Easy ways to design 3d floor plans and common mistakes to avoid

3D has become an integral part of designing modern building plans. Most of us are aware of the concept of 3D floor plans. As digital technology is developing at a rapid pace, it is impacting different verticals and the construction industry is one such domain. Now, the days of developing house design plans laboriously with hands are gone.

This article would offer an overview of a 3D floor plan and the process with which a comprehensive plan can be developed in 3D. Also, the mistakes which we commonly commit while developing 3D floor plans would also be discussed.

3D Floor Plan: The Concept

A building which is proposed to be constructed would require a plan detailing all aspects. This can be virtually represented in 3D with all customization through software. The purpose is to offer complete dimensional insights into the commercial or residential building plans from all three axes. Even a complicated architecture can be understood and visualized with relative ease.

Sophisticated 3D rendering software allows the creation of meticulous 3D floor plans with optimal accuracy. The realistic quotient in the 3D floor plan design is contributed by strategic camera positions, proper lighting, and state of art techniques. Digital and real floor plans cannot be distinguished.

Why Floor Plan is required?

If you want to sell real estate properties at desirable rates, proper floor plans are needed for marketing. The design serves as a guide for visually helping out the potential customers. It helps in identifying the scope for future development and better planning. Also, 3D floor plan when listed stands out and remains in memories of audiences for long.

Informed and conscious purchasing decisions can be made by customers by visually evaluating the plan. The 3D designs offer functional insights into the looks and expanse of the advertised space. Customers can get a feel of the spatial extent of building and assess if that meets their criteria and lifestyle.

3D design helps in visualizing a space in its entirety. Builders, contractors, and other real estate stakeholders can demonstrate their needs and ideas through proper 3d floor plan design.

Common Floor Plan: Standard

Standard plan design is commonly used by most of the real estate architects and builders. This consists of an outline sketch of the proposed construction or completed building. The sketch is taupe colorized or prepared in black and white monochromatic scale. The components of the building i.e. stairs, ceilings, doors, windows, walls, etc. are displayed.

The floor plan design offers an undiluted view or ‘as is built’ outlook of the building. This helps in commercially promoting the property and communicating the fundamental design principle of the property to buyers. The components in the standard architecture designs are defined using unique colors. Also, the statutory requirements as stipulated by the local municipal or civic body have to be fulfilled.

These floor plans are usually referred to by:

· Real estate Developers

· Property Developers or Builders

· Property Managers

· Individual Sellers

· Hospitality Industry Real Estate Sellers

Customized Floor Plans

As the name suggests, the designs can be customized to meet the unique needs of customers or to resemble an existing property. With a custom floor layout plan, you can get develop aesthetically pleasing designs developed. Such designs would have images showcasing color combinations, textures, and virtually staged interiors with needful furnishing.

Any dream home or an existing property can be replicated with custom house floor plans. Each room can be colored in different hues and shades. Furniture rendered in 3D can be placed for complementing the room decor. Different 3D options are available for completing the design. Virtual walk-through can also be created with stunning visuals that would capture the attention of prospective buyers.

These designs are usually referred to by:

· Real estate Developers

· Property Developers or Builders

· Property Managers

· Individual Sellers

· Hospitality Industry Real Estate Sellers

Floor Plans for Renovation

Renovation Floor Plan is a special plan which is made to replace the original blueprint of the building which might have been lost or has suffered damage. If the design or structural dimensions of the house have undergone change after construction, renovation plan is prepared.

Once the renovation has been done, the renovation floor layout design can be used for showcasing the layout, shape, dimensional expanse, architectural components of the home in a flawless manner. With this one, the dimensions of the property are updated and exhibited on each plan image.

The plan also highlights other features of the property like:

· Walls

· Doors and Windows

· In-built cabinets

· Location of HVAC

· Appliances Installed

· Supporting Structures

If a building has to be modified with new structural additions, renovation design is needed for acquiring approval of local municipal or civic body. This showcases adherence to needful standards as specified by the civic body.

Renovation Floor Plans are usually referred to by:

· Industrial architects who need to develop a plan of the property but don’t have access to the blueprint

· Interior Designers

· Property Renovation Contractors

· Property Value Appraisers

· Architects

· Home Stagers

You need to choose a floor plan layout that optimally suits your specific requirement. These are useful for

· showcasing properties to sellers,

· making conscious decisions when buying,

· securing needful statutory clearances when renovating or building

· inspiring interest among potential home buyers

· improving the condition of the property with structural changes

Professional and visually appealing house layout design can serve multiple purposes. Each design should be carefully designed to ensure that your objective is fulfilled.

Creating the 3D Floor Plan

The foundation of any beautifully developed 3D floor plan design is a 2D sketch, a simple 3d design, or a blueprint. The steps involved in developing the 3D design are detailed below.

· Start by sketching the 2D plan or blueprint with the help of a professional draftsman

· Specifications and dimensions can be accurately mapped with AutoCAD software

· The architectural 2D drawing should be flawless and must consist of all details

· Initially, the shape for the room should be finalized based on specific needs

· The room’s shape would dictate the size or the dimensional expanse

· For optimum precision, the length, width, and height of the walls can be specified

· You can distinguish each room on the design with a unique name

· Rooms in the design can have names like the living room, bedroom, hall, kitchen, alley, etc.

· At the blueprint stage, basic drawing tools can be used for sketching in 3D software

· A pen tool can be used for drawing the building’s walls or demarcation areas

· Line Segment Tool can also prove useful for segmenting the areas within the property

· Prepare the blueprint carefully to reflect your needs and aspirations properly

· Strokes of the brush tool can be thickened to highlight or differentiate specific areas

· Choose the working scale properly so that measurements are represented accurately

Once the basic design of the blueprint has been devised, it is important to save it. Make a copy so that you work on it. The original blueprint will remain unaltered. The next stage is to expand the it and clean up the unnecessary aspects. The steps involved in this process are discussed below.

· For expanding the blueprint and cleaning it up, all lines have to be selected.

· Once the selection has been done, ‘Object and Expand’ tool has to be clicked in software

· This would lead to the expansion of all the selected lines

· At this stage, maintain the selection of all the necessary lines

· By clicking on the ‘Unite’ tool, all lines have to be combined into a solid 3D shape

· You may be required to carry out random corrections on a few lines

· The blueprint can be cleaned up with the help of Pen Tool.

· Always work on the replica of the original blueprint so that you can revert to it if a problem arises

The structural components of the building in the 3D floor layout design have to be positioned now.

· Start by placing the doors and windows in apartment floors design.

· You can draw the doors or windows within the plan with shapes such as squares or rectangles

· Drag the shapes to the locations where you would want the windows and doors to be in the constructed property

· You can use unique colors for doors and windows so that they can be differentiated with ease

· Ideally, green color is suited for doors whereas yellow is appropriate for windows

After the doors, windows and other structural components have been positioned accurately within the blueprint, it is time to generate different blueprints.

· Select the complete blueprint for generating 3 copies of the same

· Each copy, initially, should have doors, windows and other structural shapes in them

· These 3 copies would serve as the blueprints for generating the complete the 3D plan

· Use the Divide function for cutting out windows and doors in the 1st blueprint

· In the 2nd blueprint, cut out the doors

· In the 3rd blueprint, doors and windows should not be present

· Select the 1st blueprint for applying ‘Extrude and Bevel’ function from ‘Effect-> 3D’

· For achieving the desired outcome, you need to utilize the preview function

· The depth of extrusion should be 15 pt. in 1st blueprint

· Similar parameters have to be applied on rest of 2 blueprints

· The extrusion depth in 2nd blueprint should be within 20–24 pt. and in 3rd, 15 pt.

· The blueprints have to be placed on top of each other in a stacked manner

· Choose a shade you prefer and use this to color the building layer

· Repeat the same for the other two layers

· Initially, the building’s structure may not appear visually appealing

· Ignore the looks temporarily and choose ‘Object -> Expand Appearance’

· During this stage, the floor, as well as windows, can be inserted

· For enhancing the look, you can use a darker shade for representing the wall’s top

You now have the complete 3D representation of all rooms and kitchen floors ready before you.

Common Mistakes to Avoid While Developing 3D Floor Plan

Once it has been completed, it is important to spend some time to ensure that you have not committed mistakes which are commonly done. This can reduce the efficiency of the plan. The common mistakes are discussed below.

1) Selecting the Incorrect floor plan

· Don’t be enticed by the idea of creating visually attractive and luxurious floor plans in 1st attempt

· Assess the needs of the floor layout comprehensively before proceeding to develop and select an appropriate floor layout design for your property

· If you desire to set aside space for office work in your home, the same need not be adjacent to the kitchen or room for kids

· Each personal requirement and choice should be factored in before developing the plan.

2) Not Adhering to The Dimensions Specified for Rooms

· Each floor layout design should essentially have the room’s dimension mentioned on it

· The dimensions or stretch of the room should be planned after measuring the furniture that you intend to place in the respective rooms

· Often, arbitrary dimensions are taken for room to develop the plan

· Once it has been implemented in the physical dimension, the sizes of the rooms fall short to accommodate the furniture and other accessories

· Assess the need for space in each room by carefully measuring the furniture and other fixtures that you want within the space

3) Not Managing Space Adequately

· Managing space is vital to optimizing on it

· Even an 1800 sq.ft apartment would appear less spacious than a 900 sq.ft one in the absence of proper space management

· Often, during the preparation of the project, the space is not managed adequately

· Consequently, even spacious areas look constrained

4) Going Overboard with Budget for Home Buying

· Often, the attraction of beautiful 3D floor plan design makes a potential home buyer fall in love with an apartment design

· The design may be well above the budget available for buying home

· Resultant, one gives his/ her consent for buying a home with floor layout design whose final budget may exceed the allocated amount

· As a home buyer, never make the mistake of committing an amount for buying a home which you may not be able to afford presently.

· The purchased home can be upgraded later on in future as and when more finance becomes available

Summary

After going through this post, you must have become aware of the intricacies that are involved in the design of professional looking and realistic 3D floor plan design. ThePro3DStudio offers expert help in developing attractive and meticulous floor plans in 3D for representing all architectural 3d designs. Whether you are looking for a villa design plan or modest plan for an apartment, you can always find expert assistance from experienced 3D professionals at ThePro3DStudio. Visualizing, marketing, seeking statutory clearances, or conducting any assessment becomes really easy with 3D floor plans.

You can also go through : How 3D architectural floor plan designs help to increase your property sales.