Decor Planning Tools

How to Plan a Room From Start to Finish, in the Right Order

Most decorating regrets come from doing the right things in the wrong order. The rug that is too small, the sofa that will not fit through the door, the paint color picked before anyone thought about light. A short plan prevents nearly all of it.

This page brings together twelve free planning tools, each built to answer one question. This guide shows you what order to use them in, what each one tells you, and how to carry the answers from one step to the next. You do not need to use all twelve. You need the ones that match your project, in a sensible sequence.

How to use this page

There are three ways to get value from the tools above.

1. Go straight to one tool if you know your question. Use the filter buttons to narrow the cards to Measure, Plan, or Budget and color.
2. Use the “Which tool do I need?” menu if you know your situation but not the tool. Choose what you are doing and it suggests a main tool plus one or two supporting ones.
3. Follow the steps below if you are planning a whole room. They are in the order that avoids the most expensive mistakes.

Every tool saves you from a specific kind of guesswork. None of them replaces looking at your actual room with a tape measure in hand, so the first step is always the same.

The order that works

Think of a room plan as five stages. Each stage answers a question that the next stage depends on.

If you are moving into your first home, start with the checklist and treat the stages as a second pass once the essentials are covered.

Step 1: Measure the room

Everything else depends on the size of the room, so start there. The Room Size Calculator turns a length and a width into the floor area in square feet and square meters.

Measure at the widest and longest points, wall to wall, not baseboard to baseboard if the baseboards are unusually deep. Write the numbers down once and reuse them in every other tool. A few more measurements are worth taking now, because you will need them later:

• Ceiling height. It affects paint, curtains and the feel of the room.
• Window and door sizes. Width, height, and the distance from the floor and from the corners.
• Fixed obstacles. Radiators, vents, outlets, switches and built-ins that furniture has to work around.
• Door swings. A door that opens into the room takes floor space away from furniture.

Keep these in one note on your phone. Nearly every tool on this page asks for some of them.

Step 2: Check what fits

A piece can fit in the room and still never make it into the room. The Will It Fit? Checker tests whether a sofa, bed or table can pass through a doorway and around a hallway corner, which is where many deliveries fail.

Do this check before you buy, not on delivery day. Measure the narrowest points along the path: the front door, the stairwell, any tight turn and the final doorway. Then compare them with the product’s width, depth and height from the listing. Many sofas have legs or arms that can be removed, so also check the product page for that.

In a small apartment, the checker is also a sanity test for the room itself. If a piece barely clears the door, it probably crowds the room as well.

Step 3: Plan the layout

With the room size and the furniture dimensions in hand, use the Furniture Layout Planner. You drag to-scale pieces around your room and see what works before you buy or move anything.

A good layout starts with the focal point, whether that is a window, a fireplace, a TV wall or the head of the bed. Place the largest piece first, then work down to side tables and storage. As you place things, think about three things the planner cannot decide for you:

• Walking paths. You should be able to cross the room without turning sideways. About 30 to 36 inches is a common target for main paths.
• Conversation distance. Seating that faces each other works best when people can talk without raising their voices.
• Access. Doors, drawers and closets need room to open.

Save a screenshot of your best layout. The rug, the lighting and the art will all be planned around it.

Ready to try a tool? Back to the tools ↑

Step 4: Set the budget

Once you know roughly what the room needs, decide what you can spend. The Decorating Budget Planner splits your total across eight categories, such as furniture, rugs, lighting and wall art, so no single category quietly eats everything.

The most useful habit is to set the budget before you start shopping and to decide which category matters most to you. If you will sit on the sofa every day, spend more there and less on decor you can upgrade later. The budget planner also shows where small amounts go a long way: paint, a rug and lamps can change a room for much less than a new sofa.

If this is your first home, pair the budget with the First Apartment Checklist. The checklist helps you see the essentials first, such as bedding, lighting and basic kitchen items, so you do not spend the decor money on extras before the basics are covered. It saves your progress in your browser.

Step 5: Choose colors

Colors are easier to choose once the layout and budget exist, because you already know which big pieces are staying. The Color Palette Generator turns one color you love into a five-color palette for walls, furniture and accents.

Start from something that already exists in the room: a sofa, a rug, a piece of art or the floor. Build the palette around it instead of fighting it. A simple way to use five colors is to give each a job:

• One main color for the walls or the largest surfaces.
• One or two supporting colors for furniture and textiles.
• One or two accent colors for pillows, art and small objects.

Test any wall color on the wall itself with a large sample, and look at it in the morning and in the evening. Light changes color more than most people expect.

Step 6: Calculate paint

When the wall color is chosen, the Paint Calculator tells you how many gallons your walls need, with doors, windows and the number of coats included.

Two habits save money and trips to the store. First, subtract only the large openings, as the calculator does, and do not shave the number down further. Second, buy all the paint for one room at the same time, from the same batch if you can, so the color matches from wall to wall. Check the coverage printed on the can, because it varies by product and by how porous the wall is. A dark color over a light wall, or the reverse, may need an extra coat or a primer.

If you plan an accent wall of wallpaper instead of paint, skip ahead to the wall section below.

Step 7: Rugs and curtains

These two items make a room look finished, and both are commonly bought in the wrong size.

Rugs

The Rug Size Guide gives you a standard rug size for a living room, bedroom or dining table. The general principle is that a rug should be big enough for the main furniture to sit on it, or at least for the front legs to rest on it. A rug that is too small makes furniture look as if it is floating and the room feel smaller. Use the room measurements from Step 1 and the layout from Step 3 to see where the rug sits.

Curtains

The Curtain Size Calculator gives you the rod length, the mounting height and the panel size that make windows look taller and the room feel finished. The usual advice is to mount the rod higher and wider than the window frame, so the panels frame the glass instead of covering it. Check the calculator’s results against the actual panel sizes sold by your store, since ready-made panels come in a limited set of lengths.

Rugs and curtains are also where your color palette shows up most clearly, so keep the palette from Step 5 open when you shop.

Step 8: Lighting

Lighting is the step people skip, and it is the one that most changes how a room feels. The Lighting Calculator shows how many lumens each room needs and how to split them between ambient, task and accent lights.

• Ambient light is the general light that fills the room, usually from a ceiling fixture or several lamps.
• Task light is focused light for reading, cooking or working.
• Accent light highlights art, shelves or architecture and adds mood.

Plan lighting alongside the layout so you know where lamps and outlets are. Buy bulbs by lumens, not watts, and check the color temperature on the box. Warmer bulbs feel cozy in living rooms and bedrooms, and cooler ones suit kitchens and work areas.

Step 9: Walls and art

Walls are the last layer. You have two tools here.

The Peel-and-Stick Wallpaper Calculator counts the strips and rolls for an accent wall, with the pattern repeat and a trim allowance included. A pattern repeat wastes more paper than a plain design, so always count rolls using the calculator rather than guessing from the wall area alone.

The Gallery Wall Planner plans frame sizes and spacing, with the center set at eye level. It shows a scaled preview of your wall and the height to hang at. For a gallery over a sofa or bed, remember to leave a small gap above the furniture and keep the group to roughly two thirds of its width.

If you want both a wallpapered wall and a gallery, choose the wallpaper first, then plan frames that read clearly against the pattern. A calm pattern lets the art stand out, and a bold pattern may call for fewer, larger frames.

Your question, the right tool

If you already know what you are stuck on, this table points you to the tool.

All twelve tools compared

This table shows what each tool gives you and when it is most useful.

Three sample workflows

Here is how the tools chain together in three common projects.

Your first apartment

1. Open the First Apartment Checklist and tick off what you already own.
2. Set the total in the Decorating Budget Planner.
3. Measure the main room with the Room Size Calculator.
4. Check your sofa and bed with the Will It Fit? Checker, especially if there are stairs.
5. Plan the layout, then add a rug, curtains and lamps.

A living room refresh

1. Draft the layout in the Furniture Layout Planner.
2. Pick a palette from your sofa or rug with the Color Palette Generator.
3. Work out the paint with the Paint Calculator.
4. Size the rug with the Rug Size Guide and the curtains with the Curtain Size Calculator.
5. Add lighting with the Lighting Calculator, then finish with a gallery wall.

A bedroom makeover

1. Measure the room and test the bed with the checker.
2. Place the bed first in the layout planner, then the nightstands and storage.
3. Choose a calm palette and, if you like, a wallpapered wall behind the bed with the Peel-and-Stick Wallpaper Calculator.
4. Size the rug so it extends past the sides and foot of the bed.
5. Plan layered lighting: a soft ambient light, a reading light at each side and a small accent light.

Common mistakes

1. Buying before measuring. Measure the room, the doors and the path first.
2. Choosing paint before the big pieces. It is easier to match a wall to a sofa than a sofa to a wall.
3. Skipping the budget. Without a total, one category quietly takes over.
4. Buying a rug that is too small. It is the most common sizing mistake.
5. Hanging curtains at the window frame. Higher and wider usually looks better.
6. Relying on one overhead light. Layer ambient, task and accent light.
7. Hanging art too high. Aim for the center of a gallery near eye level.
8. Ordering exactly the calculated amount. For paint and wallpaper, a small extra for mistakes and touch-ups is wise.

Before you shop: checklist

Tick these off before you spend money.

• I measured the room, ceiling height, windows and doors.
• I checked that big pieces can get through the door and the hallway.
• I drafted a furniture layout.
• I set a total budget and split it across categories.
• I chose a five-color palette and tested the wall color.
• I calculated paint or wallpaper and checked the product coverage.
• I picked a rug size and the curtain rod length.
• I planned ambient, task and accent lighting.
• I planned the art and where it hangs.

Questions