When you’re looking to rent an apartment, there are so many decisions to make. Where do you live? Who do you live with? How far away from work should you be? How much rent can you afford to pay? And so much more!
When trying to decide on the right floor plan, check out our guide below to help.
1. Open-Plan Kitchen Or Not
Many modern apartments offer open-plan kitchen layouts blending your kitchen and living room layouts. But some apartments may offer a separate kitchen too. What are your preferences? Do you want an open-plan layout that allows you to interact with your guests even when you’re preparing or cooking food? Or, would you prefer a more traditional kitchen that serves a specific purpose without flowing into any other space? You can look out for this on the floor plans when you are reviewing potential apartments. Today, open floor plan concepts are more popular than alleyway kitchens.
2. How Many Bedrooms
The number of bedrooms you want will depend on whom you’re living with. For example, if you’re a family, you may want a separate bedroom from your child. If you’re just on your own, will you have a roommate? You probably each want your own bedroom so perhaps a 2-bedroom apartment. If you intend to live alone, perhaps a single bedroom is all you need (or a 1 Bedroom Apartment), unless you have regular guests or prefer a larger apartment with more bedrooms.
3. How Many Bathrooms
Once again, the number of bathrooms will depend on the number of people living in the apartment. If you have more people living in your household (especially working people or school-going children), you may want more bathrooms in the apartment. This way, you’re not stuck waiting to use a single bathroom when everyone is busy in the mornings before work or school. Do you need full bathrooms (full bathrooms include a tub or separate shower)? Do you need a bathroom with a tub, or do you prefer a separate shower?
4. Living And Dining Area
If you’re the type of person who likes to entertain often, then you probably want a generously sized living and dining area to accommodate visitors without feeling too cramped. Pay close attention to the dining area. How do you like to serve your dinners? Would you prefer a formal setting at the dining table? Or, are you happy for your guests to eat anywhere? This will help you determine how large your dining area should be. Look for large kitchens too that could accommodate a small kitchen table.
5. Which Floor of the Building
If you are going to live in a multi-story apartment, you must also decide on what floor to live on. Do you want to live on the first floor, second floor, or higher? There are advantages to both. Lower floors have fewer stairs to walk up, and in the absence of an elevator, carrying packages or a child can be tiring. Four-story or more buildings generally have elevators.
6. Balcony or Patio
Just because you will be living in an apartment doesn’t mean you have to completely give up your outdoor lifestyle. Many ground-level garden-style apartments offer outdoor backyard spaces or balconies that allow you to get the best of both worlds. Even if you live on a higher level, some apartment complexes offer great outdoor facilities like gardens, walking pathways, and swimming pools.
7. External Noise Factors
While you are looking at a specific floor plan, you should also find out if this particular apartment is near any external apartment noise factors that could cause issues (such as sirens of fire trucks, train tracks, nightclubs, etc). This isn’t something that will show up on the floor plan, but before you sign your lease, you can find out the location of the apartment you will be renting and determine if that will be a quiet location.
8. Washer / Dryer
Does the apartment have a washer and dryer inside the unit? If not, what about nearby? How many families share that laundry facility. Some apartments have one common laundry facility for the building whereas others might have semi-private facilities that you only share with a few other families.
9. Closets
Does the apartment have large or even big walk-in closets for clothes and storage? You can tell the size of closets on the floor plan which is helpful if storage is important to you.
10. Final Review
Before you sign any lease, make sure you review the floor plan thoroughly and imagine your lifestyle within the space. Does the kitchen meet your needs? Does the apartment have enough bedrooms and bathrooms? Are the rooms large enough to accommodate all your things? Is the flooring suited to your lifestyle? If you can’t view the exact apartment you will live in, or an apartment with the same layout and room sizes, ask the leasing agent to see a floor plan of the apartment that would be available, and make sure you understand how the room layout and room sizes are shown on the floor plan compares to the model apartment you have toured.
Choosing the right floor plan doesn’t have to be too stressful when you know what to consider. Use these guidelines to help you make the right decision for yourself and your family.
