Updated: July 2026
Envisioning a finished space from a floorplan and an artist’s rendering takes practice, and it’s easy to overlook details that matter far more than beautiful finishes. Builders use flashy renderings, premium marketing materials, and design a stunning mock-up suite in a design studio with 12-foot ceilings to persuade you into buying a unit using your gut feeling. But don’t look at the model suite, or the artists renderings, look at the floorplans and the list of included finishes.
Pick a Floorplan With Design Sense
A washroom or powder room shouldn’t have a door that opens directly into the dining room, it’s common sense, but it’s also one of the most commonly missed details when buyers look at floorplans. People tend to focus on square footage and finishes, and overlook the placement of washrooms, walls, doors, closets, windows, and even the stove, fridge, and dishwasher.
For the kitchen, look for a functional work triangle: the stove shouldn’t be too far from the sink, and the fridge shouldn’t block the main flow of traffic in and out of the kitchen. For the overall layout, make sure the dining room has easy, natural flow to the kitchen. Ideally, the guest washroom should be distanced from the entertainment space. And, the primary bedroom should be big enough for two people to comfortably prepare for sleep every night.
Think Of The Noise Level
Living in a condo comes with an expectation for noises: neighbours, elevators, garbage pickup, roadways, and sometimes even highways. But keep these tips in mind when picking a unit:
- Stay away from main streets. Even as you go up 10+ floors above ground, you can still hear traffic noise.
- Don’t buy the unit opposite the elevators. This is where people stand and chat to their friends about the day, talk on their phone to their boss, and where drunk people stumble home after a long night out.
- Consider where the garbage disposal is. If you’re buying a condo on a lower floor, try to avoid a unit sharing a wall with the garbage disposal. Many residents throw heavy objects like glass bottles in these disposals which shatter and cause significant noise for residents on lower floors.
- Consider where the amenities are. If you’re one floor above the hot tub and bbq area, you’re going to hear (and see) residents hosting friends and family every weekend. Also, make sure you’re not below or besides the gym, the dropped dumbbells will vibrate through nearby units. And some residents complain about being the unit above a sauna or steam-room because the excess heat warms their unit in summer.
- If you buy a unit backing onto an elevator shaft, make sure the bedrooms and main living space are separated by several walls inside the unit. We find smarter developers have been cushioning the elevator shaft noises by building walk-in closets and washrooms against the shaft so the noise is muffled for any adjacent units.
Think About Natural Sunlight
Not only are sunny units more comfortable for you… they also resell for more money. One of the most common requests we have from buyers looking for condos or homes alike is that they want good sunlight.
Consider Your View
Always consider your view, as well as the neighbour’s view into your home. When buying a condo, one of our buyer’s top considerations is a good view. However, it’s very difficult to guarantee a view. Around 10 years ago, all of Charles St in Yorkville was built up by mega-height condos, reaching 60+ stories, and residents purchased the premium south units because they had unobstructed views if they were higher than the 10-30 storey buildings on Isabella st (just South). However, now developers are buying up the old 10-30 storey buildings on Isabella and building more 60+ storey condo buildings.
Watch for Bulkheads, Columns, and Ceiling Height
Preconstruction renderings rarely show bulkheads, structural columns, and the exact ceiling height expectation. While freehold homes have a lower chance of this, preconstruction condos are notorious for this… the developer often markets and sells the buildings while their exact mechanical plans are still subject to changes. Once the project is sold and they start building, they realize they may need support columns, or bulkheads in condos where they weren’t marked on the floorplans.
We’ve had clients lose interior square footage inside their condo because the developer needed to make a larger mechanical room. The builder’s contract allows them to make structural or material changes to your unit if necessary.
Reading the Floorplan
For the most part, floorplans follow common sense, rooms are labeled, and walls are shown by line thickness. A few things that aren’t always obvious:
- The dotted line above a kitchen counter shows the depth of the upper cabinets.
- Small squares in a room typically indicate tile flooring.
- Sliding doors are shown as offset lines running along the wall.
Common floorplan abbreviations:
- W.I.C – walk in closet
- W/D – washer / dryer
- P – pantry
- STOR. – storage area
- LN – linen closet
- ST – stove top
- D/W – dishwasher
- F – fridge
Measure Before You Fall in Love
Don’t rely on the furniture drawings in the builder’s floorplan. Measure out the exact floorplan, and compare it to the size of your existing furniture (or the furniture you plan to buy). A living space can very quickly feel crammed, especially if the living space is also the walk-through to get to the bedrooms.
While some savvy buyers will measure up the floorplans in real life in their backyard, you can also go to a studio and have your chosen plan projected onto the floor to explore in real-size. https://www.realsizeplans.ca/
Final Thoughts
Buying from plans is one of the more serious real estate decisions you can make, since you’re committing to a home you can’t walk through yet. Beyond the floorplan itself, it’s just as important to review the builder’s agreement of purchase and sale to avoid excessive closing costs, development levy exposure, and other fine-print surprises.
We’d be happy to help you navigate the purchase of a preconstruction home or condo from plans — from picking the right layout to reviewing the contract before you sign. Contact us here to get started.
