How to plan an apartment’s layout

Let’s define load-bearing and non-bearing walls

For this reason, we should plan of so-called ‘BTI' well examine.
Here presented BTI plan (layout) of the two-bed apartment in the panel house.

Let`s step aside from the initial layout

We "demolish" all non-bearing walls in our mind and step aside from the initial layout. Remember! All Wet zones should not become the Living ones. Thus, the bathroom can be increased with the help of the corridor, but it cannot be increased by the bedroom or living room.
Every rule has its exception, however, lets stick to the most cases.

Let’s use existed space in its maximum!

I personally try to avoid such space as corridor for being non-functional. It’s better to join this space to bathroom, living room or kitchen.

Let’s divide the whole apartment space into rooms and calculate furniture sizes.

It’s better to start with the furniture definition, not number of meters per room. For example, there will be a bed in the bedroom for sure. It’s quite good to have two bedside tables, wardrobe for clothes, in case there’s no walk-in closet on site. It is required quite often to put TV on the wall, chest of drawers and arm-chair by the clients. At the same time, it is necessary to count not only the dimensions of each furniture element, but also the minimum approach distances to them.
Thus, in case a bed has a size of 1600 mm * 2000 mm, minimum approach distance to the bed is — 500 mm. That means we cannot put anything closer than 500 mm to the bed, just headboard, where bedside tables or round-the-bed wardrobe usually located.
Wardrobe is usually 600 mm in depth. The depth is calculated as following: clothes hanger — 500 mm, clothes on the hanger plus 50 mm more, and the rest 50 mm — back walls and facades. In any case, it’s possible to make a wardrobe 500 — 550 mm, thus clothes will be hung a little under angle, but this is not a problem. There are some exceptions even out of this: storage systems, depth 450 mm and even 300 mm. There are retractable mechanisms in there and clothes are hung flat with the front side to the doors.
Now we need to calculate the length of the wardrobe, decide what size the doors will be and do not forget that they open.
Do the same with the rest of the rooms. We determine the required furniture, calculate the minimum dimensions and approach distances.

Determine the position of the non-bearing walls

We do not touch the bearing structures, but remember, that openings in them are possible. It depends on several main factors: the number of floors of the house, the floor of your apartment, the design of the walls and ceilings. Sometimes there are secondary factors: permission from the construction company that built the house, the competence and meticulousness of the designer.

Finally, we got:

Remember the dimensions and proportions

Sometimes, clients come to me with their own ideas and layouts. They show their sketches on a piece of paper and ask to do something like this, but in the process of arranging it turns out that the scale of the furniture is drawn incorrectly. Because of this, a bed, a wardrobe, bedside tables, and even a banquette at the foot of the bed fit in a 4 m2 room. Reality will not allow these ideas.
When planning an interior, it is important to take into account quite a lot of details at the same time. This applies not only to furniture, but also to lamps, electrical wiring, switches, floor materials, ceiling structures, sewers, supply lines and other things. All this needs to be thought out before the builders start their work. Because if you come up with on the go, endless alterations will follow, and with them great financial losses.