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Developing Room Plans from Scratch with Icovia Space Planner

Prior to developing a computerized room plan, you can draw the space plan from scratch as a napkin-sketch. This does not require any drafting or artist skills and makes it easy to identify the elements you want to show in your Icovia plan.

The way plans are developed in Icovia varies depending on the availability of source information and the level of detail required. The key to knowing the right approach for developing a plan is hinged on the source material available. For example, the approach to develop a plan from a CAD drawing, or a printed blue print is vastly different from developing a plan from scratch. This is an example case study on the latter. The easiest way to explain the process is to present an outline of steps. Since no two projects are exactly the same, general concepts and options will be described for each step.

Your scratch drawing might start out like this....

...but it could End Up Like This!

Develop A Napkin-Sketch

Before sitting down in front of a computer to develop a plan, you will need to know the layout of a room. Think of this as developing a source of reference material from which a plan can be made. Developing a napkin-sketch does not require you to have drafting or artist skills. The idea is simply to draw a crude representation of the elements that you want to show in your Icovia plan. So it's time to go to the room(s) to be represented with your measuring tape and a notepad.

Remember, form follows function. The complexity and accuracy of your napkin sketch should be driven by the level of detail and precision that you need for your Icovia plan. If it's a simple-rectangular room with one door and two windows, then a very crude box-like shape with marks to show door and window locations is adequate. Of course, dimension notes for sizes and locations would be included.

On the other hand, if you have a more complex layout with corners, coves and all sorts of other details to capture, you will need a more detailed napkin sketch. Although it isn't necessary to draw your sketch to scale, it would be helpful to have a semblance of relevant scale for a complex sketch. Sound complicated? It doesn't have to be.

HINT:
Here's a hint that many designers and decorators use: Pick up a pad of graph paper at your local department store. Assign a scale to the squares on the graph paper and draw the sketch in a close-to-scale fashion. For example, each square might represent 6". Make it your purpose to use a whole sheet for your napkin sketch. This will give you a more detailed account of the room(s) when you draw them in Icovia.

What To Measure
The answer varies depending on what you are trying to accomplish. But one thing that is fairly constant is the need for walls, doors, windows and stairs to be drawn in the right location and at the right size. Having your napkin sketch marked up with extra dimensions and sizes will be helpful when you are building your plan.

HINT:
Here's a hint that will come in handy when developing your plan in Icovia. It's also a technique used by drafters to provide more accuracy. Measure all distances from as few starting points as possible. For example, a wall has a couple of windows and doors. Instead of stringing your dimensions from wall corner to window, then window to next window, etc... Measure the location of each window and the door from the same corner point. Call out window and door sizes separately from location and wall-length dimensions. When you are in Icovia, you can use one dimension line to place all elements on a wall. Simply drag one end of that dimension line, while leaving the other in the same location (probably a corner.)

Add dimensions to show wall lengths and locate doors, windows and other structural elements. Be consistent about how you measure objects so you don't get confused when it's time to develop your plan. Here's another tip that will help you read your napkin sketch: Use a ruler to draw your walls, and draw the dimension lines freehand. That will make it easier to distinguish between the two. Once your room or building is fully developed, trace the walls, doors, windows and stairs... with a marker. Now, you'll be able to read your napkin sketch without confusion when it's time to work in Icovia.

Developing Your Plan

Ok, now you're in front of your computer, ready to develop your plan in Icovia. Remember how that graph paper made it easy to layout the plan? Turning on the Grid in Icovia provides a similar benefit. Turn on the grid to create a crude draft of the plan, with all of the structural elements in place. Then you can use dimension lines to fine-tune the plan.

Set the default wall thickness, then start layout out the walls. Make adjustments to walls as you go. (Save your plan. Do so again, at least every 5 minutes.) When all of the walls are in place, it's time to add doors and windows. Don't worry about precision, just use the grid as a visual reference to get them in the approximate location. Use the "Clone" feature to copy windows and doors that have been customized.

Once all of the structural elements are in place, add dimensions. Working on one wall at a time, move windows, doors to the correct locations. It's a good idea to lock doors and windows and floors once they have been put in place. As your plan takes shape, you can delete the dimensions that you won't need again. But remember that you can also use the "show line dims" command to hide or show dimensions at any time.

Once the structure of your plan is complete, use the "Save Plan As" command to create a copy. This is also a good technique for experimenting with design ideas. Use the plan "info" panel to make notes about different plan versions.

Develop your plan, by dragging icons from icon browser onto the work area. Modify the icons as needed, by applying dimensions and descriptions in the icon properties panel. Add colors to your icons to give your plan more appeal. If you want to use the color from one icon on another one, copy the "hex" color code in the icon properties panel and paste it in that of the other.

Link icons to web pages that give specific details about them. Take advantage of this feature to provide the "big picture" as your plan morphs from concept to your own creative design.

Stay tuned. The next case study will explore how to use the "Import" feature to trace the napkin sketch (or other image file.)

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