6 Tips to Quickly Measure a Room before Visiting Sam Levitz Furniture

When the time comes to redesigning a space in your home, it’s easy to get carried away with vision boards and wish lists. After all, who can say “no” to the abundance of creative ideas found on Pinterest, magazines, and furniture stores? Before you know it, the endless options can lead you down a rabbit hole of purchasing all sorts of furniture and decor that may or may not be practical for your home’s specifications. For this reason, it’s important that you not only invest in pieces that are high-quality and affordable, but that also work well in the space you plan to put them in. How can you make that happen? By taking the time to measure the room you’re redesigning, as well as the furniture you plan to put in it. Check out these practical tips to help you measure any space in your home quickly and easily before stepping foot into our furniture store.

Measure Entryways & Passages

Before you break out the tape measure and begin measuring the room you plan on redecorating, you should first give the entryways and passages that your new furniture must travel through some attention. These include the doors, hallways, and staircases. Your master bedroom may be big enough to hold a California king-size bed, but that won’t matter if you can’t get the bed frame up your stairs. This is where thoughtful planning becomes critical. Take into consideration every entry and passageway that the item will have to fit into, as well as the corners they must maneuver around.

Pro Tips:

• Always measure the height and width of the inside of the door frame.
• Along with height and width, measure hallways diagonally.
• Document any tight corners the piece will have to pass by.

How to Measure the Room Itself

Once you’ve measured the paths through which your new furniture will travel, it’s time to measure the room itself. Start by measuring the distance from the main door to the opposite wall. This is important to determine if the piece will be able to fit into the space. Next, measure the length, width, and height of the room. Don’t forget to measure and take note of any doors, windows, or other architectural features that could affect the placement of your furniture. You may assume you have plenty of room on a wall next to a window to position a dresser, only to discover that it covers half of the window when you bring it home. Save yourself time, money, and the headache of trying to return furniture that will not work for you by measuring everything in the room before you buy it.

Tips to Properly Measure Windows

When it comes to measuring your windows, it must be done accurately in case your goal is to allow natural light to stream in or positioning furniture in front of or under your window. Here’s how to achieve measuring windows properly:

• Measure from the floor to the bottom edge of the window or windowsill.
• If you plan on positioning furniture under or in front of a window, be sure to measure how far the windowsill sticks out.

Sketch it Out

While documenting all the measurements you make of the entryways, passages, and spaces of the room, it’s best to have a visualization of what the space will look like while you’re shopping for furniture. Make a rough sketch of the room, label it with the corresponding measurements, and be sure to include every aspect such as windows, built-in shelves, and fireplaces. This will ensure no surprises spring up when you bring your furniture home and it will also help the salesperson, or interior designer, assist you in finding items that will work well in the space.

Measure the Furniture

After you’ve done all the hard work of measuring the room and space, it’s time to go shopping. If you find an item (or several) that you love and suspect will look great in your home, don’t forget to measure it to be sure. While shopping, you can ask a salesperson for the measurements, or better yet, break out your own tape measure to compare the dimensions to the space you have available on your sketch. Remember, it’s not enough for the piece to merely fit in the room. It should fit well with plenty of space, at least four inches less than the passage’s measurements, to move around and not interfere with anything else in your home.

Tips to Measure like a Pro

To help you measure any room in your home quickly and easily, keep these practical tips in mind:

• Use two people to ensure that the measuring process goes as smoothly as possible, especially if the room is spacious.
• To help keep your measurements as accurate as possible, use a laser pointer.
• Include the location of electrical outlets on your sketch, especially for furniture that will be paired with electronics, such as a side table, entertainment stand or desk.
• Don’t forget to make note of any obstacles that movers may encounter when bringing your furniture home, such as light fixtures.
• Bring a note pad and a tape measure while shopping, so that you can write down which items you like and how big they are compared to the measurements of your room. 
• If you can’t envision how an item will fit in the room based on your measurements, try taping the dimensions of the piece on the floor where you plan to put it.

Once you’ve measured your room, it’s time to fill it with gorgeous, quality furniture. The interior design team at Sam Levitz Furniture is here to help you every step of the way. For more tips on finding the best home furnishings to suit any space in your home, visit our convenient showroom location or give us a call today. We can’t wait to show you how fun decorating and redesigning can be for your home!