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Guides
Practical answers for planning spaces, drawing floor plans, arranging furniture, choosing finishes and making building decisions.
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32 guides across 10 topics
Floor plan basics
How to Draw a Floor Plan
The complete step-by-step method: measure the space, draw walls to exact dimensions, place openings, test the furniture, present the finishes and choose the right output.How to Read a Floor Plan
Learn what dashed lines mean, read door swings and room sizes, decode abbreviations and spot layout red flags before a viewing.Floor Plans on Graph Paper
The classic squared-paper method: choose a scale, count squares, mark openings and know when a snap-to-grid editor is more useful.Space planning
How to Plan Rooms Before Drawing Walls
Turn a room list into an editable space arrangement, balance target areas, compare alternatives, decide which boundaries stay open, then build the wall plan.What Is Space Planning in Architecture?
The stage between the brief and the floor plan: how space planning differs from programming, massing, floor planning and detailed drafting, and what it decides.How to Allocate Floor Area Between Rooms
Start from the net area, set aside circulation, divide the rest by priority as an example budget, then rebalance by moving shared boundaries so one room grows only at another's expense.How to Plan Rooms Inside a Fixed House Footprint
Measure the footprint to the inside of the external walls, budget circulation, place rooms largest-first and make every leftover square metre a decision.How to Turn a Space Plan into a Floor Plan
Settle every boundary, give each line a real wall thickness, place the walls correctly on the planning lines, add openings where people move and re-measure the rooms.How to Compare Room Layouts
Hold the brief and the measuring basis steady, then compare entrance routes, room sizes and proportions, privacy, circulation and what changes once walls go in.Building form & massing
What Is Architectural Massing?
Massing is the overall shape of a building: its footprint, height and the way it steps and splits. What a massing model answers, what only a floor plan can, and when to move on.How to Compare Building Shapes Before Drawing Plans
Hold the floor area steady, make three shapes, and compare footprint, outside wall, height at the street and garden left over. A worked compact, L-shaped and stepped house of 151.2 m².Will an Extension Look Too Big? Size and Shape Compared
Why some additions overwhelm the house they join: height, width, setback and depth compared on one worked house with three different extensions, and what each costs the garden.Room sizes & circulation
Room Sizes & Clearances
A practical cheat sheet for room sizes, corridors, kitchens, bathrooms, furniture and the clear space that makes a plan work.How Much Circulation Space Should a House Have?
Plan for 10 to 15 per cent of the net floor area in halls, landings and corridors. How to measure it, what moves it, and when the arrangement is the problem.How to Reduce Wasted Hallway Space
Six moves that return floor from corridors to rooms, ordered by what each one saves. The waste is in the length of the route, not the width of the corridor.How Big Should a Bedroom Be?
A single wants 7 m², a double 11.5 m², a main bedroom 14 to 16 m². The sizes, the clear widths and what each one buys, with four plans drawn to scale.How Wide Should a Hallway Be?
900 mm is the minimum, 1000 to 1200 mm is comfortable, and an entrance hall wants 1500 to 2000 mm. Why 900, and what doors and corners change.Furniture layouts
How to Plan a Furniture Layout That Fits
Start from the room's real dimensions and the furniture's real sizes, keep the route clear of where people sit, and compare two arrangements of the same room before moving anything.Room Sizes & Clearances
A practical cheat sheet for room sizes, corridors, kitchens, bathrooms, furniture and the clear space that makes a plan work.How Big Should a Bedroom Be?
A single wants 7 m², a double 11.5 m², a main bedroom 14 to 16 m². The sizes, the clear widths and what each one buys, with four plans drawn to scale.How Big Should an Open-Plan Kitchen and Living Room Be?
30 to 35 m² for a family, built from three zone budgets: kitchen, dining and living, plus the route through. With a worked 32 m² plan.Interior finishes
How to Choose Finishes That Work Together
Decide which surfaces dominate, coordinate floor, walls, joinery and furniture around them, test pattern scale and direction, and judge suitability separately from looks.How to Compare Two Finish Schemes
Hold the layout, the viewpoints and the light constant, change a few surfaces at a time, judge the whole room, and record the decision with swatches and a schedule.Kitchens
Kitchen Layouts: Straight, Galley, L, U or Island?
Compare five kitchen layouts in real dimensions, from work order and aisle width to the room size an island actually needs.How Big Should an Open-Plan Kitchen and Living Room Be?
30 to 35 m² for a family, built from three zone budgets: kitchen, dining and living, plus the route through. With a worked 32 m² plan.Doors, windows & walls
Standard Door Sizes
Door widths and heights in metric and imperial, plus the opening, leaf and clear-width distinction that decides what fits through.Wall Thickness on a Floor Plan
Choose realistic external, load-bearing and partition wall thicknesses, understand their build-ups and account for the floor area they consume.Drawings & symbols
Floor Plan Symbols, Explained
A visual reference for walls, door swings, windows, stairs, fixtures, furniture and dimensions—and what each mark means.Door Symbols on a Floor Plan
Read hinged, double, sliding, pocket, bifold, cased-opening and garage-door symbols, including hinge side and swing clearance.Window Symbols on a Floor Plan
Understand the three-line window symbol, coupled pairs and bays—and why most window types differ in elevation rather than plan.Staircase Symbols on a Floor Plan
Read treads, walk lines, UP and DN arrows, break lines and the plan symbols for straight, L-shaped, U-shaped and winder flights.The Architect's Glossary
Jamb, mullion, riser and going, ridge, soffit, FFL and net area—residential drawing terms explained by part of the house.Outdoor & site
Deck Sizes & Dimensions
Size a deck for dining or lounging, then work out levels, steps, railings, openings and board spacing with the arithmetic shown.Patio vs Terrace vs Deck
Tell patios, terraces, decks, porches, verandas, balconies, pergolas and alfresco spaces apart—and see how each is drawn.Garden Fence Dimensions
How tall a garden fence should be, post spacing and sizes, board and slat gaps, corners on one post, gate widths and how a gate hangs, and which side faces out.No guides found
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