Start with the basics
- North arrow: find it first. It tells you which rooms get morning sun and which face the road.
- Scale and dimensions: room sizes are usually shown in feet and inches. Use them, not the labels.
- Legend and symbols: doors show their swing, windows are thin lines in the walls, and thick solid blocks are columns or shafts.
Walk through the apartment on paper
Start at the front door and move through the home as you would on a normal day: entry, living and dining, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and balcony.
Entry and the living space
Is there a place for shoes and a coat, or do you step straight into the living room? Check whether the living and dining areas form one open space and where a television and sofa could realistically go.
Kitchen and utility
Look for a clear work triangle between the stove, sink and refrigerator, enough wall length for counters and cabinets, and a utility or wash area. Check where the plumbing and gas points will fall.
Bedrooms and bathrooms
Check that bedrooms are large enough for a bed with space on both sides, plus a wardrobe. Note which bedrooms have attached bathrooms and whether bathroom doors open directly onto bedrooms or living areas.
Read the dimensions, not the labels
A room called “master bedroom” can be quite small. Do the arithmetic: a bed is about 6 feet by 5 feet, a wardrobe needs around 2 feet of depth and you need roughly 2 feet to walk past the bed. Add them up and compare with the room’s dimensions.
Check light and ventilation
- Which rooms have windows, and on which walls?
- Are bathrooms and the kitchen ventilated by a window or a duct?
- Does a balcony or the next building block the main windows?
- Can cross-ventilation move air from one side of the home to the other?
Look for the things that are hard to change later
- Columns and shafts: thick blocks inside rooms cannot be moved, and they affect where furniture fits.
- Door and window swings: a door that opens into a wardrobe or a bed is a daily annoyance.
- Balcony depth: a balcony under about 4 feet deep is hard to use for seating.
- Storage: look for built-in or easy-to-fit wardrobe walls and a place for luggage.
Privacy and the number of apartments per floor
The plan of the whole floor matters as much as your own flat. How many apartments share a lift lobby, and do front doors face each other? Fewer homes per floor generally means more privacy. For example, INLAND Orchid in Yelahanka is planned with one apartment per floor, and INLAND Euphoria has two apartments on each floor.
Try the furniture test
Measure your own bed, sofa, dining table and wardrobe, then mark them on a printed plan at the same scale. If the floor plan is shown at a scale you cannot work with, ask the sales team for a larger copy or a dimensioned drawing.
Questions to ask the sales team
- What is the carpet area of this exact unit? (See our guide to carpet, built-up and super built-up area.)
- Which direction does each room face?
- Can I see the model flat or a completed apartment of the same type?
- Where are the plumbing, electrical and air-conditioner points?