Read a condo floor plan by testing how you would use the home, not just how many bedrooms it has. Check that the drawing belongs to the exact unit, understand what its stated area includes, then place your actual furniture and trace the routes you use every day. A room can fit a bed on paper and still leave awkward space for getting dressed, opening a wardrobe or helping a child.
This guide is for buyers comparing private homes for their own stay, with investor considerations where they change the decision. The room comparison below is an original, hypothetical teaching example. It is not a developer plan, a surveyed room or an accessibility assessment.
Get the right drawing before measuring anything
Keep the unit floor plan, site plan and specification list together. They answer different questions. The unit plan shows the internal arrangement; the site plan helps locate the stack within the development; the specification list identifies what is supplied.
Record the project, unit type, stack, floor and drawing revision. Check whether the home is the mirrored version of the illustrated layout. A show unit of the same bedroom count is not necessarily the home you are considering.
Find the legend, scale and written dimensions. Treat abbreviations as prompts to check the legend rather than a universal code. A pale line, thick wall or shaded block may have a specific meaning on that drawing. If a dimension is missing, ask for it. Enlarging an image on your phone does not give it a trustworthy measuring scale.
URA’s buying guidance explains the role of approved plans and accurate show-unit information. For resale, compare the current home with its approved plans, especially where rooms, balconies or service spaces have been altered. A listing image is not evidence that an alteration was approved.
Separate the stated area from space you can furnish
Ask for the area breakdown and its measurement basis. Identify internal rooms, balconies, ledges, voids and other components shown on the particular documents. Do not assume every square metre in a headline is an unobstructed patch of indoor floor.
Be careful when comparing older and newer projects. URA’s floor-area harmonisation circular changed how agencies measure floor area, including treatment of walls and voids, with application dates and transitional cases. A project's sales year alone does not establish which definitions apply. Request confirmation for the two units you are comparing.
Price per square foot can help compare like-for-like evidence, but it cannot tell you whether a dining table fits or whether you will use a large balcony. Compare the total price, the documented area breakdown and the spaces your household needs. Do not manufacture a precise “efficiency percentage” by guessing areas from a small brochure image.
Use furniture footprints, including the bits that open
Measure the outer dimensions of your bed frame, sofa, dining table, desk and wardrobes. Mattress dimensions alone do not capture a bed frame. Add projecting handles, doors, drawers and chairs in use. A desk chair needs space when someone sits down and gets up, not only when tucked away.
Place these footprints on a reliably scaled plan, or use cut-outs made to the same scale. Mark sockets, air-conditioning positions, columns and other fixed elements where verified. Check the route from the entrance to each room and whether deliveries can pass through the lift, corridors and doorways.
Leave the uncertain dimensions blank and ask for them. For a completed home, arrange an actual measurement before ordering fitted furniture. For an uncompleted home, treat early furniture planning as provisional and confirm the final dimensions before manufacture.
Same room area, different space around the bed
Imagine two empty rectangular rooms. Room A is 3.00 m by 3.00 m. Room B is 2.40 m by 3.75 m. Each has 9.00 m² of internal floor area.
In both, place an invented bed-frame footprint measuring 1.60 m wide by 2.00 m long, centred against the top wall. Put a 1.80 m wide wardrobe, 0.60 m deep, against the opposite wall. The diagram uses the same geometric scale for both rooms.
| Measurement in this illustration | Room A | Room B |
|---|---|---|
| Internal rectangle | 3.00 × 3.00 m | 2.40 × 3.75 m |
| Internal area | 9.00 m² | 9.00 m² |
| Gap on each side of the centred bed | 0.70 m | 0.40 m |
| Gap from bed foot to wardrobe front | 0.40 m | 1.15 m |
Room A leaves more space beside the bed, but less between its foot and the wardrobe. Room B reverses that trade-off. The arithmetic is simple: for Room A, side gaps are (3.00 − 1.60) ÷ 2, and the foot gap is 3.00 − 2.00 − 0.60.
Neither arrangement is an approved or recommended bedroom layout. Doors, windows, skirting, wall thickness, wardrobe opening space and other constraints are deliberately omitted to isolate the shape comparison. These gaps are measurements, not minimum clearances or proof of wheelchair access. Add the missing features and the actual user's requirements before deciding whether either layout works.
A different furniture position may improve the result. Test it with the same furniture dimensions so the comparison stays fair. Do not solve a layout problem by assuming that a wall, column or service can be moved.
Walk through an ordinary day
Trace more than the route from the front door to the sofa. Imagine two people getting ready at once, cooking while another person works, hanging laundry, putting away groceries and reaching the bathroom at night.
Ask whether bedroom doors open directly towards the living area, whether guests need to pass through a private room, and whether a work desk blocks storage or circulation. Check where the vacuum cleaner, luggage, pram and laundry equipment will go. A study label is less useful than a test of the desk, chair, ventilation and privacy needed for the intended activity.
Read orientation alongside the site plan and surrounding buildings. A compass arrow alone does not establish afternoon heat, a permanent view, airflow or noise at the unit. Visit a completed home at relevant times where possible. For an uncompleted property, separate what the plans establish from what remains a prediction.
Someone with mobility needs should test the complete route and equipment requirements with an appropriate professional. Do not infer accessibility from an apparently wide room or a drawing without thresholds and door details.
Treat proposed alterations as a separate decision
Mark which features are fixed and which alterations are still unverified. A salesperson's sketch or a designer's furniture arrangement is not permission to remove a wall or enclose a balcony.
URA’s strata-home renovation guidance distinguishes different works and their conditions. Planning permission is only one part of the checks. Confirm structural, building-management and other applicable requirements for the actual proposal before including it in your buying decision.
If the plan includes a household shelter, check it as a shelter, including the door and ventilation. SCDF publishes specific permitted and prohibited works. Do not assume it can be opened into an adjoining room or redesigned like ordinary storage.
Price the work your decision depends on and allow for time before occupation. If the home only suits you after an alteration that has not been confirmed, keep an alternative on the shortlist.
Leave the showflat with answers tied to your unit
Use this short list to turn the visit into a useful comparison:
- Which drawing, revision and orientation apply to the exact unit?
- Which displayed fittings, finishes and appliances are included, and which are decorative additions?
- Does the display omit or change any wall, door or other feature shown in the actual unit documents?
- What are the clear dimensions and ceiling details where my largest furniture will go?
- Where do opening doors, drawers and appliances reduce usable space?
- Which renovation assumptions still need professional or management confirmation?
- What can be verified now, and what must wait for an actual measurement?
For an investor, add a realistic occupant profile. A nominal extra room is not proof of stronger rent or resale demand. Check whether the intended occupants can use it comfortably, what fitting-out and maintenance will cost, and whether the intended use is permitted. Do not assume a drawn partition creates an independently lettable home.
Once a layout survives these checks, compare the location through the same household's routine. Our MacPherson and Farrer Park guides provide address-specific questions for the next stage of the shortlist.
Editorial method: Desk research checked on 10 September 2026, using the official sources linked above. The room geometry and furniture are invented examples created by LovelyHomes. No site visit, developer verification of a unit or professional design approval is claimed.