Floor Plan Part 2

How to make a floor plan.

First of all, you do not have to be a drafting genius to do this. But you do need to do it.

Get some 1/4 inch graph paper. Each square on the paper will represent 6 inches of floor. If you are a metric type, get metric paper use 10 cm per square.. or whatever.

Draw a rough outline of the floor, note the doors and windows.

Go back and measure the room, measure the floor inside the casings. For example, wall to wall may be 60 inches wide but the casings takes up 1 inch, therefore on the plan, the floor is drawn as 59 inches. Why??. Because if you draw 60 inches, and buy an armoire 60 inches, and the floor space is actually only 59 inches you have a problem.

Mark the door openings as to the size of the opening, not outside casing to outside casing. Mark the window inside widths on the floor plan as well. Indicate all the measurements on the rough floor plan. Include things like the distance from the window to the wall... When you have all the rough measurements,transfer the information to a new plan with nice, straight lines. You do not have to mark the measurements on the graph paper - it would become really crowded if you did and remember that each square is equal to 6 inches on the floor so you don’t really need the measurements on the plan.

And, even though they are not actually on the floor, indicate the wall electrical outlets, cable or satellite positions and any telephone lines. Also add the heat vents, radiator if applicable and the fireplace and hearth. Put the doors in, indicating which way they swing.

If you don’t want to do this yourself, hire a designer or decorator to do it for you. I, for example, will do a floor plan, a furniture plan, and elevations of the main areas. ( ‘Elevations’ are rather like snapshots of one part of the room, showing the floor and the wall and the furniture as it would appear if you were standing in the middle of the room.) See one on my website Designsewlutions.ca.

Once your floor plan is done indicate the traffic flow, add furniture and lighting. Then it’s time to get to the fun part, picking fabric and surface finishes. That is done on a story board. More about that in the next column.