How to Design an Efficient Floor Plan

The external look of a house makes it look beautiful, but what turns it into a comfortable home is its floor plan. However, one of the biggest problems in designing an efficient floor plan is wastage of space. 

So, what is the solution? Well, the simplest way to save space is to omit unnecessary interior walls. No, we are not saying to tear down all walls inside, but the ones that don’t necessarily need to be there. There are various spaces in a home that have overlapping spatial relationships. In simple words, some rooms can be connected or made into one because they have similar types of uses. For instance, instead of having a separate dining room, one can simply have a dining table and a buffet table in the kitchen itself. Another classic example is combining the dining space with the living room.  

With a few design tricks, one can create a space-efficient floor plan. Srinivas Jayaram, Co-Founder & Marketing Director of 100PILLARS Construction shares his favourite tips to make smart use of every square foot.

Change the approach 

One of the biggest mistakes is to think of your home as a building block. You must think of it as more of an envelope. The difference is when you think of it as a block, your brain directly goes to a four-walled structure with one or two doors. But when you think of your home as an envelope, it is just a roof over the head. It can have open spaces, balconies, terraces and gardens; which is a much better way to think about a home that you want to live in.

Focus on the windows

• Go for bay windows. These are protruding windows with a deep scooped out space that can be used both as a shelf and a sitting area, as per your choice.

• Window treatments should be simple and subtle, instead of bulky and heavy like the English Victorian style. Plain white windows and doors not only look chic but also reflect light to admit more inside.

• French windows are basically like casement windows however they are used more like doors than windows. Having these doors towards the backyard or the patio not only adds more light due to the large area of glass but also creates a visual continuity to the outside, making it seem like a large space.

The enclosure ratio

There is a long-standing thumb rule in planning that says space must have the height to length ratio of 1:3 or more for it to feel spacious. It is used in public buildings, but it can also be applied to residences for more free space.

Lofting is a good idea

Lofting is one of the most ingenious ideas you can put up in your home. It may not be a viable or good approach for everybody, but it is a great and useful twist to a living space or the children’s bedroom. Since beds require a lower ceiling height, it is also a fairly good option. 

Don’t miss the entrance lobby

When you tell your designers that you want a small home to save space, the first thing they do is to take out the entrance lobby and put the entrance door in the living room. While this might not sound like a big deal in the beginning, but it ends up being a little uncomfortable down the line. 

Angular walls are a strict no!

Angular or curved walls might look magnificent in a Zaha Hadid museum, but it isn’t what you would want in your home. Homes are supposed to be comfortable, and angular walls often look abrupt. Not to mention, they take up a lot of space.

Follow Vastu principles 

To further simplify the process of designing a floor plan, simply follow the principles of Vastu. It gives you an idea to place different areas or rooms of the house in the eight directions. We list a few general and easy things to consider:

• Open areas such as balconies, entrance foyer, porch, etc. should be oriented towards the north-east to get the morning sun in the house. Open areas in the NE also ensure long hours of sunlight in the home. 
• Toilets are considered to be the place of negativity, and placing them in the NE would counter the reason behind the entrance in the NE.
• Place your kitchen in the south-east direction. 
• Avoid having bedrooms in the north. The reason behind this is the magnetic waves that go from pole to pole. Putting a bedroom in the north would not be a great idea. But if you find yourself in a position where your bedroom is in the north, then make sure that you align the bed headboard in a way that it counters the action.

Involve your family in the process

Another important, yet overlooked aspect is the involvement of the family. The home is for the whole family, and it’s only fair that everyone is included in the design process. You never know what ideas will come up. 

(The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of RoofandFloor)