We’ve all heard the disasters: how people buy new homes with a balcony (uselessly) off the bedroom, rather than the living room; with closet space (ridiculously) not deep enough to hang clothes in; with a bathroom (weirdly) next to the kitchen; or a laundry room (noisily) next to the head of a bed.
If only they had used their finger! According to interior design guru Robert Ledingham, your digit is the key to working out what works well – or not. Extend it, plonk it on the paper, and literally follow it all around the layout while using your imagination to think hard about your daily routine.
Go through the front door (is there a closet for the coat you’re taking off?), head to the kitchen (where will you put all your culinary gadgets?), float into the dining area (room enough for your heirloom table and chairs?) and the bedroom (will your precious king-sized bed fit in?). Picture – with your all-important finger – how the doors will swing out? Do they open the right way – will they clash into your large furniture?
Really knowing how to follow a plan – which shows to scale where everything, from the furnace to the kitchen sink, will be situated in a new home – ensures you avoid all of the pitfalls. Further insight from Ledingham, including a guide to floor-plan symbols and how to design correctly for your space, and a host of other experts is revealed in a free new book by Intracorp, Show and Tell: New Home Buying Secrets. You can register to download or get a free hard copy here
Floor plans are clearly one of the first steps to buying a home that really suits you. Doing this little homework, it appears, will really go a long way.
Tags: Bob ledingham, design, Floor plans, Intracorp, Vancouver, video
