Furniture layout plan

A furniture layout plan is the floor plan brought to life. Beds, sofas, dining tables, kitchen units and bathroom fittings are drawn at their true size and placed where they will actually go. The point is not decoration; it is to test whether each room really works for the way it will be used.

What a furniture plan reveals

A bedroom that looks generous as an empty outline can turn out to be tight once two bedside tables and a wardrobe are in, and the wardrobe door may not even open. Drawing the furniture catches these clashes early. Door swings, clear walkways, the space in front of windows and the position of sockets and light points are all discussed on this sheet. In interior work it often becomes the base drawing for the electrical and lighting layout.

It also sells. An empty plan tells a buyer the square metres; a furnished one tells them how they might live there, which is why sales brochures usually show a simple, scaled layout.

Before the interior render

If an interior render starts before the layout is settled, the scene keeps changing. Fix the plan first, then choose camera angles around it. For practical ideas, see our living room furniture layout guide.