Abhitech Construction : DESIGNING A HOUSE

A house has many rooms like bedroom, dining room,

living room, kitchen, study room and bathrooms.

There are many things to consider when designing

a house. Generally, people expect personalised

designs based on their needs, tastes and budget

which will make them happy and comfortable.

Here are some tips on designing a

house and the rooms of a house.

DESIGN OF A HOUSE

DESIGN OF A LIVING ROOM | SIZES
DESIGN OF A LIVING ROOM | PLANNING

DESIGN OF A DINING ROOM | SIZES
DESIGN OF A DINING ROOM | PLANNING

DESIGN OF A BEDROOM | ARRANGEMENT
DESIGN OF A BEDROOM | PLANNING

DESIGN OF A CLOSET | TYPES AND SIZES
DESIGN OF A CLOSET | PLANNING

DESIGN OF A BATHROOM | TYPES

DESIGN OF A LIVING ROOM | SIZES

LIVING ROOM DOORS AND WINDOWS -

Door openings in a Living room should be located
so as to
give enough wall space for the furniture
arrangements.
It is preferable to have the doors of constant use
placed so that the traffic between them will
not interfere with the furniture groups.
It is even better if the Main door and the door
leading to the other rooms are close to each other in one corner of the
room, as the rest of the room can be used for the furniture and a
main traffic lane can be avoided.
Windows should be located so that a seating
arrangement can face the window, since looking out while having a
conversation is quite interesting.
There should be convenient access to the windows and doors, and furniture
should not block the windows.
The TV position should be fixed such that it is not opposite a window, as
the TV screen will reflect the light from the window.

LIVING ROOM SIZES: In my experience as an Architect for the past 15 years,

I have found that to arrange furniture and move around comfortably

in a Living room, it has to

have some minimum basic sizes. Here I have recommended the sixes

for a comfortable

Living room.

LIVING ROOM WIDTH:

There should be convenient access to the windows and doors, and furniture
should not block the windows.
In small sites, it is difficult to have wide living rooms, but I suggest that the
bare minimum width should be 11'0", though it is worthwhile to somehow
increase it to 12'0" or at least 11'6", because this will allow for the comfortable
arrangement of a furniture
group along the width of the Living room.
A comfortable width will be 13'0", provided the living room has a big
opening to the dining room.
A luxurious width will be about 15'0" or even more, depending on the size
of your site, budget and the number of people you intend to entertain very often.

LIVING ROOM LENGTH:

In a small site, you may have to restrict the length to about 15', which I
consider the bare minimum in order to have a reasonably spacious feel
and to arrange two
seating groups.
A comfortable length for a Living room will be at least 18', as this allows for
spacious arrangement of seating groups, easy movement space as well as
comfortable
distance for TV viewing.
A luxurious length will be 20' and above. This solely depends on your
site size, budget, and how often and how many people you entertain.
It also depends on whether you want to have additional furniture like
a Piano, or a Game table for cards etc.

LIVING ROOM DIMENSIONS:

So to summarize, the Living room dimensions can be as follows:

Basic minimum - 11'0"x 15'0" and above.
Comfortable - 13'0"x18'0" and above.
Luxurious - 15'0" (and above) x 20'0" (and above).

LOCATION OF LIVING ROOM:

The Living room is the space where guests are entertained and the first impression

is made. In many houses, it is also a kind of Family room, where the family sits together

to watch TV or have discussions. The Location of a Living room depends on factors like

the main Road, the Foyer, the main entrance door, orientation etc. For Vastu tips on the

best location for a Living Room go to:

DESIGN OF A LIVING ROOM | PLANNING

Once you have met with your Architect, and given your

requirements, he will design according to your Site size,

budget and site conditions. The main things to look out

for in the design solution are whether:

The minimum, basic room sizes which are considered comfortable for use and for good furniture arrangement
have been maintained. It is always important to have a comfortable sized Living room as the size cannot be changed later (unless you are
prepared for large scale renovation). Even if you have a small site, it is not advisable
to have a tiny Living room, because you will be forced to adjust to small, cramped
living spaces for the rest of your life,
All the planning considerations such as, furniture, clearances, space allowances,
doors, windows etc for the Living room have been taken into account.
The Living room location and orientation is according to the cardinal directions ,
so that it gets the right amount of Sunlight and air.

Here, I have explained the design considerations, furniture and the

minimum basic sizes for a Living Room for your reference.

PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS FOR A LIVING ROOM:

The principal factors to be considered in planning the Living Room are:
Number of persons to be seated or entertained.
Seating arrangement.
Size of Furniture
Space allowance for furniture.
Space around the furniture for passage and accessing.
Traffic Passage between Main door and doors leading to other rooms.

FURNITURE- A living Room has mainly furniture for seating, conversation

and Viewing

TV. Typically, there will be the main, primary conversation group and a smaller,

secondary conversation group. Here, I have described the normal sizes of the

furniture in a Living room. However furniture sizes may vary slightly.

Sofas - Two Seater Sofas- 4'6" x 2'6",
Three Seater Sofas -7'0" x 3'0", or 6'6" x 2'6" and
Single Seater Sofa - 2'6" x 2'6" or 2'3" x 2'3"
Armchairs - 2'0"x 2'4", 2'3" x 2'4"etc
Sofa cum bed or Divan - 2'6" x 7'0"
Centre Table - Rectangular- 2'0" x 1'3", 3'0" x 2'0" etc
Circular- 3'0" dia., 2'6" dia.
Side Table - Square- 1'8"x1'8", 1'6"x1'6"; Circular- 2'0" dia, 1'8" dia.
Show case or TV/Music Unit - 4'0" to 5'0" in length and around 1'6" wide.
Card Table - 3'0" x 3'0"
Piano - Grand - 9'0" x 5'0", 7'0" x 5'0", 6'0" x 5'0", 5'6"x 5'0";
Piano Rectangular - 5'0" x 2'0", 4'8"x1'7"