DEAR GAIL: We will be moving to a new, smaller house soon. I have to decide what to take and what to get rid of. I would like to inventory my furniture piece by piece by size in order to place it. Is there a source for a furniture-placing guide of some sort? Thanks for your help. J. MARTINS
DEAR J: You are doing the right thing and will be saving yourself so much time and aggravation by deciding what furniture you are going to take and where you will be placing it before moving in. It is so much easier to move around a furniture template than the furniture itself.
I do not know of any furniture-placing guide per say. But the first thing you will want to do is start with a ¼" scale drawing of your home in order to layout the furniture. Your builder may be able to provide you with a drawing to scale or possibly allow you to purchase a copy of the blueprint.
If they don’t, you can simply draw your own. You’ll need a pencil, 4 squares per inch drafting paper, ruler and a tape measure. On the drafting paper, each box will measure ¼" on your ruler and equal 1 foot, ¼" = 1′0".
Start by measuring and drawing each room and mark off the correct number of squares on your grid, remembering each grid equals 1 foot. So 6" will be half a square and 3" will be a fourth of a square. Since you are doing this for general placement purposes, do not get caught up in trying to mark of anything less than 3" or 6". If you were going to use this for any type of built-in or a furniture piece that was going to fit exacting wall to wall in a space, then exact and precise measurements would be necessary.
Next step is to mark all your architectural elements; such as windows, door openings, door swings, fireplaces, outlets, pot shelves, and switches.
With your floor plan drawn, now make templates of your furniture. Draw them out in ¼" scale with your drafting paper. You can also purchase plastic furniture templates at most office supply stores where you trace the furniture pieces onto your plan. There are also furniture stickers available over the Internet; sort of like Colorforms from years ago.
Place the cutouts on your floor plan in the following order: largest pieces, tables & chairs and then lamps and accessories.
Remember to leave adequate room for your traffic flow or the walking areas in your home. These areas need to be kept open of furniture to allow you easy access in and out of each room and around furniture. Major lanes need 3 to 6 feet of clearance and minor lanes need 1 to 3 feet of clearance. Minor lanes would be the areas in or out of a furniture grouping, such as a sofa and coffee table.
Some quick tips on placement are:
- Conversation areas should not be longer than 8 feet across.
- Have your largest piece of furniture face or address your focal point. Try not to face sofas towards each other as it can make for uncomfortable conversation. It is better to place your upholstered pieces in an "L" shape and then balance the weight by placing a chair at a 90 degree angle across from the corner of the "L".
- When placing your lighting, it should be on at least a diagonal pattern, with a triangle being best. This makes sure that your room is properly lit with no areas of seating dark. Make sure all of your seating has proper lighting and adequate table space.
- Watch and follow the architectural angles created by your walls, fireplaces, countertops and flooring. Work with them by placing your furniture on the same angles, or at 90 degrees from the angles instead of adding a different angle. Also try not to place all of your furniture against the walls. Bring them out into the room to create a more comfortable environment.
- Leave a minimum of 3′ around a nook and dining table so you have enough room behind each chair to pull it out and sit down. Also, if you will be walking behind the chairs for serving, at least 3′ feet is needed behind the chairs from where your guests are sitting.
- A 48" round table for 4 requires a minimum of 100 sqft of space, 72" table for 6 needs 144 sqft, and a 96" table for 8 needs 196 sqft.
- In your home office, you need a minimum of 3′ behind your desk for your chair and around your desk for walking.
These are just some basic furniture placement guidelines to follow. The most important things are that your home is functional and comfortable for you. What is clutter for one, may be sparse for another.