YOUR DESIGN GUIDE | THE ROOM NUMBERS
Picture a living room that’s finished. Not expensive. Finished.
You walk in and nothing stops you. The path from the door to the sofa is wide enough that you never turn your shoulders. The coffee table sits close enough to set a cup down without leaning, far enough that nobody bangs a shin. The rug catches the front legs of every chair, so the seating reads as one group instead of four pieces floating. The art hangs at eye level. The curtains start high and fall wide, so the window looks bigger than it is.
None of that is taste. It’s numbers. These are the room measurements I check on every interior design project, before I buy, move or hang a single thing.
This week I shared the walkway measurements I use in every small room (they started in my Day 2 guide to measuring the walkways), and that little note brought new readers here. So here is the full set: the numbers I check in every room.
Grab a tape measure and a notes app. This is the post to keep.
Room measurements every room needs: what’s in the full guide
The full post is for paid subscribers on Substack. In this guide, you’ll get:
- The spacing numbers for every main room, in one place
- The rug, table and lighting sizes that stop expensive mistakes
- A 20-minute walk-through to find the one number that’s off in your room
This is the free preview. Every room’s numbers and the 20-minute walk-through are in the full post on Substack.
Every number, room by room
The spacing, rug and lighting numbers I design with all live in one place: my Complete Home Design Guide, 151 pages of layouts, dimensions, color, lighting and styling, room by room. Keep it open while you measure.
Want help with your own room?
Stuck on your own room? Book a design consultation and we’ll go through your space together online: what to measure, what to move, and which piece is the wrong size before you buy anything else.
Room measurements: FAQ
Why do room measurements matter more than style?
Because a room that feels finished is usually a room where the spacing is right: a clear walkway, a coffee table at a comfortable reach, a rug that holds the seating together, art at eye level. Get the numbers right and the style has somewhere to land.
How wide should a walkway be?
For the main path through a room, I plan 30 to 36 inches. Under 30 inches feels tight, though in a small space 30 inches is fine. The rest of my small-room walkway numbers are in the graphic above.
How far should the coffee table be from the sofa?
14 to 18 inches. Closer and you hit your shins; farther and you can’t reach your coffee.
Where are the rest of the numbers?
In the full post on Substack, for paid subscribers: the spacing numbers for every main room, the rug, table and lighting sizes, and the 20-minute walk-through.
More from Your Design Guide:
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Originally published on Your Design Guide. Read the full post and the comments on Substack: The Room Numbers I Use on Every Project
