How to properly plan an apartment and avoid mistakes?

Mistake 1. Planning the electrical system at random

The electrical system is the nervous system of your apartment. If you want to save your nerves, it is better to take care of it in advance.

What can go wrong?

When it suddenly turns out that the switch is behind the door, and the door opens inward, it is very inconvenient. To turn the light on or off, you have to go around the door and behind it. And if there is no outlet near the TV, you have to pull the cord across the entire room.

What should be taken into account?

First, we plan the arrangement of the furniture, then the electrical system, and only after that, we begin construction work. It is worth considering the location of the sockets and switches, as well as choosing the right lighting: how many and in which rooms, at what height, etc. The easiest way to do this is in specialized programs created for creating interior design. And then we work with the layout and make footnotes.

According to reviews from professional interior designers, a simple and accessible program for creating interiors is the 3D interior planner Planoplan. To do this, you need to decide on the furniture, built-in appliances and workspaces. For example, if you do not want wires lying around, then even before you start finishing, you need to design the kitchen. The wiring will be done according to your equipment layout plan.

There should be enough lighting.

• Think about the distribution of light by zone.
• Plan where the cabinets, workspaces, mirrors and decorative elements that can be illuminated will be.
• Consider the sockets in the kitchen for the hood, refrigerator, grinder in the sink, microwave, hob, oven, dishwasher, lighting. And also for small appliances on the work surface: kettle, grill, etc.

Approximate dimensions and distances

The height of switches from the floor is 90-110 cm. From the door – 10 cm. Sockets are usually located at a height of 30 cm from the floor. The distance from the socket to the wet area in the bathroom is 60 cm. The best lighting above the kitchen table is a pendant lamp at a distance of 46-48 cm from the table surface to the bottom of the lamp.

Wall lamps in the kitchen – at a height of 80 cm from the work surface. Between spotlights on the ceiling 30-40 cm and 20 cm from the wall.

The number of lamps is calculated depending on the power, area and purpose of the room.

Error 2. Dysfunctional kitchen

The kitchen is primarily a place for cooking. It’s trivial, but sometimes people forget about this. When renovating, you need to provide for free surfaces and the necessary space between objects.

An example of the correct distribution of kitchen appliances.

What could go wrong?

You can come up with a beautiful kitchen with a bar counter that you can proudly show to guests. And then discover that there is nowhere to properly beat the meat.

What should you consider?

Here you need to take everything into account in advance. A detailed plan will help create a functional space. Consider the minimum distances for the distribution of kitchen appliances. They will allow you to use it comfortably.

Approximate dimensions and distances

Mistake 3. Not enough space

Keep a balance: remember first of all about the functionality of the furniture. When it is comfortable to use, you will praise yourself more than once.

What could go wrong?

You saw a large canopy bed in the store and realized that you have dreamed of sleeping like a king all your life! After the bed was in the room, it turned out that it was right next to the nightstand. It doesn’t look royal.

What should you consider?

Not only all the dimensions down to the centimeter, but also the directions of the doors. Where does the door rest when you open it? And the doors of the closet and cabinets? Will it turn out that they are difficult to open at all?

An example of how, taking into account the narrow corridor, the doors are designed to open inward

Pay special attention to your workplace so as not to spoil your posture and eyesight in the future. Numbers to help:

Workplace: table height – 73.6-75.5 cm, depth – 60-78 cm. If there is a screen, the distance from the eyes to the display is 60-70 cm. If there are two work desks next to each other, the minimum distance from one monitor to the other is 120 cm.

Error 4. Arrangement “along the wall” and an empty center.

The Russian habit of arranging all the furniture along the wall originates from Khrushchev-era layouts, in which it is simply impossible to put a sofa in the center of the room. Modern layouts give scope for imagination.

What can go wrong?

Nothing terrible will happen, of course. But the interior can become more harmonious if you discard stereotypes.

What can be done?

Large rooms without a filled middle look uncomfortable, and the furniture seems disjointed. If space allows, do not place all the furniture close to the walls. The center can be a table where everyone will gather, or a couple of armchairs or a sofa.

By the way, furniture can be used to zone the space: this can be just right in studios from 30 sq.m.

An example of using the entire area of the room.

Error 5. The fastening of the curtains is not thought out

Before starting construction work, decide on the curtains. Not on the color (although you can decide on that too), but on the type of cornice. The curtain rod can be ceiling-mounted, in a niche, or, as usual, wall-mounted.

What could go wrong?

You planned the finishing, and then it turned out that such finishing is not suitable for a curtain rod in a niche. Change everything again!

How to choose?

Everything depends solely on your taste. The main thing is to decide at the very beginning. If you want to make niches, take them into account at the start of construction work. If you want a ceiling cornice, do not forget about it at the stage of installing the ceiling. A wall-mounted one is hung after the renovation. But you should know in advance that it will be there.

If you are doing a design in a 3D planner, you simply have no chance of forgetting to plan a cornice. However, like many other details that are not trifles at all and can radically change the renovation process. The program will allow you to clearly verify that these errors were not made.

Error 6. Online shopping

It is completely normal to study different sites and see what furniture you like. But it is not reasonable to buy everything online without trying it on.

What could go wrong?

You bought a sink in one store, a cute bathroom cabinet in another, and then it turned out that they do not fit together at all. And what’s more, they are of different quality.

What, is it completely impossible?

We live in the 21st century and understand that it is difficult to completely give up online shopping, and there is no need. The main thing is to approach it very responsibly: measure and estimate everything carefully. The same planner can be an assistant in online shopping – here you can fit a specific item into the interior and see in 3D how it will look in the room.

Mistake 7. Thinking that everything will go according to plan

Even if you have thought everything through, surprises will definitely happen. This does not mean that you do not need to plan anything. Make a very detailed plan, think over the interior and visualize it. And then set aside a little more budget for unforeseen circumstances. But most importantly – enjoy the fact that you are creating a new chapter in your life.