Published 2026-08-26 · 2 min read
How to plan a room in 3D before buying furniture
The expensive mistake is not the wall colour. It is the sofa that fits in the room but blocks the way to the balcony. Five minutes in a 3D model shows it; the alternative is two months of regret.
Measure properly, once
Walls are not parallel, especially in older buildings. Measure each wall at both ends and in the middle, and plan with the smallest value.
Note what a plan does not show: where the sockets are, where the radiator sits, which way the door swings, how high the window sill is.
- Room height — decides whether a floor-to-ceiling wardrobe is possible.
- Door width and swing — the furniture has to come through it.
- Radiator position — do not block it with solid furniture.
- Windows: width, height and sill height from the floor.
Clearances, the most ignored numbers
- Main walkway through a room: 90 cm. Below 70 cm you brush against furniture daily.
- In front of a sofa, to the coffee table: 40–45 cm.
- In front of a wardrobe with hinged doors: 90 cm, or they cannot open fully.
- Between kitchen counters facing each other: 120 cm — below 100 you cannot open the oven with someone behind you.
- Around a dining table, to pull a chair out: 75 cm from table edge to wall.
Real furniture dimensions
Furniture comes in fairly standard sizes, so you can plan before choosing a product.
- Three-seat sofa: 200–220 × 90 cm. Two-seat: 160 × 90.
- Double bed: 160 × 200 cm mattress, plus 5–10 cm of frame.
- Wardrobe: 60 cm deep — below 55 a hanger will not sit front-facing.
- Table for six: 160 × 90 cm.
- Kitchen units: 60 cm deep below, 35 cm above, worktop at 90 cm.
Check in 3D, not on paper
A top view hides heights: you cannot see that the wardrobe covers half the window, or that the shelf above the desk meets your head.
In GrafitGo you build the room at real dimensions, drop in parametric furniture from the inventory, then walk through it at eye height. That is where everything a plan hides becomes obvious.
You can also build two versions of the same room and compare them — minutes, not hours.
Do I need design training for this?
No. The clearance rules above solve 80% of real problems. The rest is taste, and taste reads better in 3D than on paper.
Can I use the dimensions of furniture I intend to buy?
Yes, and it is the best approach: take the dimensions from the product sheet, make a box of that size and place it in the room.
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