Model homes are great. As 3-D versions of a builder’s floor plan, they help you visualize what your new build home will look like — as long as it’s the same floor plan. Builders offer many more floor plans but they can’t build models of all of them, leaving homebuyers trying to figure out if a home will meet their needs based on a drawing.

Floor plans, however, are not that confusing once you get the hang of them. Here’s how to read one to help you best choose your new Coastal Point home.

A Bird’s Eye View

Floor plans show what a home would look like if we were looking down at it from the sky. The advantage of this is that you can see how the entire home is laid out, showing you where the primary bed and bath are in relationship to common living areas, how many bays the garage has, how the kitchen is laid out and more.

Start at the Front Door

When reading a floor plan, it’s usually best to start at the front door and work your way toward the back. This allows you to imagine opening the door and walking down the hall to the other rooms. Pay attention to where side rooms such as the dining room, study or guest bedroom are located. If the floor plan shows the study toward the front of the house and you want something in the back, this is probably not the home for you.

Empire Communities’ Caspian floor plan

Doors and Windows

If you are trying to figure out how to arrange your furniture, knowing where the windows and doors are is important. Doors are easy to see on a floor plan as they are generally shown as a straight line perpendicular to a wall and an arc that connects this line to the wall. Windows are shown as boxes on the sides of the walls.

The Size of Rooms

Most builders like Empire and Brightland Homes (formerly Gehan) provide the dimensions of the rooms. This is particularly helpful when it comes to bedrooms since you want to be sure no one feels cramped.

Ceiling Couture

Some builders let you know the height of the ceilings in the entry way and the common areas. They also will show you if a home comes with tray, coffered or beamed ceilings.

Coventry Homes’ Lindsay floor plan

Kitchens and Bathrooms

Some builders, like Coventry Homes, not only show you where the kitchen and bath are located, they show you what’s in them. A close look will show you if the kitchen has an island, where the stove is and if there is a walk-in pantry. A bathroom will be shown with the location of sinks, tubs, showers and closets.

What Are the Dotted Lines?

Dotted lines indicated optional upgrades such as fireplaces, media rooms and window types. These upgrades are often shown next to the standard floor plan so you can see what they replace — for example, a study that can flex into an extra bedroom — or where they can be added onto, such as a second-floor bonus room.

An Easy Way to Learn

An easy way to learn how to read a floor plan is to simply ask for the floor plan of the model home. Compare the drawing to reality. Once you know what you are looking at, it will be easy to imagine what your new home will look like.

Come and see all of the floor plans available to you when you visit any of the Coastal Point model homes or search them online through our website.