room arranging hack

i have always always loved to arrange rooms. even when i'm not good at it! ever since i was big enough to move the furniture by myself, i have rearranged my bedroom constantly, always looking for a more pleasing arrangement. and sometimes, just wanting the freshness that only change can bring.

however, my current bedroom is driving me nuts, and this time it's not enough just to look at the room and start moving stuff. plus, now that i'm an adult, my stuff is bigger and heavier!

but now, thanks to my friend ethan allen (my rich, expensive, completely out of my price range friend), i have a wonderful tool to help me arrange and rearrange my room. and to plan and replan for needed pieces that i don't have.

it's called: the room planner (click on "design online with my projects" in the lower right hand corner). catchy name, right? ;) all you need to start are an account with ethanallen.com (don't worry, they won't ask for financial information) and the dimensions of your room and existing (or desired) pieces.

now, here's my hack for it: they let you use their furniture only, but if you know the dimensions of your existing furniture (in inches!!) you can choose pieces that match (or closely resemble) the dimensions of your piece. since it's a 2d, view from above image, it doesn't even matter if you choose a bookcase to represent a bookcase, as long as the dimensions are what you want.

they also let you print the plans, and even save them as jpegs. you can create multiple plans too!

here's the current layout of my current room (i'm also fooling around with a remodeling possibility). click image for a larger version:



so happy virtual arranging, y'all! your back will thank me! ;)

next post will contain a similar hack, but for photo/wall hanging arrangement.