Interior Design | How To Measure

How to Measure a Room

L E T ' S G E T S T A R T E D . . .

This Guide will help you provide us with the following information:

Floor plan
Elevations
Photos
Furniture Measurements (if applicable)

Recording your room's measurements can be tedious, but it's an important step in ensuring the best space plan for you room. The instructions below are for drawing a floor plan (bird's eye view) and an elevation (vertical view which shows the heights). Follow the guide below and please get in touch if you have any questions!

YOU WILL NEED:

A Tape Measure
Paper (Graphic paper is easier but absolutely not necessary)
A Pencil

Important measurements would be helpful:

All walls and bump outs
Ceiling height for each room (and if it varies)
Location of all the power outlets
Height and widths of windows and doors
Location of windows on each wall
Location of any wall scones and/or ceiling lights

Additional information to note:

Always measure in inches (in) not feet or metric
Measure to the nearest 1/4"
When designing more than one space and it is adjacent to the others, please note on the floor plans how they are connected (i.e. which doorway leads to the other room)
When measuring, start in one corner of the room and work clockwise. Make sure no wall surface is missed.
Be sure to label each room at the top of the paper before you start.
Indicate which ways the doors swing. Just draw a single line at 45-degree angle to the wall. The part that has the hinge should be the part that touches the wall on your drawing.
For angled ceilings, be sure to measure the lowest point, as well as the highest point.
It's okay if you have to draw a room again on a separate piece of paper. One can be for wall measurements and the other can be for obstacles.
Measure any molding--baseboard, crown, chair railing, etc.
For windows, we will need height and width.

But if you're feeling unsure, here is a video that we thought could be helpful...

Let's get started on the floor plan!

The first thing is to look around the room and draw out the shape on your piece of paper. Most rooms are square/rectangular shaped, so it’s pretty quick to get started. Do not worry about having perfectly straight lines or making sure that everything lines up. It will be our job to take the measurements and create something that is to-scale.
Now, you’ll want to draw any obstacles/features that might get in the way of furniture placement. This includes doorways, windows, maybe floor registers, columns, fireplaces, whatever! Again, just sketch them on your paper and don’t worry about being perfect. Don't forget to notate soffits, angled ceilings/walls, bump outs and other architectural features in the room.
From here, you’re going to get your measuring tape out and start measuring the walls--from corner to corner, or from trim work to trim work. Each time you measure a new wall, write down the measurements on your paper where they belong. Don’t forget to include the width of doors, windows, or anything else you may need. Door and window measurements will always be recorded from outside of the trim work, to the other side of the trim work. For now, do not worry about measuring the width of the actual opening.

When you have finished, total the measurements to make sure all your numbers are accurate, we will be sourcing furniture and space planning according to your measurements. YAY--we believe in you!!! (^_^)

Now let's try an elevation!

When you stand and face the wall that is called an elevation. It records important information like how high the ceilings, doors, and windows are, any built in bookshelves, custom crown molding etc. It is important if you want assistance with artwork, wall decor, paneling, etc.
Measure starting at one wall and measure to the edge of the door (the trim work), to the window, or obstacle. Keep repeating this process along the length of the wall until the entire wall is measured.
If possible, now try to measure the entire wall, from the left to the right, to see if your numbers add up to roughly the totaled number. This will sometimes be off by 1-2".

Here are some drawings that may help this make more sense...

Add dimensions for the height to the elevations. For windows, measure from the floor up to the bottom of the sill and then measure the overall height of the window. And then the space between the top of the window and the ceiling.
Make sure to review the drawings--the floor plan as well as every elevation. We will need the total lengths of every wall, an elevation of each wall, as well as all of the obstacles that may interfere with furniture, art, and window treatment placements.
And just before you finish, be sure to measure any existing furniture/art that will stay in the room. We will need to know what to work around, what to incorporate, or what to help resolve. Measurements for these are determined by the following:
- Width/Length= left-to-right
- Depth = front-to-back
- Height = top-to-bottom

And don't panic! Do the best you can. If something doesn't add up, we will probably catch it, once we move the project into our scaled drawings. We'll just reach out and ask for additional clarification--it's no big deal.

Lastly, the other safeguard we will have with this process, are photos. So, let's just jump right in...

Photography Tips

It is usually best to shoot in daylight and avoid flash which can sometimes lend to blown-out and artificial appearance to a scene.
It’s nice to turn on lights in the room just for a little point of brightness. If you do use flash, be sure to not reflect the light off of glass or mirrors, because you’ll get a bright streak in the image that you won’t like.
Dusk is also a better time to photograph windows - low natural light will allow you to take pictures that aren’t blown out by midday sunlight.
Try not to take a photo when the sun is shining directly into the room.
Feel free to turn the camera vertical to get a taller shot, as necessary.
Do not shoot with a wide-angle, as it will distort the room.
Try to reduce any clutter, if possible.
Be sure to take a picture of the ceiling.
"Too many pictures" is not a thing. Take as many as you can.
Take direct and singular photos of obstacles that need to be noted.
Take separate photos of existing/remaining furniture/art pieces too.
Store these photos into your Google Drive, DropBox, or other shareable storage unit, and send us a link for access.

We repeat, don't panic! We know this is a lot of information to keep track of. However, we will navigate the process with whatever you provide. We are comfortable asking additional questions, reviewing the files together, and if necessary, we can jump on a Zoom/FT call and walk you through an example or two.

We believe in you!!

Now, go get started so we can get these measurements + photos and get your project underway!! \(^o^)/