Create a simple sketch of a space to reimagine a new furniture layout. This is a scrappy loose sketch so no need for an architecture degree.

Space Plan Evaluation

Evaluate the efficiency of your home with a few questions.

FEELING: How does my home feel when I enter and how would I like to feel when I enter my home?
ORGANIZATION: Do you feel organized? Do you have storage issues?
SPACE: Are there rooms in your home that are not in use? For example; a spare room with random furniture, a creepy basement, narrow alcoves, oddly shaped closets?

Here is a 3 step guide to answering these questions to make adjustments and improve the everyday functioning of your home.

Think about a restaurant, cafe, hotel or B&B you visited and felt like you could live there. Write down everything you loved about that space. The more details, the better. What was the scent like, what were the colors, materials and fabrics like, was here a views, did you hear music? Which of those can you add to your home to bring you that same feeling you admired so much?
Do you have areas in your home where stuff accumulates or unfinished spaces that are at the bottom of the to-do list? What about where your essential items are located? Pay attention to your “flight paths” and the “dumping grounds” around your home. How about collections, are they prominently displayed or packed in boxes for someday when there’s space for them? Create a list any frustrations and inconveniences that arise from navigating your home. Keep this going for about a week to be sure to capture the day in the life of you as best as possible. Quick solution: add a decorative basket of your choosing to the “dumping ground” area to eliminate the visual clutter.
Got a spare room for your “I might need that someday” stuff? Are you short on space let alone have storage for extras? Believe it or not, these are solutions to both of these design dilemmas. Take a tour of your rooms, closets, drawers, cabinets, creepy basement, shared storage space, odd nooks and crawl spaces throughout your home and make list of each space and what is currently occupying these areas. Write a wish list of spaces you’d love to have for a collection, a hobby or every day use. Quick solution: start moving like items together to get a proper assessment of how much space you will need to for your new area. Use this method for decluttering a space to create a functioning office, guest room, creative studio, craft room, game room, library with collectables… Happy assessing, sketching and shapeshifting your personal space.