Only the other day we were recommending that you take the initiative and create your own floorplan using the free Google SketchUp. It makes a lot of sense. Although this person shall remain nameless, I know of someone who recently took on a house with a lot of 'potential'. Signed up with an architect who went away and came back with draft designs on how to extend the house. Problem is that they differed wildly from the clients requirements. In the end, the client simply designed the extension themselves and then asked the architect to finalise and certify the design.

Floorplanner is web technology that enables you to design your own floorplan in 2D by simply dropping in the various elements on to the design. Simply select the household items, drop on to the design and scale as required. Once you're finished, you can turn this 2D design in to a 3D model and then use your mouse to move around. For personal use, you can only have one plan and design.

Floorplanner link.

02 Mar 2009