From Floor Plan To Dream Home: Why Floor Plan Design is the Foundation of Every Successful Home Renovation or New Build
It all begins with a plan
Getting a floor plan right is the first and most critical step in the home design process. If the layout doesn’t function for your needs or bring ease and beauty to your day to day life, it’s simply not going to feel worth your investment. Instead it will result in frustration and more stress as you’ll be searching for fixes and learning to compensate for oversights instead of thriving in your new very expensive space. No amount of calcatta viola marble or pretty decor can make-up for a bad layout.
Simply put, a well designed floor plan is intentional and thoughtfully considered to ensure every aspect of the design serves a specific function or aesthetic goal.
IF YOU’RE DREAMING OF A RENOVATION OR A NEW HOME - THIS IS HOW YOU START
The most common stumbling block I see home owners facing who want to embark on a renovation or plan a new build is - where to start. This alone can stall people from moving forward, for years. A common scenario is; “we’ve been wanting to renovate our kitchen, or, add a primary ensuite for years - but we just have no idea how or where to start”, or, “Our builder is providing architectural plans but there’s no interior details.” I hear this over and over again, and I get it! It’s a daunting process involving a huge investment, thousands of design decisions, numerous professionals, trades, building permits, and potentially moving out into temporary living accommodations. Who can look at their schedule and know how to fit this in!? The answer is, nobody. To start you just have to get the ball rolling by taking one first step - you need to get that dream vision out of your head and onto paper. That’s it. It all begins right there. A 2D floor plan view (plus some inspiration images). This first step is to focus on laying out the optimal floor plan concept that reflects your goals. This is how your vision gets translated into a context that enables others to get on the same page and take the ball further, like on to developing budgets, timelines, scouting contractors, and so on. I call this initial conceptual floor plan the Master Plan.
You may think this first step might apply more to renovations than a new build or addition, I’d say it really doesn’t. Even if your goal is to build new from the ground up, begin with researching house plan layouts and collect ones that reflect your ideals. Or sketch your own. Will the home be single storey, two storey? Would the kitchen be on the front of the house or back of house? Do you need a home office with a separate entrance or gym with walk-out to a plunge pool. Discover what your ideal floor plan vision is first, then the exterior design and aesthetic you desire can be developed and applied from there. It doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch. Often a builder or architect will have a ‘similar’ house design which can be adapted to your ideal layout and lot.
THE MASTER PLAN
A Master Plan is the big picture concept in 2D line format. Often times the goal of this plan is to capture multiple future reno’s (or additions to your build) in one glance. In the process of creating the plan, this spacial planning phase will explore and reveal the true potential of your space versus your wish list. The Master Plan will define what your project scope will be ie; a facelift, a gut reno, an addition, or, a 4 bath - 4 bedroom new build, as well as; its size, how much it might cost, permit requirements, how long it will take, could it be phased, and if you have to move out. Yes ALL this information is derived from your new Master Floor Plan (or Proposed Plan). It clearly illustrates the spacial requirements of your project and allows you to move on to the next steps which include; engaging with potential contractors, budgeting. structural assessment, zoning or compliance feasibility. There’s no point going any further with a floor plan concept until you verify if this dream plan is realistically feasible. In reality many people simply need to go through this process in order to get answers - is the goal feasible within parameters of an existing home or lot, or, is it more sensible to moveYes ALL this information is derived from your new Master Floor Plan (or Proposed Plan). It clearly illustrates the spacial requirements of your project and allows you to move on to the next steps which include; engaging with potential contractors, budgeting. structural assessment, zoning or compliance feasiblity. There’s no point going any further with a floor plan concept until you verify if this dream plan is feasible. In reality many people simply need to go through this process to resolve unknowns - is their goal feasible within the parameters of their existing home or is it more sensible to move. With new builds for vacant lots there’s often a step before this referred to as pre-design feasibility to assess siting potential, allowable build size, and overall project cost.
Don’t make this mistake of skipping this and jump ahead. Too often in the uncertainty of not knowing where to start many people make the mistake of diving right into buying appliances, tubs or, ordering that custom king bed before a layout has been planned. This approach can quickly box you into a corner where planning starts off with limitations - working around impulse purchases, rather than first determining which products/sizes work best for your optimal layout, all details considered. The Master Floor Plan is designed to achieve everything on your wish list and more, while ensuring its also feasible.
WHO DESIGNS THE MASTER FLOOR PLAN
When referring to the interior layout of a home, a designer who specializes in spacial planning and interior architecture, such as an Interior Designer, is the ideal expert for this particularly if high-level function and cohesive harmonious aesthetics are important to you. Beyond this first step they also have the skills, and experience and resources to develop the details and finishing of the spaces through to completion in co-ordination with every trade and supplier. From window and door placements to kitchen and bathroom layouts.
The discerning eye of an expert who specializes in spacial planning and interior detailing can make a world of difference to your project, beyond what’s possible for you to imagine. In fact, the working floor plans our clients seek help with are almost always (rarely not) from either an architect, a home builder, or a kitchen showroom. While these parties are competent in the ability to prepare a floor plan for you, from my experience I can say with certainty their plans will rarely be tailored to your individualized needs or with the aesthetic detail and considerations as someone who specializes in designing interiors - from the framing studs to furniture and everything in between. Simply put those parties are generalists in this area of your project not specialists. Their field of expertise is typically not interior planning - its architecture, construction, and cabinet making.
So if you’re project is already underway or if you’ve recently moved into a home and its not feeling quite right yet here’s what to look for to better understand if your floor plan is serving you as well as it could be.
THE ELEMENTS OF A WELL DESIGNED FLOOR PLAN
The essential elements that form the foundation of every plan we design are functionality, ease and beauty - always applied with the overriding goals of achieving maximum comfort and safety throughout the home, for all its occupants and guests.
FUNCTIONALITY: Functionality is about designing spaces with intentional purpose and practical utility, and ensuring the layout optimizes space. A plan that effectively supports the way people use the space.
EASE: This means ensuring the layout has good flow, promoting fluid movement between rooms and areas in a manner that is smooth and unobstructed and the adjacencies are logical and ordered. A Plan with things intuitively where they should be.
BEAUTY: Ensuring in spacial perspective a plan is harmonious and is aesthetically and sensorially appealing. Achieved through use of; sight lines, architectural character, symmetry, balance of form and lines, focal points, moments of surprise, as well as capturing views and natural light. A plan with elements that please the eye and interiors connected to their surroundings.
Based on over 28 years of spacial planning and detailing interiors, my best advice is always this - if there is any one single part of your entire project you can involve a designer, let it be your floor plan design. Because I believe so strongly that a well-designed floor plan is crucial to the success of every interior, we offer multiple online services dedicated specifically to Floor Plan Design, including new options launched this week.
NEW - FLOOR PLAN REVIEW CONSULTATIONS
This week we launched new Virtual Consultations options, including a Floor Plan Review where you can submit your project’s floor plan for a thorough review and receive a marked-up plan with my suggested edits and tweaks. We’ve also brought back one of our most popular online design services from the past, the Design Dilemma where you can get one-one-one advice for a pressing design issue via a Q&A by email or a zoom call. Learn more about our Floor Plan Services and new Consultations below:
FLOOR PLAN REVIEW CONSULTATIONS
NEW DOWNLOAD - REFERENCE GUIDE:
10 DESIGNER MOVES TO IMPROVE A FLOOR PLAN DESIGN
Also new this week! I’ve published an overview of my 10 favourite, most effective ways to improve a floor plan design. This reference guide is jam packed with ideas and tips - perfect for anyone involved in a new build or renovation even if its already underway. It’s the first of our Good Design series, a resource library of design guides exclusively for TheDesign Shop.
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Blog Author
Carol Reed | Interior Designer
Carol has been a practicing Interior Designer for over 28 years, focusing on residential interiors since 2005 as Principal of Carol Reed Interior Design Inc. Her work has been featured in Canadian House & Home, Style at Home and Canadian Home Trends magazines among others and frequently contributes as a design expert for their various editorial content. Honoured to be included in House & Home Magazines Top 100 Canadian Designers list.
