How to create patterns to play with your bedroom furniture design

Making a cut out pattern to help with bedroom design. Wow this post really took me back to my childhood! My mom used to purchase drafting paper just so she could do exactly this! She would designate each square a measurement (such as a foot) and then draw out the rooms dimensions and then cut out the furniture so she could move it around the room. I remember watching her and thinking it was so cool and fun!

(This is a contributed post, for more information about my compensation please read my disclosure policy)

Do you have a new bedroom to decorate? Planning the interior design for a room you have never furnished before isn’t something you can rush. There are a lot of things to consider, especially how the bedroom furniture will be laid out.

It is important that you determine the ideal size for the different elements of your bedroom set before choosing one to buy. It is very common for homeowners to purchase a bedroom set based solely on the dimensions of the room. Don’t ignore factors such as necessary available floor space and paths between furniture and walls, where your outlets are located, and other factors as to how you arrange your bedroom furniture.

If you buy your bedroom set first, you may get it into your room only to find that it leaves no empty space and seems cramped and closed-in. But how do you determine the best bedroom set without already having it in your home?

Patterns can be used for much more than just sewing. Creating a manipulative pattern for desired bedroom furniture pieces allows you to arrange the furniture before you ever buy it. There are two ways you might do this –

1. Start with the ideal bedroom set dimensions and create a manipulative pattern, or
2. Start with a larger pattern based on estimates and use the final pattern dimensions to purchase appropriate bedroom furniture.

Let’s break these down to see how to make a pattern to design your bedroom set.

How to make a pattern to arrange bedroom furniture

Regardless of how you start, the process for making the pattern itself is the same. You can create your pattern using materials you have around your home, a pair of scissors, and some tape appropriate for your source material.

Some of the materials you can use to make your pattern include:

• cardboard
• newspapers
• magazines
• junk mail
• used paper

Keep in mind that heavier materials will be stiffer and more durable, while flimsy materials like paper can be easily rolled or folded, but also easily torn. There are pros and cons to each, but when it comes down to it, use what you have available.

Start by measuring the bedroom. Rather than going off of the square footage alone, it is important to know how much usable space you have. This is even more important if you have odd alcoves or other architectural features that limit the use of the space. Then, decide what pieces of bedroom furniture are a must, as well as some additional pieces you would like to include if there is room. You are going to make the patterns to physically represent the size and arrangement of the furniture the same way you would make a sewing or cutting pattern.

The size of the patterns will depend on a few other measurements. If you are going to start with a pattern rather than an ideal bedroom set, make a high estimation of the size of each piece. It is always better to start out big and continue cutting down until the configuration works for you. Then, take the dimensions of the remaining pattern to find the bedroom set that will fit.

If you are going to start with an ideal bedroom set, make the patterns according to the listed dimensions of the bed set. Make sure you are using the largest width measurement, not the footprint. When you have found the perfect configuration and size for your bedroom furniture, buy furniture sets for bedroom here.

(This is a contributed post, for more information about my compensation please read my disclosure policy)