When you’re about to move into your first apartment and already have most of your furniture, you might be unsure how to move and arrange it all. Similarly, decorating your new apartment might feel like a daunting task if you don’t have a thorough plan, especially if your apartment lacks space. If you want to have an easy time decorating your apartment, it’s a good idea to plan your furniture arrangement before moving. Here’s how.
1. Measure your furniture
Before you start your furniture arrangement plan, you should make sure to measure your furniture. Write down your furniture’s dimensions or keep them in a note on your phone. Knowing your furniture’s dimensions is important so you’re certain that your furniture fits in your new apartment.
2. Measure your rooms
Interior design experts recommend measuring your rooms while planning your furniture arrangement. After doing so, you should draw a floor plan using your measurements. With this floor plan complete, you can draw your furniture inside each room.
3. Plan using online 3D tools
If you don’t want to draw a plan (or you just want a neat visual representation of your apartment’s furniture arrangement plan), you can find many websites with free furniture-arranging 3D tools that can help you plan how to decorate your apartment. You can even put in your room’s shape and its dimensions to get a detailed, accurate plan. Some of these websites also offer additional tips on how to decorate if you need some help.
4. Buy felt furniture pads for moving your furniture
Before you move to your new apartment, buy some felt furniture pads so you can easily move your furniture. Not only do felt pads help you easily push your furniture, but they can also help prevent scratches (and future security deposit deductions) when you move furniture on your new apartment’s floor.
5. Place some furniture away from your walls
You might think about placing most of your furniture near your walls, but apartments often look better when some furniture is placed closer to the center of the room. Placing your furniture in the middle of a room can also make your space and transform it into a workspace or conversation space.
6. Make your space easy to navigate
Although you should keep some of your furniture in the middle of your rooms, it’s important to leave enough space to navigate. Make sure your apartment is walkable so that you, your roommate, and other guests can freely move around without stumbling or bumping into furniture. One pro tip: Leave at least 18 inches around your bed so you can walk around.
7. Don’t block doors or drawers
While you’re planning your furniture arrangement plan, you’ll need to leave free space around your apartment’s doors and drawers. This way, you can fully open them – it’ll quickly get annoying to deal with blocked doors and drawers.
8. Add decorations and rugs
After you’ve planned how to fit your larger items, add your smaller decorations and rugs. Although these apartment decor items are less worrisome than big furniture pieces, you can’t truly see how your new apartment will look without these final interior design touches.
How have you planned to arrange your furniture before moving into a new apartment? Share your tips in the comments!
