Overview:
Before a decorator buys a single piece of furniture or even touches a paint can, she must draw a floor plan. A floor plan is the guide, the manual, the handbook, to each decorating project. It delineates the rules and tells a decorator what will fit and what will not fit. The floor plan is the decorator's main tool when making decorating decisions. It reveals an interior's strengths and weaknesses, and shows where a space may be unbalanced or discordant.
In the following article, you will learn how to draw and accurate floor plan. You will then be introduced to the basic principles of arranging furniture.
How to Draw a Floor Plan
Drawing a floor plan requires a few simple steps. You will need a tape measure, ruler, calculator, pencil, and graph paper.
Begin with the overhead view known as the floor plan. Observe the interior and draw a rough outline of the perimeter. Do not worry about measurements or exactness at this point, as this first drawing is only a draft.
Measure the perimeter of the room, starting with the longest wall. Record the measurements on the drawn draft and on a separate piece of paper. To make the full wall measurements, run the tape measure along the top of the baseboard from one corner of the wall to the other. Taking the measurement from the top of the baseboard, as opposed to the middle of bottom, will result in the most accurate wall-to-wall measurement. Repeat for all four (or more) walls. At this point, ignore architectural elements like doors and columns. Run the tape measure past them as if they were not there. Next, measure the distance from the floor to the ceiling. Include separate measurements for the baseboard and crown molding, and take note of the room height both with and without these decorative features. All measurements should be taken to the nearest one-fourth or one-sixteenth inch. (**As a rule, decorators should always work in either all inches or all centimeters, not in feet and inches or centimeters and meters, and never in a combination of the US/Imperial and metric systems.)
Next, measure the doorways, widows, and other openings. Measure the lengths of all openings both with and without casings and trim. Note the measurements of the trim separately. Indicate whether the door swings into or out of the room by drawing on the rough floor plan, an arc facing in the appropriate direction. A door that swings inwards will have an arc with the pointed side facing into the room, while a door that swings outwards will have the open curve facing the interior of the room. For windows, measure the distance from the floor to the bottom of the window frame, and then from the ceiling to the top of the window molding. Be sure to measure the distance between the edge of each window and the next opening, window, door, or wall.
To keep track of the windows and doors and to keep the floor plan neat and easy to read, number the windows, doors, and other openings. On a separate piece of paper, record the measurements of the windows, doors, and other openings using the numbers you gave each window, door, and opening to organize the information.
Be sure to take measurements for all architectural features, including built-in shelves, cabinets, and fireplaces. Do not forget to take the measurement of not only the width and height, but also the depth of architectural features and other three-dimensional elements. Draw all architectural features in their approximate locations on the floor plan draft.
The last measurements should be of all electrical outlets, switches, thermostats, circuit boxes, and other controls. Record their measurements and make a note as to where they are located on the rough floor plan. It is also important to note the location of heat and air conditioning ducts, radiators, coverings for electric wires and plumbing pipes, and exposed pipes.
Once all the measurements have been recorded and the floor plan draft is finished, a decorator is ready to begin drawing her final floor plan. When drawing, always use pencil, as to easily make changes, and graph paper and a ruler to aid with keeping the drawing to scale. If any features appear out of proportion, take the measurement once more to double check the original recorded measurement was accurate.
Begin by noting which direction the room is facing (north, east, south, west). It is important a decorator know which direction each room is facing because the directional orientation affects the amount and type of natural lighting. Knowing from where the natural lighting comes guides nearly all decorating decisions, from color and texture to pattern and textiles, and from furniture arrangement and wall space to lighting and window treatments.
The next step is to make separate drawings of each wall. Known as a wall elevation, this type of drawing is a two-dimensional representation of the wall itself. These drawings help a decorator with wall arrangements and décor. It reminds her the fireplace is off-center and that to balance the room and create a sense of harmony, more weight should be placed on the opposite side of the wall in the form of a multi-frame gallery wall, large-scaled artwork or mirror, or possibly even a television. The wall elevation must include features like electrical outlets and switches.
Begin by making a note as to which wall you are drawing. For example, a bedroom will likely have four wall elevations that should be labeled as: North Bedroom Elevation, South Bedroom Elevation, East Bedroom Elevation, and West Bedroom Elevation. Record the height from floor to ceiling and the length from wall to wall. Draw and include the length, height, and (if necessary) depth, of all architectural features and built-in elements, like doors, windows, bookshelves, and light switches.
To draw the floor plan and wall elevation to scale, a decorator will need to convert all measurements to a scale small enough to fit on the graph paper. Begin by counting the number of squares on the longest side of the graph paper. This will be the side accommodating the longest wall. The easiest way to scale down a floor plan is to divide by whole numbers until you find a scale that fits onto the graph paper. For example, a room with a longest wall of 240 inches that needs to fit on graph paper with a side length of 40 squares is best scaled down by a factor of 8, because 240 divided by 8 equals 30. The reason a decorator would not scale down by a factor of 6 to equal 40 is because a decorator should leave some room to spare on the page in order to comfortably take notes and write in measurements.
Once a decorator has determined her scale, make a note on the corner of the plan. In the above example, 1 square = 8 inches. Next, use the scaled number to convert all measurements recorded on the floor plan rough draft. For example, is the wall perpendicular to the 240-inch long wall is 102 inches, write 102 inches = 12.75 squares.
Next, use a pencil to delineate the walls, windows, and architectural features. Walls should be represented as a single line, windows as double lines, and doors as a single line with an arc pointed in the correct direction. Add all architectural features, as well as electrical outlets, switches, controls, cables, phone lines, and other electronics-related equipment to the floor plan. Repeat this process which each wall elevation.
It is impossible to overstate just how important getting this information right really is. Failing to take such notes can result in a decorator being negligent enough to build built-in bookshelves in front of the only outlet in an entire room. Most likely, the shelves would be filled with books before anyone realized the only outlet had been hidden. Floor plans are also important because they show a decorator whether or not she is following the building codes and accessibility laws. These codes and laws vary from state to state, and from county to county. This is why a responsible decorator must research the codes and laws for the city in which she working.
How to Arrange Furniture
When using the floor plan to make furniture and other décor decisions, it is useful to make several photocopies of the floor plan so you can compare different furniture layouts. Draw furniture to scale on a separate piece of graph paper and cut out the furniture models individually. Use these pieces to experiment with different furniture arrangements.
Before placing model furniture anywhere, draw two lines on the floor plan, cutting each wall in half. These lines effectively divide the room into four quadrants and create what is known as balance lines. Balance lines help a decorator maintain balance between the furniture and other objects in a room, each of which has a visual weight that tips the proverbial scales one way or another. For example, if a decorator sees the main seating area in a living room is predominantly in the upper right quadrant, she may either want to move it so the center of the seating area is in the center of the room, or balance the composition by adding a two-person conversation corner in the lower left quadrant. As a rule, the visual weight should be approximately the same on both sides of an interior.
Besides balance, one of the most important issues when arranging furniture is traffic patterns. This is also why accurately rendering things such as the direction of the door swing is so important. A decorator wants to make sure she does not place a sofa where it will be hit by the door or where it will obstruct the door. Generally, no furniture should be placed within 36 inches from the door and 12 to 15 inches from the windows. A decorator may want to use a colored pencil like red to shade in the areas off-limits to furniture.
Next, a decorator must determine the focal point of the room. The focal point can be a larger window with a fabulous view, a piano, a fireplace, a television, an artwork, a gallery wall, or any number of other objects or collection of objects. Once the focal point has been decided, determine where on the floor plan and wall elevation it is located. It may be built-in, in the case of the fireplace and window, or it may need to be purchased and installed. When arranging furniture, keep the focal point in mind at all times. All furniture will be arranged around the focal point in one way or another. This is especially true of living rooms, but also relates to dining rooms and bedrooms, and a lesser extend to kitchens and bathrooms were appliances connected to water, gas, and electric sources are predominantly responsible for deciding where furniture will be placed.
With the focal point securely in place, draw an axis line extending from the middle of the focal point to the floor and ceiling in the wall elevation, and across to the other side of the room in the wall elevation. The axis point is another tool for developing harmony and maintaining balance. For example, a room with a fireplace and above flat-screen television as the focal point may have a gallery wall, bookcase flanked with chairs, on the opposite wall in order to balance the visual weight of the fireplace and television.
Once the balance lines, focal point, and axis are determined, start playing around with different furniture arrangements using the cutout furniture models. When a decorator has decided on a furniture arrangement, do not immediately go out, buy furniture, and start placing it. Instead, use painters tape to create a layout on the actual floor of the interior. Make squares or X's on the floor, keeping the scale as true-to-life as possible. Doing so will help a decorator visualize the space and also reveals whether or not she's made a mistake. The painter's tape furniture arrangement may make one realize the visual balance is indeed off, or that the electrical outlet thought to be on the south wall is actually on the north wall, and therefore the lamp must be moved from the south to the north wall.
When arranging furniture, it is often helpful to think of furniture in terms of functional groups. In a living room, for example, seating areas function for the purpose of conversation, or maybe watching television or listening to someone play the piano. The furniture arrangement should reflect these purposes. Conversation areas should include a few pieces of furniture that face or are close to one another--one L-shaped sectional with a coffee table and a single armchair with an end table and ottoman is one example, while four armchairs surrounding a coffee table and facing one another is another. It is often helpful to contain different functional groups within areas rugs. A living room with a conversation area and a reading corner for example, can have two different area rugs: one holding the sectional and armchair, a second containing a cozy chair, standing lamp, and end table. Perhaps the reading corner is further framed by bookshelves. In the bedroom, one may have the bed and sleeping area and a separate area in which to relax or read. There may also be space for storage or morning or evening rituals, which can include a vanity or possibly a yoga mat. In essence, it is of the upmost importance an interior be functional and reflect not only the style, but also the needs, of the person occupying and using the space.
