Professions
Floor plans for interior designers
Interior design almost always starts with the same problem: there is no usable survey drawing. What exists is a print-out from a listing or a sketch from the owner — both without scale and without wall thicknesses.
Before any option can be developed, that gap has to be closed. The route should be short, because surveying is preparatory work: it is rarely billed separately and therefore must not cost half a day.
A base you can actually design on
Capture the existing layout — drawn from your own survey, from a photograph of the existing plan, or by scan. Then calibrate against two measured distances so every subsequent furniture dimension sits on reliable geometry.
Set wall thicknesses realistically. In a small bathroom the difference between a thin partition and a solid wall is the difference between a workable and an impossible layout.
- Calibrate against two measured distances
- Set realistic thickness per wall type
- Capture door swings and opening directions
- Note cill heights where furniture will stand in front
Furnishing and checking options
Work with real furniture dimensions and keep circulation clear: at least 80 centimetres for routes, about 70 in front of a wardrobe, roughly 80 around a dining table. An option that respects those clearances holds up in front of a client.
The plan check reports furniture crossing walls or overlapping. In the spatial view you additionally see whether a door swings into a wardrobe — an error systematically missed on a flat drawing.
Handover to CAD and visualisation
For further design work, export DXF: geometry in millimetres, separate layers for walls, openings and labels. That is the base your CAD package builds on cleanly.
For visualisation, export the model as GLB. It carries walls, real openings and simplified furniture volumes in metres and can be reused in a 3D package without first cleaning up geometry.
Frequently asked questions
Which clearances should I keep free?
As rules of thumb: at least 80 centimetres for circulation, about 70 in front of a wardrobe, and roughly 80 around a dining table so a chair can be pushed back.
What is the fastest route to a survey drawing?
From a photograph of the existing plan, from your own measurements, or by scan. In every case what matters is calibrating afterwards against two measured distances.
Which format do I hand to visualisation?
GLB. The model is in metres, doors and windows are real openings, and elements are named — a usable base with no clean-up work.