the kitchen or living room.
Having the living room, kitchen, and dining room all open to each other makes it easy to watch children and interact with guests. Most people prefer an open floor plan because it has more flow and it’s easier to move throughout the house.
Never place a bedroom near the front door or next to any main areas. It’s better to have a bedroom in the back of the house or on another floor. Keep private spaces away from public spaces.
– Your Lifestyle
Consider your everyday life. Would you benefit from natural light, a large entertainment area or a room in a dedicated quiet space?
Would you like the laundry room to be on the same floor as your bedroom or do you not mind walking up and down stairs?
If you need quiet time or work from home, you’re going to want an office will lots of natural light, which means large windows or a lot of windows. The office should be separate from entertainment areas or any room that gets noisy. It’s not a good idea to put your office near your child’s bedroom.
– Make it Practical
Make sure everything you choose for your design has some practicality. A winding staircase is beautiful, yes, but it may be dangerous.
Of course, you’re allowed to add some architectural flair. High ceilings, loft bedrooms, skylights, libraries, and at-home movie theaters are all interesting things to add to a house.
Before adding your creative ideas to the floor layout, stop and ask yourself if it’s practical. A movie theater could be overkill if you spend a lot of time in your living room.
Everything should be kid-friendly even if you don’t have kids. If you sell the house in the future a family may want to buy it.
You can design and build something intricate like an escape room and still make it safe.
– Circulation Paths
A circulation path defines how people naturally move about an area. In this case, each room and the whole house or building have circulation paths.
Adequate circulation gives the building flow. Without it, people would find it awkward to move throughout the rooms.
Leave three feet or 36 inches of open space in front of doors. There should be one foot to 15 inches of space in front of every window.
Another way to ensure there’s proper flow is to place furniture around a center point. This could be a TV, fireplace, coffee table, dining table, or another object. If you find a room that doesn’t have a clear focal point, create one.
Follow These Floor Plan Tips and Tricks
Designing a floor plan isn’t all that simple. A lot of thinking has to go into where the rooms are, what’s in the rooms, circulation paths and flow, practicality, having enough space, and more.
To help you make an amazing floor layout, follow these tips and tricks.
