Almost since the very beginning of my feng shui practice, I have measured and drawn a floor plan sketch for clients, just before conducting the consultation. I taught myself how to do it and then created a file called How To Draw a Floor Plan Sketch, for clients to use when I could not be there in person. I’ve gotten to where I can measure and draw 1,000 square feet every 15 minutes. I understand that there have been software programs for decades, but it requires inputting the data, taking more time.
The sample floor plan to the right is a colorized option from CUBI CASA. And for a fee they can do one with your furniture placement, 3-D Doll House version. A black and white version is FREE.
to be honest, my little instructional file has been mostly outdated by Floor Plan Apps, one of which is CUBI CASA. I recommend it to:
- All long distance clients, who do not already have a to-scale rendering
- Those doing property searches, for purchase or lease
- Local clients willing to provide me with a floor plan to save on time
Now, if you are looking to rent or buy, the seller or landlord may or may not mind you whipping out your cell phone to record the rooms before you own or rent the place. They may have security concerns, but you can always ask permission. Once you have recorded each room in succession, you upload it to the Floor Plan App and they send you the floor plan in 24 hours or less. This is incredibly helpful when trying to assist people as they house hunt. Without a floor plan, it seriously limits what I can tell a client about the feng shui features to a prospective property. And the floor plan needs to be accurate, (appraiser’s drawings are not good enough), nor just a doodle by the client.
The hand drawn example below in this article shows an attempt to make a floor plan sketch, but obviously not drawn to scale (with an oversized kitchen compared to other rooms) and no details for built-ins, counters or fixtures for the bathroom and other rooms.
I don’t use the App myself because when I arrive in person, I work quickly to produce a to-scale sketch and it saves me from having to make two trips to the property. This is something that many feng shui professionals prefer to do. And this makes my file How To Draw a Floor Plan Sketch still relevant for those who want to continue to draw a good sketch by hand. However, I think that all realtors and others in the industry should use something like CUBI CASA. Whether you have an Android or I-Phone, it may determine which kind of App you can access.
Having a to-scale drawing of a home or business is also vital for space planning and furniture placement. I knew before I went house hunting the last time what the minimum dimensions needed to be for me to fit my furniture in a bedroom, home office, and other rooms in a house. I saw some charming places, but passed on them when I figured out they were too small.
Not everyone is spatially orientated. I have a few clients who do not even recognize their own home when they look down at their floor plan. Some folks are seriously handicapped when it comes to measuring and drawing on graph paper. At the risk of sounding like an “influencer” with an affiliate link (I do not), I can endorse these Floor Plan Apps whole-heartedly, as a way to make your feng shui analysis even more accurate.
If I have worked with you already and you provided a hand-drawn floor plan that may not be as accurate as it could be, send me an updated version using a Floor Plan App and I will be happy to use the better version for all future updates.
Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®
From the Architecture & Design Blog Series
