How to use Sketch to design floor plans
After three years living in the East village with 2 roommates and three šs, I finally moved across the river to Williamsburg. Having an entire studio apartment all to myself is too good, yet true.
So hereās a sneak peak:
I couldnāt wait to transform the space, yet I have to wait a few month till move-in.
So I started sketching some ideas on paper. After a few explorations, I realized that my drawings are not accurate in scale, thus not useful when it comes to taking measurement and planning purchases.
And every time I start working on a new idea, I have to draw the same picture over and over again.
One of the best tools out there for visualizing interior design is google sketch up. Being able to build things in 3D is amazing ā yet my furnitures arenāt the same size as the 3D models in the program. So that still doesnāt solve my problem.
As a web designer, I use sketch app every single day. Using sketch, Iām able to start small, and quickly iterate on ideas using a modular approach. So I started experimenting with using sketch to build my floor plan.
- Do the Prep
I use feet as my unit of measurement. For example, my apartment is 25.2 ft in length and 12.7 in width. The corresponding size in sketch is 252 px by 127 px.
In the Symbols page, I started out by setting up floor/front view. Then I made all of my furniture pieces into true-to-size symbols.
2. Drop it like itās hot
Dropping the symbols on the page. Itās especially liberating; Iām not worried about messing up the comp and I can make many different versions very quickly.
3. Does this fit?
I had my eyes set on this dining table, but does it fit? No more guessing and plug in the numbers.
4. What goes into those cabinets?
It turns out that I can also use this to devise a storage plan.
And thatās it. Are you ready to make your own?
Hereās a sketch template for you to get started :)
Thanks for reading!