Your favorite armchair has survived many moves. And the bulky wardrobe, an heirloom from your grandmother, always had to come along from one place to another. Somehow, it always fit. But every now and then, you had a nagging feeling and wondered if every piece of furniture would actually fit into the new apartment. To avoid this uncertainty during your next move, why not plan the layout of your new apartment before moving in? By planning your room arrangement, you’ll know ahead of time whether everything will fit or if you need to do a thorough decluttering or recycling.
Online or old-school?
Online, you can find a large number of 3D room planners. Many furniture manufacturers have developed their own apps, allowing you to move furniture around in a virtual space. There’s sure to be something that suits your needs. However, some of these planners only work with standardized furniture. Just browse through and see if there’s a software you like.
The old-school method with graph paper and a pencil is definitely still a great option. You can sketch your furniture yourself and move it around on paper as you wish, planning your room layout this way. Plus, a little crafting session can be a nice break from computer work.
Grab the measuring tape and start planning the room
To create your room layout, you’ll need the following tools:
- Graph paper
- Pencil and sharpener
- Eraser
- Measuring tape or laser measuring tool
- Scissors
The more precise your measurements, the lower the risk of encountering unwanted surprises in the end.
In the first step, you’ll proceed in a fairly provisional manner. Start by sketching the floor plans of the apartment. You’ll need to include all door openings, radiators, and windows. Also, make sure to mark the various connections for water, electricity, and TV in your sketch. For doors and windows, note which direction they open. Lastly, ceiling height is important, especially if you have sloped ceilings, as a large wardrobe might not fit otherwise.
Once the first sketch is complete, grab your measuring tape or laser measuring tool and start measuring the rooms. Enter all the measurements into your sketch. Be as precise as possible, because in room planning, every centimeter counts!
Next, it’s time for the finer details. You’ll bring the floor plan to scale. This is where the graph paper comes in. At a scale of 1:20, you’ll transfer the measured values. On paper, one centimeter will correspond to twenty centimeters in the actual apartment. You can, of course, adjust the scale according to your preference if you want it to be smaller. At a scale of 1:20, a room of about 3.5 x 5 meters will fit on an A4 sheet. If the room is larger, simply tape together multiple sheets of graph paper.
Tip: Remember to mark sloped ceilings on the plan as well!
After the floor plan, it’s time for the furniture
Once you’re finished with the floor plan, you’re halfway there. Now, you just need to measure your furniture. Again, make sure to be as precise as possible. Then, draw each piece of furniture individually on graph paper and cut them out. Don’t forget to label the pieces properly, or you might end up not knowing what you’re moving around. It’s helpful to create a key where each piece of furniture is assigned a clear abbreviation. If you’re unsure at any point, you can easily check. Sure, creating a layout like this can take half a day, but let me tell you, it’s really fun!
Don’t forget: Leave enough space to walk
When you’re moving the paper pieces around on the room plan, remember to leave enough space between the furniture. You should plan for at least 75 centimeters (which, at a 1:20 scale, is about 3.5 squares on the graph paper). Once you’re finished with the room layout, you can glue the individual furniture pieces to the graph paper. If you’re clever, make two copies of the floor plan and the furniture. That way, if you feel like rearranging later, you can easily experiment on paper without much effort.
For the move, it makes sense to hang the finished room plans on the doors of each room. This way, the movers will know exactly where to place your favorite armchair and the big wardrobe. It’s an efficient way to get two things done at once!
