Whenever you do anything, you do it in your mind, then in reality. It applies to almost everything you do. Suppose, you are dreaming of having your home. Now, you have the option to buy a house or a flat. In both cases, you’ve to consider lots of things before buying such as the budget, location, neighboring, facilities, and the like. Are you ignoring something vital here?
Yup, the house plan because it will outline the structure of your home. While you are building your house, you can plan the house yourself, but when you’re buying a flat, you can only suggest changes to the developer’s plan before final construction. Before you start drawing the plan in your mind, let’s learn the details from this blog- how to design a house floor plan: A to Z guide.
What do You Mean by a Floor Plan?
Suppose, you’re looking at the scaled diagram of a building or room from above. Have you ever seen such diagrams in reality or movies? Yes? You’re golden. That’s what a floor plan is. It can depict the whole building, a floor of a building, or only one room.
The house floor plan can also consist of measurements, appliances, furniture, or anything significant to the plan’s purpose. These plans help design wiring systems, furniture layouts, and a lot more. They also work as important tools for leasing companies and real estate developer companies to rent out or sell space.
Importance of a House Floor Plan
A house floor plan is an essential building block for a home while planning and designing it. You can enhance your home’s enjoyment with a nice floor plan because it will create an excellent flow between rooms and spaces. Again, it will increase your home’s resale value.
A nice house floor plan will mainly serve you with the following benefits:
- It will give you a complete idea of the structure of your home and will clarify everything you’ve imagined with reality.
- A floor plan comes with exact measurements, so you’ll be able to plan the placement of your furniture.
- You can communicate well with your interior decorator or architect with an exact floor plan.
- As mentioned above, it will increase your home’s resale value.
When does the Need for a House Floor Plan Evaluation Arise?
The need for a house floor plan evaluation arises when you want to build a house on a plot or you want to buy a small ready flat. In both cases, the house floor plan will be different. Here, we’ll discuss the evaluation of a house floor plan for a flat. We won’t discuss the construction, materials, costs, interiors, time, colors, or basic methodology.
Let’s start our evaluation gradually.
1. Jot Down the Activities
It holds great importance. Consider whether your children love to play outdoor or indoor games, do books hold a valuable position at your home, and more. While deciding on your house floor plan remember what your family members are going to do within it. Whatever may be the activity exercise, music, study, conference, yoga, and the like, the family members need to be able to do them with all possibilities and lowest limitations inside the flat.
2. Begin Your Work with Different Areas and Sizes
An operative modern flat design for a suitable house is mainly divided into four areas such as the living zone, activity zone, work zone, and sleeping zone. When you are starting a floor plan evaluation, try starting with a suitable visual floor plan by dividing the rooms based on specific zones. You need to read the floor plans with dimensions. Carry on this division based on visual perspective.
Use room dividers, curtains, shoji screens, and wooden partitions for visual separation. Thick walls are the best option for audio separation. Work carefully to separate noise, activities, and others in case of each area whether living, sleeping, activity, or work area.
You can also read this article: How to make your first flat looks amazing
3. Find Out Your Requirements
Check all the rooms carefully and see whether they meet all your requirements or not. Notice the following with care:
- Living Zone: Living room, entrance/verandah/balconies, ladies’ sitting, covered terrace, and the like.
- Activity Area: Prayer room, home office, yoga/music/meditation room/sports room, study room, library, swimming pool, and home theatre.
- Work Area: Kitchen, dining area, wash area, storeroom, and clothes drying space.
- Utilities: Washrooms, guest basin area, balconies, AC units’ space, all gadgets’ space.
- Servants’ quarter or room
- Staircase
4. Consider the Room’s Size in Proportion to the Total Built-Up Area
Now, it’s time to calculate the size of each room in proportion to the total built-up area. You need to balance the space based on your requirements. Figure out how much space you want for your master bedroom, main washroom, guest washroom, study room, kitchen, dining, balcony, entrance, prayer room, and the like. You need to divide the space proportionately between all rooms.
5. Consider the Built-Up Area, Carpet Area, and Super Built-Up Area Separately
When you are evaluating a house floor plan, you need to understand these mentioned terms. The carpet area is the area of the rooms in the flat, the built-up area is the area of the walls, and the super built-up area is the area of the common passage and staircase. Mainly, the floor plans show the carpet area. The best floor plan will contain the highest built-up area/carpet area/super built-up area. Generally, it should be 65 percent and not less than 60 percent.
6. Calculate the Total Area, Finishes, and Costs
If your budget is not that high, you might need to compromise with some of your wants and requirements. Suppose, you can compromise with the quality of tiles because it is something that you can change in the future. But if you compromise with the size of the room, you can’t make it spacious in the future. So, remember to keep your rooms spacious and keep the finishing tasks like tiles, fittings, and the like for the future to keep the costs within your budget.
7. Take Care of Statutory Regulations
Check carefully whether your builder has maintained all the statutory regulations like the margin from the land’s boundary, the highest permissible footprint on the land, minimum width/size of all rooms, bathrooms, balconies, kitchen, common passage, staircases, and the like. Any sort of violation will cause trouble in the future. Also, take care of the fact that your developer has maintained all guidelines relating to natural calamities like earthquakes, tornadoes, and the like.
8. Common Passage/ Staircase/ Lift
Take care of important factors like common passages, staircases, and lifts while buying an apartment. The staircase needs to be built centrally, and you must be able to easily access it. It should get sufficient air and light. You need to be able to get there during times of emergencies like fire, earthquake, and the like.
The staircase needs to be at least 1’-1.5’ or 1.20 m wide. The height needs to be 6” or 150 mm and footsteps minimum 12” or 300 mm.
9. Senior Citizen’s or Children’s Room
If you have senior citizens or children living with you, plan a room that is senior-citizen-friendly or children-friendly. If you don’t have any such member in your family, still if you have space, plan a room in this way.
10. Entrance
Suppose, you have bought a luxurious apartment, then please consider having an entrance or foyer. It won’t feel good if your guests directly step into your living room. Check that there’s an entrance passage in front of your door and you can also use this space to keep shoe racks, umbrellas, green plants, and the like.
11. Maintain the Room’s Flow
Check that the rooms have a good connection with one another, and flow from one room to another is rational. Take care that all rooms are rationally located and linked to each other.
12. Consider Areas or Traffic Patterns
Consider the type of traffic that will gather in various zones or areas such as the activity area that will be most crowded. The activity area and sleeping or private area shouldn’t merge with each other. This is merely an example, consider the areas and traffic patterns logically and arrange your rooms accordingly.
Read also: Best place to buy a ready flat
13. Match Your Lifestyle
Whenever you are designing your floor plan, keep your lifestyle in mind. Consider the type of activities that take place in your house and think of the flow of activities and arrange your rooms according to that. Suppose, you are thinking of having a bathtub in your washroom to get a luxurious feel, but you aren’t used to bathing in it, then please give up this idea because it will be both costly and space-consuming.
Read also: How to reduce the cost of living in Dhaka
14. Measure the Spaces for Storage
Take care of these spaces because they will help you to keep your various necessary things organized way. These storage spaces should acquire a minimum of 10 percent to 14 percent of the total living space in your flat. These spaces should be easily reachable and store multiple things. Take care of the fact that these spaces don’t catch up with insects, moths, fire, dust, and the like.
15. Calculate Every Space
Each space plays a vital role in a flat whether it’s a storage space, space to keep furniture, cabinets, space because of door openings, and the like. Measure all the spaces and check whether they can be easily cleaned and don’t catch dust, insects, fire, and the like.
16. Light and Ventilation
Consider things like light and ventilation carefully while evaluating the floor plan. Concentrate on the ventilation techniques, building layout, insulation facilities, shading, thermal mass, and structural and interior ventilation to get the best out-of-house floor plan. The exact ventilation offers fresh air to the whole house through air circulation in the place and decreases humidity, temperature, bad odor, and smoke. If you can utilize daylight during the daytime, you won’t need to turn the light on then and thus can save electricity bill.
17. Cross Ventilation in Each Room
In case, you’ve two doors in a room, ensure that they are placed such to create cross ventilation for maximum natural light and fresh air circulation. It will be better not to apply cross ventilation to ensure proper use of space and easy furniture layout.
18. Locate the Doors/Windows
Your room needs to have windows on a minimum of one side, but windows on both sides will ensure cross ventilation. It will be tough in most cases but expert architects will consider it. Check the door and window sizes too. Doors should be at least 750 mm wide and windows should be of the exact size based on their facing direction and local weather.
Don’t forget to check the ventilator sizes in the washrooms. They must be at least 4’*2’6” for a small washroom.
19. Locate the Switches and Light Points
Look for the placing of table lamps, lights, air-conditioners, fans, TV, and the like. Ensure that their placement is right. Depend on your interior decorator’s plan. Check that switches are easily reachable, not behind large furniture and doors.
Ask the electricians what type of switches you want such as two-way or any other type. Also, ensure that switchboards shouldn’t placed too low or too high. Keep them out of children’s reach.
20. 3D Design and Aesthetics
Evaluate the flat’s 3D design from various directions. It will help you understand how your home will finally look. Everyone knows that adding suitable aesthetics will include extra value to your flat.
21. Furniture Requirements
Your furniture requirements play a big role in the evaluation of the floor plan. If you have some pieces of big furniture, consider thinking about them while dealing with the floor plan. Take measurements of the furniture and plan how you can accommodate them in your flat. In case, you have plans to get new furniture, take measurements of both furniture and space to have the appropriate furniture according to your requirements.
22. TV/ Furniture Layout
Try to consider a furniture layout before you finalize the floor plan. Plan all your required furniture, their sizes, space to move around them, and their location in association with windows/doors, fans, lights, air-conditioners, switches, and the like. Consider maintaining a distance of 3 m to 4.5 m or 10’ to 15’ between your sofa set and TV. Deal with each room individually based on the furniture it will contain.
23. External Wall Cabinets
Don’t have cabinets, wardrobes, cupboards, or other storage spaces on the flat’s external walls, specifically, if your flat is located in a heavy rainfall area. Because in such areas even a little dampness in walls can damage your cabinet and plywood in the coming time.
24. Washroom’s Dry/Wet Areas
Carefully check your bathroom’s each layout. Ensure that you can open the doors comfortably (inside) and separate the wet areas i.e. shower area and the dry area i.e. water closet, and basin properly. Again, take care of the windows/doors’ location because it will affect privacy.
25. Keep Each Plumbing Line on a Single Wall
Well, it might not be always possible but try to keep the drainage and water supply lines on a single wall. It will be always ideal to have the water closet, shower, and basin in one wall/line.
26. Guest Washroom and Basin Adjacent to Dining
You can keep a half toilet i.e. only a basin and water closet for the guests’ comfort and to maintain privacy. Also, try having a wash basin adjacent to dining for the same reason.
27. Lighting
Of course, you need to take care that the rooms have exact daylight, but also ensure they are adequately illuminated along with the external areas during the night. That’s why place all the switches of lights for internal and external areas, pumps, and water tanks in the right place.
28. Security
Consider the full layout of your flat from a security perspective. Think whether you can go on vacation keeping your flat under lock and key for one to two weeks. Check everything carefully to ensure your flat’s total security.
29. Privacy
Plan everything in your flat according to privacy. Take care that you can maintain privacy in the neighborhood, from adjoining apartments, and passers-by from adjacent roads. Also, try to maintain privacy within your apartment. Take care of your window/door’s location in relation to your neighboring flats.
30. Use Each Corner Effectively
Most people avoid the corner areas while evaluating the floor plans and consider only the center or middle areas. You should avoid this mistake because you can use the corners as storage areas or for decoration purposes to give the room a special look. Suppose, you can place green plants or sectional sofas in the corners.
31. Consider Which Floor
When you are evaluating your flat’s floor plan, always consider which floor your flat is located on. The higher floors will give you more privacy, light, and air, and you’ll also have decreased sound pollution and dust. Again, the upper floors will be difficult for you to come downstairs anytime for any casual needs without a lift.
32. Future Plan
Always, remember that you can’t have any horizontal or vertical expansion in your flat. So, consider the spaces and the number of rooms carefully. If you can’t currently afford a larger flat, take a smaller house on an emergency basis and shift to a bigger flat when you can afford that.
33. Not too Large Flat
If you don’t have any fund issues, you’ll like to take larger flats but don’t fall for too large flats because it will be difficult for you to maintain and the utility bills will also be higher. Try to take a moderate-size flat for your comfort and convenience.
34.All Appliance’s/ Gadget’s Space
Nowadays, your life has become easier and faster because of numerous appliances or gadgets. So, please fix the places to keep those appliances or gadgets in your flat. Suppose, decide where you’ll keep your TV, refrigerator, washing machine, microwave oven, computer, home theater, inverter, solar heater, induction oven, water pump, light, fan, air conditioner, and the like.
35. Parking
Check whether the flat has a parking area or not even if you own only a bicycle. Otherwise, you’ll keep quarreling with your neighbors and traffic policies for parking your vehicle on the roads. Check whether there is enough space for parking for each apartment owner.
36. Large Trees
If you are a nature lover, you will like flats that have large trees in the surroundings. They will add a green beauty outside your windows and balconies, giving fresh air, and saving you from the hot sunlight from the west and the south.
37. Fountains/Garden/Indoor Garden
Some luxury apartments will offer you fountains, and a garden in front of the flat. If you can’t afford such luxury apartments, try having an indoor garden by keeping green plants or flower plants in tubs inside your apartment in corners, corridors, entrances, or in balconies.
38. Don’t Ignore Engineering/Structural Needs
Never compromise with engineering or structural needs for the sake of aesthetics and looks. Otherwise, you’ll be in legal issues and also your life will be at a stake in case, any natural calamity takes place.
39. Estimate a Rough Cost
Always have a rough estimate of costs before buying a flat because you might face a fund shortage while meeting all your requirements. The flat prices will differ based on your floor size. Consider taking a loan from the bank to buy the flat to fill up the shortage. While evaluating the floor plan also consider the cost of decoration and furniture.
Try to cut the coat according to your cloth. Don’t take a huge loan that you might not be able to repay.
40. Consult and Choose a Reputed Real Estate Developer
You need to consult and choose a reliable and reputed real estate developer to minimize your risk. They will help you choose your desirable flat at desirable locations such as Uttara in Dhaka, or Feni outside Dhaka. A reputed builder will have collaboration with reputed banks and taking a loan will also become easier for you. They will also maintain all the engineering and structural needs and follow the national guidelines.
From the above discussion, you must have got answers to the following questions:
- How can I design my own flat?
- How do you start a design plan?
- What should be considered first in designing a house?
- How to design a flat interior?
- How can I make my flat look nice?
- What makes a good flat design?
Bonus part: Why you should design your interior during building construction
Final Words:
By now, you must have got a clear idea about house floor planning from our “how to design a house floor plan: A to Z guide.” If you have any queries or need any assistance regarding flats please contact Best – Tech Properties Ltd.