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Creating a Floorplan for Your New Place

Creating A Floor Plan For Your New Place 

Use Online Tools

There is a range of digital tools that can help you make a clear floor plan. If you spend most of your online time on a PC, head to a website like www.floorplanner.com or www.homestyler.com/designer. There are also some great floor plan apps for Android and iOS devices, including MagicPlan and Floorplans Pro.

One of the biggest advantages of using a digital tool is that you can easily play around with your floor plan until it’s just right. Rather than erasing an unwanted item and leaving a streaky mess behind, you can move it with just one click. These programs have plenty of different furniture, fixture, and knick-knack options, so you can create a floor plan that accurately reflects your new place. 

Measure Everything

Measurements are the key to a successful floor plan. It’s important to measure absolutely everything. You’ve probably thought to measure the size of your rooms and the dimensions of your furniture, but a good floor plan goes beyond this.

To create an effective floor plan, you’ll need to determine whether you can get your furniture into the rooms of your choosing. Plan the path your furniture will take and measure any obstacles you’ll encounter along the way, such as stairwells and doorways. If these spaces are too narrow to accommodate your furniture, you’ll need to come up with a new plan of attack. Perhaps you can choose a new room with a wider doorway for a favourite piece. You might also be able to hoist furniture up over a balcony rather than taking it through a narrow staircase.

Working out your plan beforehand will avoid any unnecessary panic and wasted time (which equals wasted dollars) on your moving day. Make sure each piece of furniture fits comfortably through each opening, as a tight squeeze could damage your possessions.

Make Your Space Workable

When you’re using a sophisticated floor plan program, it’s easy to get distracted by the aesthetics. We all want our new place to look good, but it’s not the only key concern. Functionality is arguably much more important, so make sure you consider how your floor plan will work in the real world.

While you can always make adjustments after you move in, it’s much smarter to get things right while you have the muscles of professional movers at your disposal! For the sake of your nerves, you also don’t want to move fragile items like vases or ornaments more often than you have to.

While creating your floor plan, imagine the rooms as they’ll be when you’re living in them. Where will the high traffic areas be? You’ll probably want to make sure fragile items are kept away from them to minimise the risk of breakages. You’ll also need free space in these areas to make sure you can comfortably travel through them.

Free space is also important in areas where you’ll want to relax, such as your lounge room and master bedroom, because clutter elevates stress levels. As a rule, design experts suggest leaving at least 38 centimetres of free space in front of windows and twice as much in front of doors. Furniture should stand at least 5 centimetres from your walls to help air circulate freely and minimise the risk of wall damage.

It’s best to watch TV from at least 2.5 metres away from the set, so consider this when you’re arranging your lounge and armchairs. If you have a leather setting, you’ll also want to keep it away from direct sunlight or direct heat from a fireplace or heater.

Windows and doors can also let in drafts that can be unpleasant during winter. Keep your dining table away from windows and doors so you can eat in comfort all year round. If you have a baby, you’ll also want to position the cot away from these fixtures.

Thinking about how you’ll use your space and what elements will impact your enjoyment will help you get your floor plan right.

Remember that Nothing is Set in Stone

Even with careful planning and consideration of functionality and aesthetics, you might still get your floor plan wrong. It’s much easier to find flaws with your initial design once you’re living in your new place. Making peace with that should help take the pressure off when you’re creating your floor plan. Everything is moveable, even the bulkiest of furniture. If you find your design doesn’t work as well as you imagined once you moved in, you can always rearrange it.

Consider these floor plan tips and you’ll find it much easier to plan how to use your furniture and knick-knacks to create functional and stylish spaces in your new home.

Use Online Tools

There is a range of digital tools that can help you make a clear floor plan. If you spend most of your online time on a PC, head to a website like www.floorplanner.com or www.homestyler.com/designer. There are also some great floor plan apps for Android and iOS devices, including MagicPlan and Floorplans Pro.

One of the biggest advantages of using a digital tool is that you can easily play around with your floor plan until it’s just right. Rather than erasing an unwanted item and leaving a streaky mess behind, you can move it with just one click. These programs have plenty of different furniture, fixture, and knick-knack options, so you can create a floor plan that accurately reflects your new place. 

Measure Everything

Measurements are the key to a successful floor plan. It’s important to measure absolutely everything. You’ve probably thought to measure the size of your rooms and the dimensions of your furniture, but a good floor plan goes beyond this.

To create an effective floor plan, you’ll need to determine whether you can get your furniture into the rooms of your choosing. Plan the path your furniture will take and measure any obstacles you’ll encounter along the way, such as stairwells and doorways. If these spaces are too narrow to accommodate your furniture, you’ll need to come up with a new plan of attack. Perhaps you can choose a new room with a wider doorway for a favourite piece. You might also be able to hoist furniture up over a balcony rather than taking it through a narrow staircase.

Working out your plan beforehand will avoid any unnecessary panic and wasted time (which equals wasted dollars) on your moving day. Make sure each piece of furniture fits comfortably through each opening, as a tight squeeze could damage your possessions.

Make Your Space Workable

When you’re using a sophisticated floor plan program, it’s easy to get distracted by the aesthetics. We all want our new place to look good, but it’s not the only key concern. Functionality is arguably much more important, so make sure you consider how your floor plan will work in the real world.

While you can always make adjustments after you move in, it’s much smarter to get things right while you have the muscles of professional movers at your disposal! For the sake of your nerves, you also don’t want to move fragile items like vases or ornaments more often than you have to.

While creating your floor plan, imagine the rooms as they’ll be when you’re living in them. Where will the high traffic areas be? You’ll probably want to make sure fragile items are kept away from them to minimise the risk of breakages. You’ll also need free space in these areas to make sure you can comfortably travel through them.

Free space is also important in areas where you’ll want to relax, such as your lounge room and master bedroom, because clutter elevates stress levels. As a rule, design experts suggest leaving at least 38 centimetres of free space in front of windows and twice as much in front of doors. Furniture should stand at least 5 centimetres from your walls to help air circulate freely and minimise the risk of wall damage.

It’s best to watch TV from at least 2.5 metres away from the set, so consider this when you’re arranging your lounge and armchairs. If you have a leather setting, you’ll also want to keep it away from direct sunlight or direct heat from a fireplace or heater.

Windows and doors can also let in drafts that can be unpleasant during winter. Keep your dining table away from windows and doors so you can eat in comfort all year round. If you have a baby, you’ll also want to position the cot away from these fixtures.

Thinking about how you’ll use your space and what elements will impact your enjoyment will help you get your floor plan right.

Remember that Nothing is Set in Stone

Even with careful planning and consideration of functionality and aesthetics, you might still get your floor plan wrong. It’s much easier to find flaws with your initial design once you’re living in your new place. Making peace with that should help take the pressure off when you’re creating your floor plan. Everything is moveable, even the bulkiest of furniture. If you find your design doesn’t work as well as you imagined once you moved in, you can always rearrange it.

Consider these floor plan tips and you’ll find it much easier to plan how to use your furniture and knick-knacks to create functional and stylish spaces in your new home.

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