Layout plan

A layout plan is a scaled plan of the space with partitions, doors, windows and all the furniture. It is the intellectual core of a project: this is where it is decided whether a dressing room will fit, whether a table will stand by the window, where the washing machine goes and whether there is enough space beside the bed. A pretty picture can be stretched over any layout, but you will live in the layout itself.

What the work consists of. First, a questionnaire and measurement: family composition, habits, number of people, working from home, guests, pets, hobbies. Then the measured plan and the identification of load-bearing walls, which cannot be moved. After that we prepare options: usually 2–3 fundamentally different ones, with pros and cons. You choose, we refine. Only after the layout is approved do we move to the concept, visualisations and drawings. The layout stage takes up to a week.

What we check. Routes and scenarios: the way with shopping bags from the door to the kitchen, the morning flow to a single bathroom, evening work at a desk, hosting guests. Storage: wardrobe, pantry, a place for the vacuum cleaner, ironing board, suitcases and the New Year tree. Ergonomics: according to popular ergonomic guides, passages are best not narrower than 80–90 cm (up to 120 cm in active zones), at least 60 cm should be left on each side of the bed, and the depth of wardrobes and kitchen units is most often 60 cm. Doors: the plan shows how they open (arcs) and whether they hit furniture or each other.

Typical solutions. Moving or removing non-bearing walls, combining kitchen and living room, dividing a large room into two, moving or enlarging a bathroom, a dressing room instead of a pantry, zoning with partitions, slats and furniture, sliding doors instead of hinged ones. Every option is checked against the structure, services (risers, ventilation) and approvals: redevelopment in Kazakhstan is registered officially, check the procedure with the public service centre (CON) and the akimat.

How to read a layout if you are the client. Check not the furniture but the routes and scenarios: walk a finger along the plan from the front door to the bed. Put real dimensions on the plan: sofa, dining table, fridge, washing machine. Check that all doors and drawers open. Ask where your appliances go and whether a wardrobe stands over a radiator or in front of a socket.

Typical mistakes: making a beautiful layout without measuring; placing furniture "by the picture" without checking dimensions; forgetting storage; making passages too narrow for the sake of a "spacious living room"; confusing zoning with having walls; not planning services in advance. Remember that most of the comfort of your future home is decided at this stage. The project brief on our site helps you describe your scenarios in advance, and we will propose options.