We at Floorplanner have been fans of the Magicplan iPhone app since the day it was released. Today we are proud to announce a new partnership between Sensopia/Magicplan and Floorplanner to bring the best of both worlds to floorplan creators worldwide.

So what can you do with this?

The Magicplan application allows you to create a floorplan by just using the camera on your iPhone. As the name suggests the process of just point and click and have an accurate floorplan created automatically for you feels a bit like magic and can be a real time saver to create floorplans for properties that do not have a floorplan yet.

Once you have captured the 2D floorplan within Magicplan 2.1 you can send it to your Floorplanner account where a new project is created that you can further edit, add furniture to and see in realtime 3D. Having your Magicplan floorplan imported into Floorplanner also allows you to created scaled drawings in PDF, export high resolution 3D images or publish your plan online so it can be viewed in an interactive way in both 2D as 3D. All this can be achieved without drawing 1 wall :-)

How can I start?

If you want to try this you can simply go to the iTunes store and install the Magicplan application (or upgrade your existing Magicplan application to the 2.1 version) and use the new share button in the interface. You have to make sure that you are logged into Magicplan with the same emailaddress you are using for your Floorplanner account and you also need to have enough space to create new projects.

Room for improvement

As this is the first version of the Magicplan/Floorplaner integration there might still be some issues so if you run into any bugs or other strange behavior please let us know at support@floorplanner.com and we will fix this.

In case you haven’t noticed the enormous banner on your dashboard, we launched our first iPad app. It’s called the FloorplanFinder.

The FloorplanFinder is a great app to show and present the floor plans you made with the Floorplanner web app. Pan, zoom and navigate through your floor plans. Are you a real estate professional? Prospective home-buyers will love this presentation!

It’s also a great resource when you are looking for inspiration. Discover beautiful, clever and crazy floor plans by searching our immense database with over 6 million floor plans, all available in 2D & 3D. Or browse through other users' creations just for fun.

Take the FloorplanFinder for a spin and let us know what you think of it.

Color is very important to create atmosphere in a room. Because color can make a room seem larger or smaller. A space can even feel warmer or colder by using the right colors. In my drawing, I want a luxurious open feel. This I will achieve by using colors in a good way and by adding the right accessories.

A few tips:

A dark color on both long walls makes your room look longer:

If you make one wall darker the room appears to be wider.

Your ceiling will look lower when you color it dark. If you have a very high ceiling than it appears to be higher!

Warm colors will make your room look smaller and cozier.

Cool colors like blue, white, mint green and lilac often give a more spatial effect:

Balanced or unexpected?

If you stick to simple rules, you can create a successful color scheme. I show you two ways to do it:

Monochrome

To obtain a balanced result in your home it is best to choose one color and apply it in different shades on the walls but also in the accessories. We speak of monochromatic colors. This harmony we see in nature. For example in the shading of leaves and plants. These monochrome harmonies are often soothing and comfortable. In Floorplanner you can easily customize the color of your wall, as well as most accessories you find in the library.

Complementary

If you want to be more creative with your colors and accessories you can choose to use complementary colors. These are the colors facing each other in the color circle below.
Find a good balance if you use those colors. Make sure that a single color doesn’t take the upper hand. Blue for example is a calmer color than orange. In most cases you can use a lot of blue with an accent of orange to get the right balance.
For me that means I should add some yellow to my purple interior. Purple and yellow are both strong colors. I balanced 50/50 and kept the rest white and calm.

What does it mean?

The color you choose for your room will be crucial. It is responsible for the feeling and the emotions it evokes in you. I’ll show you some facts about color and interior:

Red

Red is the color of passion. It is a very strong color that can work on the mind. It symbolizes fire, aggression, intensity, ... It stimulates. The stimulatory effect of red is best for areas with lots of motion, such as the entrance of the salon. In the entrance red gives you a warm and cordial feel. It gives character to your home and you immediately create a festive feeling. Also in the kitchen red is a good choice because it activates the appetite!

Orange

Orange represents energy and cheerfulness. An euphoric effect can easily be obtained with orange tints. If you prefer a more modest feel then go for earth tones. This gives a rich color scheme with a quiet and friendly atmosphere that can make your living room very sympathetic.

Yellow

Yellow often is very dominant when used bright. In different tones yellow brings coziness into a room. It’s a warm sunny color, even when it’s used in a light tone.

Green

Green is the color of nature and of peace. It ensures freshness, confidence and calmness. Good to use in a baby room or office.

Blue

Blue shades bring peace and make you clam. It brings a serene atmosphere. That’s why many bathrooms and bedrooms painted in blue because they help to relax.

Violet

Purple rooms always have a luxurious feel. It’s the color of wealth, spirituality and relaxation. Another advantage is that purple optically magnifies spaces.

White

White is the color of purity. It "purifies" the "neutralizes" the room. White surfaces or certain shades of white can light up a room. It may also increase contrast by coloring a wall while the rest is white.

My client wants to have a luxurious feel. Purple is perfect to create that. By adding some re furnishing and a wooden floor I created a bit more coziness and passion!...In your designs please try many combinations. Surprise yourself and your customers!
Have fun!

Many organisations use Google Apps for email, calendars and documents. Today Google launched a new service called Google Drive. It allows people to store their files online , access them from any device and to collaborate with one another.

Why should you care? Because with this integration you can now store all your exports -3D visuals, 2D floor plans, PDFs etc- in one single, safe location. And, with Drive you can always access all your floor plan images from anywhere, anytime.

Chrome Web Store

You only have to do one thing to use Floorplanner together with Google Drive. Go to the Chrome Web Store and install the Floorplanner app. That’s it. All your exports will then be send automatically to your Drive. You can also open your floor plans from Drive, and you can create new floor plans from Drive. To create a new floor plan, click on Create > More > Floorplanner. You’ll be redirected to the Floorplanner 2D Editor where you can immediately work on your floor plan.

Permanently store your exports

Once you’ve installed the Floorplanner app, all your exports will be automatically stored in your Google Drive. You’ll still receive an email with the exported images or PDFs, but these files will also be directly available in your Drive too. The big advantage is that all the exports are stored permanently in Google Drive. From now on, you’ll always have a backup of every export you’ll make. Other advantages are that you can easily search through your floor plan images and you can access them from anywhere.

So, install the Floorplanner app and enjoy working in the cloud with Google Drive!

We have some great news for all our premium subscribers: improved 3D visuals! The most important improvement? It makes your floor plans look really good in 3D. Besides that, it’s very easy and fast to create them. And last but certainly not least, there are no extra costs!

Premium accounts

The new 3D visuals are directly available for everyone with a premium account, without any additional costs. Real estate professionals with a Pro or a Partner account can create an unlimited amount of 3D visuals. People with a Plus account can create up to 25 visuals per year.

Easy export

You can create a 3D visual by clicking on the Export icon in the menu bar and selecting the ‘Render 3D image’ option. A menu appears that lets you choose the resolution and an angle of view. South east, south west, north west, north east and top down. Within a couple minutes you’ll receive an email with your 3D visuals attached.

Want more control? That’s possible too. Open you floor plan in the 3D view and move the view to a desired position. Now export it and the 3D visual will have a similar view to one on your screen.

Color wall tops

There is another very interesting feature that makes the 3D visuals even more attractive. You can color the wall tops yourself! This gives you the power to customize the look and feel of your 3D visuals.

We just can’t wait to see your visuals!

Please use our forum for any remarks or suggestions.