# Quickstart

This quickstart walks you from a blank screen to a usable AI-generated floor plan in about ten minutes. It assumes nothing more than that you can describe a space in plain English.

## 1. Decide what you are actually planning

Before opening any tool, write down four pieces of information on a piece of paper:

1. **Total area** in square metres or square feet (an approximation is fine).
2. **Overall shape** of the footprint: rectangle, L-shape, square, narrow corridor.
3. **Number of rooms** you need, including bathrooms.
4. **One non-negotiable constraint**, for example "the bedroom must face the back garden" or "the kitchen and dining area must be open-plan".

These four items make the difference between a generic AI sketch and one that is actually relevant to your situation.

## 2. Write a first-pass prompt

A good first prompt is a short paragraph, not a bullet list. AI models that generate floor plans respond well to spatial relationships expressed as ordinary sentences. Compare:

*Weak*: "3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, living, 120 sqm"

*Stronger*: "Design a single-storey 120 square metre family home on a rectangular plot. Place three bedrooms along the north side, with the largest at the east end sharing a wall with an en-suite bathroom. The kitchen and dining area should be open-plan and face the south garden, with the living room next to the entrance."

Notice how the stronger version names directions, adjacencies and priorities.

## 3. Generate, then read carefully

When the tool returns a layout, resist the urge to immediately re-prompt. Spend a full minute reading the drawing:

- Trace your own route from the front door to the kitchen, then to the master bedroom. Does it cross the living room awkwardly?
- Check that every room has at least one door, and that no door swings into a corridor wider than the corridor itself.
- Confirm bathrooms are not directly off the kitchen or dining area.
- Look at window placement: bedrooms and living areas should have at least one exterior wall.

Write a short list of what *works* and what does not. This list becomes the basis for your next prompt.

## 4. Iterate with targeted edits

Instead of rewriting the whole prompt, ask for specific changes:

> "Keep the overall layout but move the laundry from next to the kitchen to between the two children's bedrooms. Add a small linen cupboard in the corridor."

Two or three rounds of targeted edits typically produce a plan you can either use directly or hand off to a designer for refinement.

## 5. Export and annotate

At this stage, export the plan as a PNG or SVG and annotate it manually with:

- Approximate dimensions for each room.
- Door swing directions.
- The location of the electrical panel and water heater if known.

This annotated version is what you share with a contractor, agent or designer. The AI draft is the starting conversation, not the final document.

## Where to go next

- Look at the {doc}`prompt-templates` page for ready-made starting points by housing type.
- Read {doc}`layout-guidance` for the spatial principles you should sanity-check every AI draft against.
- If a word in the AI output puzzles you, the {doc}`glossary` explains the most common architectural terms.