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Guides to floor plans, interiors and staging — written to be used.

How to draw and read a plan, the sizes and clearances that make a room work, the styles and how to tell them apart. Each one answers its question in the first lines.

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A furnished single-story home seen from above at an angle with the roof removed, showing bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen and a central living space.

Floor plans

2D vs 3D Floor Plans: What Each Is For and When to Use Which

What a 2D floor plan and a 3D floor plan each show, who uses which, how they compare, and the usual order to make them in, with a side-by-side table.

October 12, 20267 min read

A printed floor plan lying on a table, each room washed in a pale watercolor tint, with labels for the kitchen, two bedrooms, closets and a bath.

Floor plans

AI Floor Plan Generators: How They Work and What They Can't Do

How AI floor plan generators turn a written brief, plot size or sketch into a layout, what to check in the result, and the limits you should know about.

October 12, 20269 min read

A long living room with a gray sofa and two armchairs around a round white coffee table on a shaggy rug, facing a low media unit with a TV.

Interior design

Furniture Layout Rules: The Clearances That Make a Room Work

The standard furniture clearances for walkways, sofas, dining tables, beds, rugs and TVs, in inches and centimeters, with a step-by-step layout method.

October 12, 20268 min read

A printed black-and-white floor plan of a three-bedroom home lying on a pale wooden desk, with thick outer walls, door swings and room labels.

Floor plans

How to Draw a Floor Plan to Scale (Step by Step)

A step-by-step method for drawing a floor plan to scale, by hand or in software, from measuring the room to walls, doors, windows, dimensions and checks.

October 12, 20268 min read

A printed floor plan on a desk with each room washed in a different pale watercolor, showing furniture symbols, door swings and room labels.

Floor plans

How to Read a Floor Plan: Symbols, Scale and Dimensions

Learn to read a floor plan: what the view shows, how walls, doors, windows and stairs are drawn, what dashed lines mean, and how scale and dimensions work.

October 12, 20268 min read

A living room in a Scandinavian style with a gray sofa, light wood armchairs and coffee table, a chunky cream rug, sheer curtains and potted plants.

Interior design

Interior Design Styles Explained: 10 Styles and How to Tell Them Apart

Ten popular interior design styles defined in plain terms, with the palette, materials, furniture and one giveaway detail for each, plus how to choose and mix.

October 12, 20267 min read

A furnished L-shaped home seen from above in 3D with the roof removed, showing three bedrooms, a living and dining area, a kitchen, a study and two bathrooms.

Floor plans

Standard Room Sizes and Clearances for a House (With a Table)

Reference tables of typical room sizes for a house, the minimums in the International Residential Code, and NKBA kitchen and bathroom clearance guidance.

October 12, 20269 min read

A virtually staged bedroom with a rattan headboard, linen bedding, two oak nightstands with white lamps, a round jute rug and three framed prints.

Real estate

Virtual Staging: What It Is, How It Works and How to Do It Honestly

What virtual staging is, how AI staging works, how it compares with physical staging, how to shoot a room for it, and how to label staged photos honestly.

October 12, 20267 min read

Looking for one word rather than a whole guide? The glossary defines the terms on a floor plan and in a design brief.