Now that you know your needs and wants, it’s time to place these items in a floor plan to see which ones make the cut. Don’t limit yourself with a budget—consider only spatial requirements. As a guide, leave three feet of walking space in high traffic areas and one to two feet between sofas and tables.
Floor planning is important so that you make sure the furniture and accessories you are choosing will fit into the space. There are several ways you do this.
1. Use a piece of paper and sketch it out. You will need to use some metric of measurement, so everything is to scale. For example: a centimeter= an inch…or however you decided to layout the room.
2. Graph paper is slightly easier than regular paper because it will have lines already drawn for you and you can use them as your metric.
3. Taping out the space can be helpful, but can be hard to change easily. However, this method will give you the true feel of the room. Be sure to use painters tape for this step, because it won’t damage your floors.
4. The best tool, I have found to create a 3D image is FloorPlanner.com . This tool is GREAT for doing your space planning! Set up a free account, then watch these quick videos to get started adding the room walls and architecture.
Once you have the fixed elements of the space mapped out, now you can start playing around with the furniture placement. (Depending on what type of measurement system you are using, you can change it by clicking on the GEAR icon in the top left of the screen.)
The look of the furniture will not really matter for this space planning exercise. Just pick a similar shape to the furniture you will using.
Click on the paint brush for a list of furniture pieces. Then, drag the furniture onto the design.
You can manipulate each piece by double clicking on it. A box will pop up on the left to change the dimensions and direction of the object.
My biggest floor planning tip is to resist the urge to stick something into every bare corner and fill the entire perimeter of a room with furniture and accessories.
Your room may feel bigger with all the furniture pushed up against the wall, but if you find yourself having to shout across the room to have a conversation, it may be time to rearrange and come up with a new layout.
Take a look at the graphic I have created below to help you further. You can also download it.
NOTE: You may need to come back and make updates to the floorplan if you decide on different furniture pieces throughout the design process.
