How to read a house plan?

Two houses of the same size can offer very different living spaces due to corridors, halls, columns, walls and unused corners. First walk around the plan, starting with the entrance; Separate areas where daily life takes place from areas used only for transit.

Read the gross and net area definitions with their source in the document. Do not accept advertisement information as a definitive measure; Benefit from approved project, on-site measurement and appropriate expert control in a critical purchasing decision.

• Long or unfurnished corridors
• Halls where door openings overlap
• Area lost due to column, shaft and low ceiling
• Niches that can be turned into cabinets or storage
• The place of balcony and common area in square meter expression

Plan efficiencySquare meters are only as valuable as where and how they can be used.

A smaller but well-distributed plan may work more comfortably than a home that looks larger but devotes plenty of space to circulation.

Marking entrance and circulation, common living, service areas and private rooms with different colors makes the organization of the plan visible. Check whether the paths from the kitchen to the dining area, from the entrance to the living room, from the bedroom to the bathroom do not unnecessarily intersect each other.

Work out daily scenarios on the plan, such as visibility of private areas when guests arrive, transportation to the kitchen with shopping bags, laundry and storage flow. A good plan is not just beautiful proportion, but the natural work of repeated movements.

Door and window positions, radiators, columns, plumbing points and transition lines limit furniture placement. Place large items such as a bed, wardrobe, table or armchair on the plan with their actual dimensions; See if there are any available passes around them.

If the plan is not to scale, do not decide solely on visual proportion. Ask for measurements from the seller or the project, check critical walls during the visit. Especially in narrow rooms, even a difference of a few centimeters can change door opening and cabinet usage.

• Usage area around the bed and in front of the wardrobe
• Retracting and passing distance of desk chair
• The hall has not only one but alternative seating arrangements
• Countertop, appliance and storage order in the kitchen
• The relationship between socket, light and background in the work area

Window lines on the plan only indicate the location of the opening. The true light quality of the room cannot be understood without seeing the direction, opposite structure, balcony depth, floor and external environment. Note the aspect and usage time of each room on the plan.

Having the living room and bedroom facing the street, the neighboring building or the common area changes the expectation of sound and privacy. The need to constantly cover the window with a curtain may reduce the daily benefit of the opening, which appears wide in plan.

Sanem's architectural perspectiveWhen not read in conjunction with the exterior, the plan only describes half of the house.

The shape of the room, the direction the window faces, the opening in front of it and the time of use are all parts of the same decision.

Just because a wall looks thin in plan doesn't mean it can be removed. The carrier system, installation shafts, common area boundaries, facade decisions and the approved project determine the scope of the renovation. Moving a wet area or changing an opening on the facade is not a simple decoration decision.

First, determine to what extent the plan in its current form meets your needs. Then separate mandatory changes, preferred improvements, and long-term ideas; Do not make cost assumptions without verifying technical and formal feasibility with experts.