Tammy Hoy, The Canadian Press
If you’re planning to buy a new home, selecting a floor plan is critical. After all, it will be the space you (and your stuff) eventually settle into and spend time in – perhaps even a lifetime.
But it can be challenging to imagine from a floor plan how that space will look, feel and work for you.
Some developers have 3D models – virtual tours – that help people envision the final space. Virtual reality technology is also being used by real estate developers to help homebuyers with floor plans.
“Most developers don’t have infinite space” to show models of various floor plans, says Norm Li, who has an architectural company based in Toronto that specializes in renderings, animations and interactive experiences for the real estate development and design industry.
“We just worked on a project where they have 75 different floor plans,” says Mr. Li. “If you’re picking a suite, the suite you buy may not necessarily match the model suite in a sales centre. In the headset we actually build out the suite in 3D... and basically slap a pair of goggles on your head and you can see it in real life. …. You can walk around the suite.”
If that isn’t an option, Mimi Ng, senior vice-president, residential sales and marketing for Menkes Developments Ltd., has some tips on what to look for in a floor plan.
First comes storage – especially important in condominiums.
“Looking for storage space, looking for how much closet space is in the unit, is a fairly important priority for most people,” says Ms. Ng. “Typically a unit would have a closet at the front entrance and a closet in the bedrooms.
“But depending on the suite layout there might be a linen closet. There might be a little bit of extra space in terms of an extra-deep laundry area where you might be able to sneak in a space for cleaning supplies. You’re living in a relatively small space but you do have things in your life that are kind of bulky. People often ask ‘where do I put my vacuum cleaner?’ Where do you put that away so that when friends come over it’s not just sitting there in the corner like an eyesore?”
Ms. Ng says young families also wonder where they’re going to put their stroller. Is there an extra space somewhere by the door? Is there enough room in the hallway? People who golf wonder where they’re going to put their clubs.
“Even the laundry closet. In some of our plans, we make that laundry closet extra deep. The laundry’s at the back but there’s a little bit of space when you open the door so that you could probably put your cleaning supplies in, a mop and a broom or a vacuum cleaner and at least that’s all tucked away,” says Ms. Ng.
Ms. Ng recommends taking the time to contemplate how a floor plan is going to work best. Even going to a furniture store and seeing showroom suites can help homebuyers decide how they can best work out the space in their new home.
Developers also pay attention to how people’s lifestyles change, and design floor plans accordingly.
“It’s really just looking at the space in terms of how you will live in it,” says Ms. Ng. “When we were designing plans before, you would make assumptions that people were going to have a TV stand and now most people just wall mount their TV. So you start looking at those things. If you are somebody who likes to have a TV in your bedroom, is there enough wall space facing where you would place your bed? Is that wall wide enough? So start thinking of those kinds of things.”
“[Menkes] has started to move into a kitchen design where our appliances are built-in appliances,” says Ms Ng. “So your fridge and your dishwasher have a cabinet panel front. The appliances are kind of hidden in the kitchen cabinetry so it looks seamless. Because your kitchen is so visible with the cabinetry, we try to make the kitchen look like a piece of furniture or an extension of your living room in that respect.”
This content was produced by The Globe and Mail’s Globe Content Studio. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved in its creation.