Ways to Try Out House Designs and Layouts
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We all learn different ways. Some people learn better by reading. Others learn visually by watching a video. Still others learn best by building something with their hands.
Deciding on a layout or a design of a room is the exact same way.
Some people can walk into a room and already see it in their head. Others need a drawing. Still others will have a difficult time until everything is physically in place.
It makes sense that there are different ways of visualizing ideas.
Imagination:
There are easy ways if you have the imagination to stretch or squeeze a picture you love to fit in the dimensions of your own space:
- Start a pinterest page.
- Look at magazines.
- Get your girlfriend to send you every last photo she loves on Instagram because you have exactly the same taste (thank you, lady!).
Honestly, when I was house shopping and first previewed this bathroom, I knew I was going to rip it out. I didn’t care about the mold in the corners or a loose tile signalling there was probably some mold behind the wall–it was already gone in my mind. Once this room made it to the top of the “next to remodel” list I went from this view:
It doesn’t take much to imagine something better than this…but it might take a little imagination to realize the layout is great!
To this in my head:
Combining a tiny shower and a never used garden tub into a walk-in shower was not too much of a stretch of imagination.
Software:
The next level up on envisioning a new layout is using photo adjusting software. You can use Microsoft Paint or another visualizing app.
Pencil and paper:
Drawing your ideas not only helps you visualize what is in your mind, but also helps you decide if there are potentially better ideas out there. In coming up with a modern layout for my Grandma’s house (in this post), I went through several iterations on the back of an envelope before settling on a new layout. I also tried it out “superimposed” (using fancy Paint) on the original blueprints.
Another sample of pencil to paper brainstorming using actual quadrille pad paper for a square bathroom and master closet:
It’s even more fun to see this method in comparison to a before and after picture:
Life size replica:
The next step up is literally drawing the design out to scale. Investing in a roll of butcher block paper, pencils and easy-to-come-off-with-minimal-risk painter’s tape is a small overhead cost compared to deciding you don’t like it after the real deal is in place. It is nice to see it before totally committing.
You can appreciate how some friends took this approach:
Warning: if you go this route it almost feels sad to take the pretend paper down to replace it with the real thing. Although the real thing feels classier, there is something about seeing it life size and falling in love for the first time.
While you may have an idea in your head, it still feels good to see it in real life. As you can see, they played around with the original design, settling on a slightly different variant with squares instead of diamonds throughout.
The dry fit stage:
Worst case scenario, there’s always the dry fitting stage. Better late than never to find out you don’t like an idea. At least you won’t have installed whatever it is you don’t like before ripping it out. Hopefully you are still within the return window.
Exception to all the above methods: Paint
Unfortunately, you can’t do a great job visualizing paint. The color on a computer monitor will be slightly different than the real deal. Likewise, sunlight changes the color dependent on the time of day and year, as we saw in this post. Your best bet is trying your luck with the samples before going all in on an entire can.
Sleep on it!
Make sure you love your new design before moving forward. Stick with the idea for a few days. Can you envision yourself in the space or do you keep getting new ideas after the fact? Keep on playing with the ideas until you come up with a comfortable answer.
Whatever means you use to visualize your new space, you want to exclaim, “Hey, that looks exactly like it did in my head/drawing/life-size replica AND I LOVE IT!“, the first time you see it!
