Make sure your furniture choices are realistic, says interior designer Chris Senior. As interior designers, one of the biggest challenges we face is making sure that a piece of furniture is perfect for the size and shape of a room. Colours, textures and shapes are, if you have an eye for it, something that should come together naturally. The furniture, however, needs more of an exact science applied to it, with precise measurements being crucial. You may have a picture in your head but it is important that not only does a room look good, but that it is also fully functional. Get the dimensions wrong on a sofa, a bed or another key piece of furniture and not only is the aesthetic appeal spoilt, so is your own comfort of the room. Furniture that is too large may not leave enough room for proper negotiation of the room leading to regularly banged shins and hips. Equally furniture that does not fill a space properly can give a "dolls house" effect, and restrict the number of people you can seat comfortably. So how do you get this right? Many recommend drawing out a map of your room on to paper, and cutting out the exact sizes of the furniture to lay out on the paper. This has the benefit that you can move the furniture around to see where it lays out best, but it is only 2D and does not take the height or any design features into consideration. Another school of thought is to lay out newspaper on the floor of the room to ensure that it fits - again height is not factored into this but it is easier to use a tape measure to work out how high up the wall the bed-head will come, for example. Many use computer programmes and this is more scientific. For me, a combination of good measuring, laying out in the room and being sensible with choices in-store is what works. It doesn't matter how much you love that chair, if it is an inch too big, be realistic and discount it from your choice. Of course, nowadays you can pay experts to get it right for you. Not only will the experts measure the area, make recommendations on size and build, they can even guide you on what fabrics, colours and patterns will match the rest of your grand scheme. Great - so you know it fits. But can you actually get it into the room? This is where many fall short and we have witnessed door frames being removed in a desperate attempt to get that dream suite into a chosen room. Everyone knows the old image of the bed being winched up to the bedroom window, as it wouldn't go up the spiral staircase! With the increase of townhouses and three-storey properties being built with slightly narrower hallways and staircases than older properties, a number of companies, ourselves included, have started to specialise in not only making furniture that fits, but furniture that is built for you in-situ! So, there you have it. You can do it yourself with careful planning and a bit of luck or you can contact an expert, you'll be surprised that it isn't as expensive as you thought to get the right look! * Chris Senior is a director at Q Interiors based on Queen Street, Newcastle, tel: (0191) 222-0303 www.q-interiors.co.uk. Q Interiors has recently launched a new division Q2U, which specialises in the construction of bespoke furniture, including chairs, sofas and beds. Q2U has a showroom at 23C Airport Industrial Estate, Kingston Park, www.q2u.co.uk | 
Travel, Entertainment & leisure
Professional Services
Health
Home Style
Home Improvements
Fashion & Weddings
Gifts
