Fifteen minutes with a tape measure and your phone. Everything I design
is built on these numbers, so it's worth doing carefully — a sofa that's two
inches too wide is a very expensive mistake to unwind.
What you'll need
A 25-foot tape measure (not a fabric one — they stretch), your phone, and
something to write on. If someone can hold the other end of the tape, it goes twice
as fast and the numbers come out better.
01
The room itself
Measure wall to wall at the baseboard, not at eye level.
Walls are rarely square, so if two opposite walls differ, send me both numbers
rather than averaging them.
Length, wall to wall
Width, wall to wall
Ceiling height, floor to ceiling
If the ceiling slopes or steps, the height at its lowest and highest points
Which direction the main windows face, if you know — north, south, east, west
02
Doors and windows
These decide where furniture can't go, which is usually
more useful than where it can.
Width and height of each window opening, trim included
Height from the floor to the top of the window trim
Height from the floor to the windowsill
Distance from each window to the nearest corner
Width of each doorway, and which way the door swings
Distance from each doorway to the nearest corner
Why the top of the window matters
It sets where the curtain rod goes, which sets the finished length of the panels.
Getting this number wrong is the single most common reason drapery has to be
remade, and it's rarely a cheap fix.
03
Everything that can't move
Anything fixed to the room. Measure it and note how far
it sits from the nearest corner.
Fireplace — width, height, and depth of the hearth
Built-ins, bookcases, or niches
Radiators, baseboard heaters, and floor or wall vents
Where the outlets are, especially any in the floor
Where the TV is, or where it has to go
Light switches and thermostats on the main walls
Ceiling fixtures — is there a box, and is it centered?
Stairs, columns, or half walls
04
What's staying
Anything you're keeping, whether it's a sofa or your
grandmother's dresser. I design around these rather than working out later that
they don't fit.
Width, depth, and height of every piece that's staying
Seat height for any chair or sofa you're keeping
Rug dimensions, if the rug is staying
Anything you love but aren't attached to keeping — tell me, and I'll say honestly whether it works
05
Photos
More than feels reasonable. I'd rather have forty and
use six. Hold the phone level at chest height and stand with your back against the
wall — shooting from a corner distorts the whole room.
Each wall, straight on, one at a time
All four corners
The view from the main doorway, standing in the opening
The view from the room looking back out
Close-ups of the floor, trim, and any existing finishes
The window with the blinds or curtains open
One full set in the morning and one in the late afternoon
Anything that annoys you about the room — photograph the problem
Why two times of day
Photos lie about color. A room that looks warm and cream at 4pm can be flat and
grey at 9am, and paint that's beautiful in one is wrong in the other. Two sets
and I can see what the light actually does.
06
Send it over
Photos of your handwritten notes are completely fine
— don't type anything up. A shared album, a Google Drive folder, or just a
long email all work.
Measurements, photographed or typed
All the room photos
Anything saved from Pinterest or Instagram that you love
Anything you've already bought or ordered for the room
Your honest budget — it changes the plan more than any other single thing
Stuck on any of it?
Send what you have and flag the rest. A quick video call where you walk me through
the room with the tape measure sorts out anything confusing in about ten minutes,
and it's often faster than measuring alone.