Curve a wall: bowed, rounded and semicircle walls

Step by step

1. 1

   Tap the wall, then the curve button on its bar

   Tap the wall you want to bow. It turns blue and its bar appears beside it: the length, the padlock, the link button, then the curve button (a small curved line), the scissors and, on an outside wall, the trash can. Tap the curve button (its label is Curve this wall). Curve mode opens: a round handle appears in the middle of the wall, and the banner at the top says Drag the round handle to bow the wall. Tap Depth or R to type it. Tap Done in the banner (or press Esc on a computer) when you've finished. This works on outside walls and on interior walls alike. The button doesn't appear on a gap in the outline (an open wall) or on the opening wall of a detached unit, because there's nothing there to bend.

   

2. 2

   Drag the round handle: the wall bows through your finger

   Press the round handle and drag it away from the wall. The wall becomes the circular arc that runs from one corner, through the point under your finger, to the other corner. Drag outward to bow the room out; drag inward to bow it in. Let go and the curve is applied (one Undo step per drag). While you drag, the plan draws how the curve is measured: - a dashed grey line straight between the two corners (the chord), - a dark blue line from the middle of that line to the handle: the Depth, - a white circle with a crosshair: the centre of the circle the wall is part of, - a blue line from the centre to the handle: the Radius, with faint lines from the centre to both corners. The Depth and R boxes beside the handle update as you drag. The bow snaps to whole inches (whole centimetres in metric), so you get round numbers. The biggest bow is a half circle: at that point the depth equals half the distance between the corners, and the handle won't go further. In the picture the 14 ft top wall of the Cozy Living Room template is being pulled out to a depth of 2′ 11″, which makes a radius of 9′ 10.3″.

   

3. 3

   Type an exact Depth or Radius, or Straighten

   After the first bow the bar beside the handle shows four things: Depth, R, Straighten and Along the curve (the wall's length measured along the arc, on the middle of the wall). Tap Depth or R to type a value: in feet and inches you get a feet box and an inches box (metres and centimetres in metric); press Enter or tap the green check to apply.

   - Depth is how far the middle of the wall sits from the straight line between its corners. Typing a depth on a wall that's still straight bows it outward, away from the room. - R is the radius of the curve, measured to the middle of the wall's thickness. The smallest radius you can type is half the distance between the corners (the box says, for example, Min 7′): that makes a half circle. A bigger radius makes a flatter curve. - Straighten takes the curve off and puts the wall back exactly as it was. Undo works too.

   All the curve numbers are measured on the centre line of the wall, from corner point to corner point. On the Cozy Living Room's top wall that's 14′ (the outside face reads 14′ 6.5″). Depth and radius are tied together: R = Depth ÷ 2 + (corner distance)² ÷ (8 × Depth). The same 14 ft wall gave:

   You set	Depth	R	Along the curve	Gross area
   (straight)	0	none	14′	241 sq ft
   Depth 2′	2′	13′ 3″	14′ 9″	260 sq ft
   Dragged	2′ 11″	9′ 10.3″	15′ 6.82″	269 sq ft
   R 7′	7′	7′ (half circle)	21′ 11.89″	320 sq ft

   

4. 4

   What changes when a wall is curved

   The two corners stay exactly where they were, so the walls on either side keep their position and direction. What does change: - Floor and area. The room's floor follows the curve, and the Gross and Usable area in Plan Settings include the extra space (241 → 269 sq ft for the 2′ 11″ bow above). Flooring and the room shading follow it too. - Corner angles. The angle at each end of a curved wall is measured along the curve's direction right at that corner, so a 90° corner becomes, for example, 121.9° with a 2′ bow and 135.2° with a 2′ 11″ bow. Layers → Show corner angles uses the same rule. - Lengths on the plan. The dimension line above the wall and the wall's length box still measure straight across, not along the arc; use Along the curve in the curve bar for the length of the arc itself. The neighbouring walls' outside lengths can shift by an inch or two (16′ 6.5″ → 16′ 5.06″ here), because their joint with the curved wall now follows the curve's direction instead of a square corner. - Moving a corner later keeps the curve's depth: the arc stretches to the new corner positions.

5. 5

   See it in 3D and in your exports

   Open the 3D view and the wall stands as a smooth curved wall at its full height, with the floor following it. The PNG, JPG and PDF exports (Export / Print / Share → PNG/JPG/PDF or Print) draw the wall as an arc too, and the area printed under the plan includes the curve. See Export your floor plan as an image or PDF.

   

6. 6

   Curved glass walls, railings, pony walls and dividers

   Wall styles keep their look along the curve. Select the curved wall and, in its panel, set Type to Railing and pick a Style (Spindle, Pony Wall, Glass, Horizontal Slat, Cable, Wrought Iron, Picket), or curve a wall that already has a style. Interior glass walls and yard dividers can be curved the same way. In 2D the style follows the arc (a glass band, a dashed railing line with its marks piece by piece); in 3D the railing or glass is built from short panels along the curve. A curved glass railing is a common way to plan a rounded balcony edge, a curved stair or landing guard, or a glass screen around a seating area. Railing heights and gaps are covered in Railing styles.

   

7. 7

   The curved glass railing in 3D

   In 3D the same wall becomes a curved run of glass panels with a top rail, at railing height (3′ 6″ by default for a railing), so you can see the view it opens up from the room.

   

8. 8

   What can't be curved yet, and what the message means

   When a wall can't be curved, curve mode opens without a handle and the banner says why. When something can't be added to a curved wall, an amber note says so. Nothing in your plan changes.

   You try to	The app says	What to do
   Curve a wall with a door, window, balcony or bay window on it	Doors, windows, balconies and bay windows can't sit on a curved wall yet. Remove them from this wall to curve it.	Move or remove them, or split the wall first and curve the piece without them (next step)
   Curve a locked wall	This wall is locked. Unlock it to curve it.	Tap the padlock on its bar to unlock it. A locked curved wall can't be straightened either
   Curve a wall an interior wall meets part-way along	An interior wall meets this wall. Move it to a corner first to curve this wall.	Move that interior wall's end to a corner, or remove it, curve, then redraw it
   Bow a wall into another wall	That curve would run into another wall.	Use a smaller depth (bigger radius)
   Put a door, window or outlet on a curved wall	Doors, windows and outlets can't go on a curved wall yet. Place it on a straight wall, or straighten this one first.	Place it on a straight wall or a straight piece
   Draw new outside walls (or Add Room) that start or end part-way along a curve	New outside walls can't start or end part-way along a curved wall yet. Start from a corner or a straight wall, or straighten that wall first. (With the Exterior Wall tool this shows in the amber top hint the moment you press on the curve, and nothing starts)	Start and end at a corner or on a straight wall

   Two things to know: while you place a window or door, its preview still lights up the curved wall (drawn as a straight line between the corners) before the note appears. And a curved wall can't be split: tapping the scissors on one opens split mode without a pin to drag, so tap Cancel, straighten the wall, split it, then curve the piece you want.

   

9. 9

   Placing a window on a curved wall

   Openings are refused however you try to add them: from the Doors & Windows tiles, by search, or by moving one across from another wall. The curved wall flashes amber and the note at the top explains. Undo isn't needed; nothing was added.

   

10. 10

    A locked wall stays as it is

    A padlocked wall allows no change at all, and that includes curving or straightening it. Unlock it from the padlock on its bar (or in its panel), make the change, then lock it again if you want. See Lock wall lengths and furniture.

    

11. 11

    Need a door or window near the curve? Use a straight piece

    You can't put an opening in the curved part itself yet, but you can have a curve and a door on the same side of the room: 1. Select the straight wall and tap the scissors. Drag the pin to where the curve should end (or type its distance) and tap the scissors to split the wall in two. See Split, slide and resize walls. 2. Select the piece that should be curved, tap the curve button and bow it. 3. Put the door or window on the straight piece. In the picture the Cozy Living Room's bottom wall was split in the middle, the left half bowed out by 1′ 3″, and a door placed on the straight right half. Other options: - A curved window bump-out: a Bay Window with the Bow style puts several panels on a shallow arc on a straight wall, with its own glass and base. See Bay window styles. - A fully round room with doors: start a new design with Custom Floor Plan → Round and type the diameter. A round room is drawn as many short straight walls, so doors and windows can go on it like any other wall (very wide ones may not fit a small circle). - Curve first, door later: if the door isn't placed yet, keep the wall straight until the door is in the right spot, then split and curve the rest.

    

12. 12

    Editing the rest of the plan keeps your curves

    Curves survive the usual plan edits: - Adding rooms or outside walls that attach at a corner or to a straight wall keeps every curve (even when a curved outer wall ends up inside the plan, it stays curved as an interior wall). - Flip in Plan Settings → Rotation mirrors the curve with the plan, and Re-scale in the Outline Editor scales its depth with everything else. - A rotated plan works the same way: the handle, guides and Depth / R bar follow the rotation. - Moving a corner keeps the depth. See Edit walls on the plan for moving and splitting walls, and Draw outside walls for adding to the outline.

    

Common mistakes

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