How to Use a Floor Plan for Proper Alignment

Did you know that there are design principles that artists use when creating their masterpieces? They include balance, proportion, repetition, contrast, emphasis, and alignment and are important tools to use in any form of visual art. These principles also translate to interior design.

Alignment is one of the most important principles to keep in mind when planning your room’s layout. The easiest way to pave the way for good alignment is to look at the room from a bird’s eye view. This is one of the main reasons that interior designers and architects use floor plans to strategize a room’s arrangement.

You can create your own floor plan by using online software or by simply using graph paper. Measure out your room and draw it to scale using one square on your graph paper to represent one foot. On a separate sheet of graph paper, do the same with your various pieces of furniture. Cut your furniture pieces out and arrange them as you would like on the floor plan you’ve made. This is a great way to come up with a preliminary plan for your room.

Now the principle of alignment comes in. With a highlighter, draw lines across your floor plan at the edge of each window and doorway. This will create a grid that will point out the invisible lines wherein your furniture should be aligned. Another thing to keep in mind, the edges of all of your floating pieces in the room should create an invisible rectangle. If one of your pieces falls outside of the rectangle, it is probably a good idea to reevaluate your placement of that piece.

Using alignment will make your home feel more cohesive and deliberately designed. Have fun experimenting with your space and discovering the perfect arrangement for your room!