Monday, May 28, 2007

Revising the Floor Plan

In order to get estimates so that I could move forward with my building loan I needed to have working floor plans. Since the current floor plan was outdated I had to develop a new one that would meet the needs of today’s family. Over the past few days that is what I was working on (next weekend I will upload some images). Several things to keep in mind when developing an ideal floor plan:
1) Minimize hallways--hallway are the equivalent to wasted space.
2) Keep mechanicals in mind--you should have access panels behind bath tubs so it’s nice to have a closet behind the tub to hid such panels. It’s also nice to keep things that require plumbing close together (helps reduce plumbing costs).
3) Be sure rooms are usable--long narrow rooms are difficult to furnish. Is the room big enough to fit furniture without feeling cramped?
4) The kitchen triangle (http://www.merillat.com/space/work-smarter/index.aspx) and work stations (http://design.hgtv.com/kitchen/Video_detail.aspx?id=228).
5) Traffic flow--you won’t want to have to walk though the study in order get to the kitchen or 1st floor bath. http://ezinearticles.com/?Efficient-Floor-Plans-Provide-Smooth-Traffic-Flow&id=537153

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well said.