How to Make a Floor Plan
A floor plan for a specific job, such as arranging furniture before a move, briefing a builder or testing an idea for a new home, starts with deciding what it is for. The steps below show how to make a floor plan from that decision to a finished file, using a free online editor. For the drafting technique itself, see the guide to drawing a floor plan.
A finished plan to start from
Start with what the plan is for
The purpose decides how much work the plan needs. A plan for arranging furniture needs accurate room sizes, doors, windows and the furniture you own; wall thicknesses can be approximate. A plan for a contractor or a renovation quote needs real wall thicknesses, every opening located and dimensioned, and the ceiling height noted. A plan for a new house starts the other way round, from a list of rooms and target sizes, with no walls to measure at all.
Write one sentence about who will read the plan and what they will do with it. It saves you from measuring sockets for a furniture layout, or from handing a builder a sketch with no dimensions.
Making a floor plan, start to finish
Decide what the plan is for
A furniture layout needs room sizes and furniture; a plan for a builder needs wall thicknesses, openings and dimensions. The audience sets the level of detail.
Collect the sizes
Measure the space you have, or for a new design list the rooms you need with a target area for each.
Choose a starting point
A blank plan, a template close to your layout (studio, 1 to 4 bedrooms, a two-floor villa, an office, a shop or a restaurant), or a calculator’s “Design this room” button.
Build the layout
Draw or adjust the walls to your sizes, then add doors, windows, stairs and columns. Lock the lengths you are sure of.
Furnish and check
Add furniture at real sizes, look at the plan in 3D, and compare each room’s area with your list in the area schedule.
Share or export
Download a PDF at a set scale, an SVG or a PNG, print it, or send a share link that opens an editable copy.
Example: planning a move into a one-bedroom flat
Say you are moving into a flat with a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom off a hallway, and you want to know whether your sofa and bed fit before the van arrives. The 1-bedroom template above has that arrangement, so it is a quicker start than a blank page.
Measure each room and type the sizes into the matching walls. The template’s living room is 4.6 × 4.5 m (about 15′1″ × 14′9″) and its bedroom 5.4 × 4.0 m (about 17′9″ × 13′1″), both measured between wall centre lines the way the editor measures rooms; change them to what you measured. Move the doors and windows to where they are in the flat, then resize the library sofa and bed to your own furniture. The area schedule now lists every room, and the 3D view shows whether the bedroom still has a clear route to the window.
Once it works, export a PDF to print, or send the share link to whoever is helping you move: it opens their own editable copy.
What a finished floor plan includes
Walls at real thickness
Outside walls and partitions at the thickness they are or will be built.
Doors with their swing
The hinge side of each door and the way it opens.
Windows
Position and width, with height and sill height where they matter.
Room names and areas
In m² or sq ft, with a total for the floor or the whole home.
Dimensions
Overall sizes and the lengths a reader needs to build or furnish from.
Title, scale and date
The editor’s PDF adds a title block with the project name, date and units, and a scale bar.
Mistakes that cost time
Measuring after you start drawing
Gaps in the numbers turn into guesses. Get every size on one sketch first.
One plan for every option
Editing the only copy loses the version that worked. Duplicate the project or download a .fp3d file before each big change.
Furniture added last
Rooms that look generous empty can be tight with a bed and wardrobe in. Furnish while walls can still move.
Wrong level of detail
A builder needs dimensions; a family member needs a clear picture. Export the version each reader needs.
Keeping it in one browser only
Plans are saved in the browser you made them in. Download a .fp3d file as a backup or to move to another device.
Plans people make, and where to start
Rearranging a room
The room’s outline, doors, windows and the furniture you own.
Planning a renovation
An accurate plan of the home as it is, then each option as its own copy.
Designing a new house
Zones, room sizes and circulation before you brief an architect.
Choosing room sizes
Turn a target area into a width and length before you draw.
Frequently asked questions
What is the quickest way to make a floor plan?
Start from the template closest to your layout. Its walls, doors, windows and furniture are already in place, so you only change what differs.
Do I need to install anything?
No. The editor runs in your web browser and saves plans in that browser. Download a .fp3d file to keep a backup or to move a plan to another device.
Can I make a floor plan for a house with more than one floor?
Yes. Add a floor, connect the floors with a stair, and the area schedule can total every floor.
How do I share a floor plan with someone else?
Export a PDF, SVG or PNG, or create a share link. The link carries the plan itself, so the other person opens their own editable copy; nothing is uploaded.
What is the difference between drawing and making a floor plan?
Drawing is the drafting itself: lines, symbols, scale and dimensions. Making a plan is the job around it: deciding what it is for, getting the sizes, building it, checking it and sharing it.