Standard Room Sizes for a House in Pakistan (in Feet)

Room sizes at a glance

The minimum is the smallest a room can be and still do its job. The upper figure is where extra area stops buying much. Width matters as much as area: a room can have the right number of square feet and still be too narrow to furnish.

These are the numbers MakaanPlan's layout engine aims for. In the Studio, a bedroom, master bedroom, bathroom, kitchen or living room drawn below its minimum area is flagged; width is left to you. For a hallway the size shown is width × a short run; a hallway can be as long as the house needs.

Bedrooms

A bedroom works from 100 sq ft, with 10 ft as the narrowest side: 10 × 10 ft. The width is the part that decides whether it feels like a bedroom. A 6 × 6.5 ft double bed against the back wall of a 10 ft-wide room leaves 2 ft on each side — room for a side table and to get in and out. In an 8½ ft-wide room the same bed leaves 1.3 ft on either side — or it goes against a side wall, and only one person can reach it.

A master bedroom starts at 144 sq ft, 12 × 12 ft. That is enough for a 6.3 ft-wide king bed plus a wall of 2 ft-deep wardrobes, which is the real difference between a master and an ordinary bedroom. Past about 220 sq ft the extra space is usually better given to an attached bathroom or a dressing area.

Living and dining rooms

A living room needs 150 sq ft and at least 11 ft across, so a 7 ft sofa can face a TV wall or a second sofa with a walkway between. Much beyond 270 sq ft it starts to feel like a hall. A separate drawing room for guests follows the same numbers.

A dining room needs 80 sq ft, 10 ft each way. A 5 × 3 ft six-seat table in a 10 × 10 ft room leaves 2.5 ft at each end and 3.5 ft along each side for chairs to pull out. On smaller plots, dining usually joins the living room instead.

Kitchens

A kitchen works from 70 sq ft and 8 ft wide. That width takes counters on one wall and a clear walkway; a counter on both long walls needs more. Up to about 150 sq ft is useful. Beyond it, a separate utility room for washing and storage does more than a bigger kitchen. Give the kitchen an outside wall if you can: a window and an exhaust fan matter more here than a few extra square feet.

Bathrooms

The smallest workable bathroom is 35 sq ft, 5 × 7 ft. That fits a 1.5 × 2.5 ft WC, a basin and a 3 × 3 ft shower along one wall. Up to 70 sq ft is comfortable. A bathtub needs a longer room. A powder room for guests, with just a WC and basin, can be smaller.

Car porch

A typical car is about 5.9 × 15.1 ft. One car needs a porch at least 8 × 16 ft, which leaves room to open the door on one side. Two cars side by side need roughly twice the width, and that decision reshapes the whole front of the house, so make it before anything else is drawn.

What real plans give each room

Measured from the drawings of MakaanPlan's ready-made plans, from 3 marla to 30 × 60 ft:

Every bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom in these plans meets its minimum area. Not all of them meet the minimum width:

• 5 Marla: three bedrooms 8.3–8.5 ft wide (minimum 10) and two bathrooms 4.5 ft wide (minimum 5).
• 7 Marla: two bedrooms 8 ft wide (minimum 10) and the kitchen 7 ft wide (minimum 8).

That is the usual trade on a narrow plot — area kept, width given up — and exactly the kind of thing worth deciding on paper rather than discovering once the walls are up.

These are design sizes, not building bylaws

Housing authorities set their own rules — setbacks, coverage, ceiling heights and sometimes minimum room sizes — and they differ between LDA, DHA, Bahria Town and others. Use the sizes above to plan what you want, then check them with the architect who prepares your drawings for approval. The naksha approval guide explains that step.

Frequently asked questions