Space Planning
Before You Begin * Determine the Layout * Choose a Color Scheme * Determine Flooring
* Select an Area Rug * Select Wall Treatments * Determine Lighting * Select Furnishings
* Choose Window Coverings * Arrange the Furniture * Accessorize
* Select an Area Rug * Select Wall Treatments * Determine Lighting * Select Furnishings
* Choose Window Coverings * Arrange the Furniture * Accessorize
Space planning is the first step you should take when decorating or designing any space. It is ultimately the most important step as well. Without space planning, you will most likely find many hardships along the way.
Space planning allows you to try as many alternatives as necessary for you to decorate or design your room or space to your satisfaction. It is also a helpful guide to your budget as you will be aware of the amount of materials needed to complete your project. This is where your Tape Measure, Graph Paper, Ruler (or straight edge), Pencils, Eraser & Furniture Templates are your best friends. Use your pad and pencil as an assistant.
The three basic steps in Space Planning are:
Measuring Your SpaceMeasuring your space accurately is extremely important. The floor plans and the elevation plans must work for you. Write each measurement down as you go and jot down a descriptive note for each measurement because the dimensions of different areas can be similar and forgetting to do so could cause you to have to backtrack and measure again.
Ideally, you want to use a larger tape measure with a lock on it and it is always easier with a second pair of hands. Realize that in the end, you will have five pieces of graph paper with four of them representing the walls and one representing the floor. You can use furniture templates or make your own using graph paper to see how the furniture and other pieces will fit into the room. For scale measurements while using graph paper: 2 squares = 1 foot Floor Plan: Having a floor plan of the room drawn to scale will help you visualize the whole room. It is best to draw a rough floor plan at first to ensure that you draw in all the fixtures, openings, outlets, heat registers, doors, windows etc. You will likely want to draw a more thorough floor plan afterwards.
If your room has trim that is staying in place or being re-used, you will measure from the inside of the trim. If the trim is being replaced, have it removed before measuring. In this case you want to measure from wall to wall to ensure accurate measurements. Take record of any cold air returns or heating vents that may be installed in the floor as well as the measurements of doorways and their distance from each wall. Elevation Plan: When measuring the walls you want to take the same consideration with the trim on windows and doors as well as the cold air returns or heating vents. You will already have vertical measurements of the walls from the floor measurements. Once you measure the height of the walls, you will then want to get the dimensions of all permanent fixtures in the room. Doors, windows, outlets, switches, electrical/cable connectors, bookshelves, cabinetry, archways & fireplaces among other things are considered to be permanent fixtures.
(Another option, instead of drawing the floor plan, is to use computer software for Home Design. With this type of software you can even draw 3D plans).
Next, you will want to Determine the best layout
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Before You Begin * Determine the Layout * Choose a Color Scheme * Determine Flooring
* Select an Area Rug * Select Wall Treatments * Determine Lighting * Select Furnishings
* Choose Window Coverings * Arrange the Furniture * Accessorize
* Select an Area Rug * Select Wall Treatments * Determine Lighting * Select Furnishings
* Choose Window Coverings * Arrange the Furniture * Accessorize