When Moving To A Smaller Place: What Do We Have Room For?

While you are deep in the 3Ds (Downsizing, Decluttering, Disposal) and some of your packing, it is also important to start deciding what furniture and accessories you are taking. To help you determine what you can keep, I strongly suggest measuring all your furniture and making a floor plan. Not only will these steps save you money on moving day, they also transform your new space into your new home.

Measuring your furniture

Imagine you arrive at your new location only to find out that your sofa or dining room furniture won’t fit. The best way to avoid this is to measure your furniture in advance. In my experience, the trickiest pieces are the ones that have been custom-built for your current home. Assuming that your custom-built pieces will fit anywhere could be a very costly mistake. Try to get measurements of all the rooms and entry ways in your new home well in advance — and don’t forget to measure elevators. Remember, if even if it fits in the room, we still need to get the piece there!

Making a floor plan

If you are not an interior designer it can be extremely challenging to know how to create a floor plan and envision a layout for your new home. My crews are constantly asked to help with room set-ups and are more than happy to offer their suggestions and even try different placement options for furniture until our customer is satisfied.

Safety and accessibility should be a top priority when planning your furniture placement. I suggest drawing a rough sketch of the room and jotting down measurements. Note locations of electrical outlets, windows, light switches, chandeliers. Find the focal point of each room. Figure out where you want the bigger pieces and then build around them. To open up space in the bedroom, place dressers in bedroom closets. Try to leave an open welcoming path into each room. For example, do not have the back of a sofa facing the entrance to a living room. Measure at least 18 inches to safely be able to walk around beds. If guest rooms are not large, a queen or even a double bed will make the room appear larger.

If you are good with computers, there is a new free online tool which can create floor plans for you called Floorplanner.com. You can create floor plans for your multi-level home, condo or studio apartment. You simply create an account (there are free account options), set up your project, enter dimensions and now you have a basic unfurnished floor plan. Choose from their furniture gallery with thousands of items and drag them into place. You will also have the ability to rotate items to fit the space and once completed, the plans can be saved as PDF format and can be accessed on your desktop, tablet or mobile device.

Once you have figured out where you will place everything you have, the fun begins, shopping for the new furniture and accent pieces to personalize your new home. I recommend that do not have anything delivered on the day of the move. Now start envisioning what you want your new home to look like and start looking forward to your move.

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