FLOOR PLANS CAN FEEL LIKE A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. There are few people who can look at them printed on a piece of paper and effectively visualize what the final project will look like when it’s built. It is equally as difficult to conceptualize how the space will function when construction is complete. That task is akin to trying to assemble Ikea furniture without the instructions. Unless homeowners work in the design or construction industries, making sense of it all can be a serious challenge.
So when Mary Atchley and Mark Brown decided to open Walk Your Plans Atlanta, they knew they could bring their 20-year corporate careers in technology and entrepreneurship to help project owners, architects, designers, builders and other related industry professionals better envision how a paper plan would translate to everyday life. In its simplest form, Atchley and Brown handle all of the technical requirements so that architects and builders can simply show up at Walk Your Plans’ 6,000-square-foot warehouse with their clients and walk through a projected image of the floor plan for a new home or commercial building at 1:1 scale. It’s a chance for owners to try a proposed life-size floor plan before they build it.
“Everyone has the same reaction to learning about our capabilities,” says Atchley. “They say, ‘Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before? It makes so much sense.’ There are multifaceted benefits to using Walk Your Plans before building. It’s less expensive to get the flow and function of a home correct before construction begins.”
By walking through a proposed life-size home and arranging and rearranging demo furniture on casters provided in the warehouse, homeowners and the design and construction team easily can see which rooms work and which ones don’t. “We often see that pinch points, or tiny spaces, are of the most concern,” Atchley says. “Homeowners can see and address questions such as ‘Where do we drop our bags when we come in the door? Can we fit a wheelchair in this space if needed?’” Addressing these issues provides better flow and functionality of the finished interiors and also decreases costs by eliminating excessive change orders during the course of construction.
Walking a right-sized plan also helps a homeowner better understand if the space matches their lifestyle; it is a more natural process than attempting to interpret traditional 2-D drawings and small-scale 3-D models. With Walk Your Plans technology, owners are suddenly transported into the model, where adjustments can be made on the fly by their architect or designer. The technology can be used at any point in the pre-construction process, from the architect’s first drawing to the designer’s final material choices. “We made two months of decisions in two hours,” an architect recently told Atchley.
The technology has benefits for commercial clients, too. Restaurant developers, for example, can bring in their chef and waitstaff to try out a space to see if the layout flows well and is functional for tasks such as bartending and moving about in the kitchen. “We had one restaurant owner who brought a couple of friends and pulled up barstools to sit down. It was then he realized their knees all touched while sitting at the bar. He was able to allocate more space to the design before he broke ground on the project,” Atchley says.
“Ideally, all three trades—architect, builder and designer—are represented during the walkthrough,” Brown says. “We advise clients on how much time they should reserve the warehouse to walk their space based on project size and the phase in which they are working. It’s often one or two hours per project, but we are flexible to provide whatever a client needs.”
One architect requested that Walk Your Plans Atlanta set up a champagne and charcuterie date night for his homeowners so they could walk their new house plans, which the company happily obliged. “We’re running a technology company and want professionals to understand that we are an annex of their professional services and an extension of their brands; we’re one of their offices where they can come and have a productive meeting,” Brown adds.
Other contractors find the Walk Your Plans technology helpful, including pool designers and landscape architects.
The idea of Walk Your Plans is a fairly new concept, conceived in Cleveland just a handful of years ago by an investment entrepreneur who was dissatisfied when comparing his project blueprints with the final resulting interiors. On a subsequent project, he had access to an unused school gym, which was the spark that ignited the Walk Your Plans idea. As an early adopter late last year, Atchley and Brown’s Atlanta location takes advantage of unused warehouse space to allow future homeowners and commercial building owners the ability to walk their projects room by room to see if they truly meet their needs. “We were very intentional about choosing this initial location in Roswell,” says Atchley. “It is conveniently located in the heart of a growing area of custom homebuilding activity, where it’s easy for our clients to get to the facility. We are very grateful for the support of Roswell Inc. and the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce in helping us get this business off the ground.”
Although the technology opens up an entirely new category in the design and construction industries, it didn’t take much persuasion to get local architects and builders to tap into the benefits and potential of the Walk Your Plans technology. Some of the area’s preeminent luxury industry professionals have integrated the service into their existing workflows. “Walking the plans elevates pre-construction from a technical step into a transformative experience,” says Brad Robinson of Bradford Custom Homes & Remodeling. “It allows our clients to step inside their future home, feel the flow of the spaces and imagine their life unfolding within its walls. It’s an essential moment of clarity and confidence—one that defines the Bradford approach to building at the highest level.”
“As a custom homebuilder, we are always looking for new ways to bring clarity and confidence to our customers, and Walk Your Plans Atlanta delivers that in an innovative and powerful way,” says Vince Longo of Vincent Longo Custom Builders. “Seeing the home plans come to life at full scale lets our clients connect emotionally with their future home, make better decisions and avoid costly mistakes before construction even begins.”
Builders are not the only ones who find a full-scale pre-construction walk helpful for homeowners. Architects also use the technology during the earliest phases of the design process. “The Walk Your Plans experience has been pivotal in helping our clients truly connect with their future spaces, allowing them to make confident design decisions,” says architect Samantha Wilson of A Classical Studio. “By experiencing the layout firsthand, many have avoided costly changes during construction, ultimately saving both time and money.”
Walk Your Plans Atlanta is an active member of the community, giving back through the nonprofit organization Sunshine on a Ranney Day, which renovates homes for children with long-term illnesses and special needs. “As the organization refits homes for ADA-compliance, we provide all Sunshine families with the opportunity to use Walk Your Plans at no cost,” Atchley says.
Although Walk Your Plans Atlanta has only been open for a year, the company’s founders have recently announced an additional technology service to make the home visioning process even easier. Atchley and Brown, along with Amanda and James Oaks, owners of Walk Your Plans Nashville, have partnered to launch Design & Build XR, a fully immersive 3-D walking experience that adds elevation so participants can see walls at full scale, complete with details such as cabinetry. “Our technology is a continual evolution,” Atchley says. “We are entrepreneurs at heart, designing to make the collaborative experience of walking through floor plans as easy and accessible as possible.” *
Dana W. Todd is a professional writer specializing in interior design, real estate, luxury homebuilding, landscape design, architecture and fine art.
