How to Create Floor Plans

Jill Seidner Interior Design - Living Room Floor Plan

Planning is always the best advice when deciding on what furniture to purchase along with what sizes, what fits, the scale of items, etc. I always start with furniture floor plan layouts for my clients. Once I've drawn the walls of the room, it's easy to play around with the layout to incorporate furniture, lighting, area rugs and any other furnishings. Once it is done - it becomes a shopping guide for my clients to go out and purchase on their own.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Paper
• pen, pencil
• computer drawing program or online drawing programs
• grid paper

1. Jill Seidner Interior Design - West LA Condo Living Room

   Measure the length & width of the room. I always start with these measurements first to make sure I have the overall square footage of the room correct. Then measure the areas between doors, windows, hallways, built ins, fireplace. Make sure to get the distance between things.

2. Jill Seidner Interior Design - Thousand Oaks Residence

   Draw up the overall size of the room (grid paper or a computer program is very helpful). Be sure to note locations of doors and windows.

3. Jill Seidner Interior Design - Culver City Townhouse Living Room

   Add in the furnishings at the exacting size. Refer to catalogs and online sources for product descrptions of sofas, chairs, tables, etc. I always do sofa's about 32"-36" wide and the length can be a 7ft, 8 ft,9ft sofa - just depends on the configuration. Allow 3 feet clearances for circulation. You can also make cut outs to play around with layouts.

Tips & Warnings

• Many home owners or busines owners may be able to do this on their own. However, if you wish to seek that of a professional - you may get the best possible layouts with the correct scale of items in addition to their best knowledge and experience in layouts. This can be useful for living room, offices, kitchen design, bathroom design, store planning, etc. I am available for space planning if you are in need. I can work via the internet - email me your dimensions and for $150 I can draw up any size room with optional floor plan layouts. (Commercial projects or large office planning may be an additional cost.)