Create A Plan For Your Decorating Or Design Project

Creating a plan is essential to the success of your decorating or design project. Without one, you may end up with a room filled with furniture that doesn’t fit, rather than ending up with a well thought-out and properly-scaled room.

Analyze, Measure and Draw
When creating a plan for your room, the first thing to do is analyze the space you have, noting your ideas and goals for the space. Consider how you'll use the space and how many people the room needs to accommodate.

Next, it’s time to measure your space and draw a plan. Using graph paper with 1/4" squares is a simple way to draw your plan to scale. Each square on the paper represents 1 foot, so if your room is 10 feet long, you'd extend your wall line across 10 squares.

Once you have the walls of the room drawn, start noting the locations of permanent features such as doors, windows and stairs and mark them on your drawing. It’s also important to note the size of the doors, halls and elevators that'll be used to get the furniture into the space - to be sure you can get that armoire or sofa into the room.

Furniture Arrangement
Now that you're ready to arrange your furniture, it’s time to put the basic design principals of Scale and Proportion, Emphasis and Balance to use.

Emphasis is a good place to start. Pick a spot in the room that will be your focal point. This could be an architectural feature of the room, such as a window or a fireplace, or it could simply be the wall opposite the entrance to the space.

Once you’ve selected your focal point, arrange your furniture so it’s oriented towards that area. Remember to use Balance whether formal or informal, in your furniture plan by distributing pieces with similar visual weight throughout the room. Also, when selecting your furniture, remember to keep Scale and Proportion in mind.

Here are some helpful furniture-arranging tips:

• Create conversation areas with groups of seating, such as a sofa with two chairs opposite. If your space is super-sized, create multiple seating areas.
• Be aware of traffic patterns and be sure to leave space for walkways. Ideally, there should be a minimum of 30" clear for people to move comfortably without running into furniture, but if you have the space, 36" to 48" gives a more airy feel. Try to create pathways around the perimeter of the room rather than through conversation areas.
• For a comfortable amount of legroom between a sofa and a coffee table, leave at least 14" to 18".
• If you have a particularly large or significant piece of furniture, place that piece first.
• Tuck small ottomans or cubes under a console table that can be pulled forward for extra seating when needed.

Web Resources

• Draw Your Own Furniture Layout from Interior-Design-It-Yourself.com
  Learn how to draw a room layout plan and make sure your furniture fits with these step-by-step instructions.
• Arranging Furniture from BHG
  Looking for tips on arranging furniture for your living room, great room or bedroom? Check out these tips from Better Homes and Gardens.
• Spruce Up Your Home By Re-Arranging Your Furniture from RepairHome.com
  Tips on furniture arrangement, including where to start, placing furniture, and ideas/tips for specific rooms.