Playing Architect Alongside Floorplanner (Making 2D House Plans)

We have at last found a way to show off the changing layout of our house without in fact inviting everyone over for a visit (although we are consistently glad to give tours). The other day I was browsing RemodelingMySpace.com and saw a link to some free (!!) software called Floorplanner, which they had reviewed as an straightforward-to-use tool for creating 2D house plans. They also showcase software like Plan 3D and Google SketchUp if you are looking to do more involved, 3D drawings. But I am starting slow…

Last night I cranked away on two quite distinct floor plans: our old layout, and our nearly-there new layout. Check each of them out below, but ignore the square footage and other technical stuff (I did not bother to measure every room exactly). I simply tried to make everything as proportional as possible. So without further ado…

Here is our old floor plan:

And now our new floor plan:

Some noteworthy changes are:

• The wider doorways around the kitchen and den
• The new wood floor uniting the kitchen, den and laundry/bathroom area
• The more open laundry nook (buh-bye bi-fold doors)
• The living room became a living / dining room
• The dining room became a third bedroom
• And, of course, the new kitchen (with about 50% more counter-space!)

Hope all my time was worth it and you folks can better visualize the transformation happening over here. And again, Floorplanner is free so I encourage everyone to take it for a spin. We’d enjoy to see the results.