Manual of Design Measurements ─ Formulas to Create a Functional and Beautiful Home

Design by the Numbers is an invaluable decorating resource, a compendium of every useful formula, measurement, proportion, and standard for putting a well-designed room together. All the numbers that decorators and designers learn and use—the shorthand of their professions—are gathered together in this comprehensive guide that takes the guesswork out of issues like height, placement, and myriad other calculations. Arranged room by room through the residential environment, this handbook addresses such topics as the ideal arrangement of furniture for conversational ease, the most comfortable height and dimension of tables and chairs for dining and study, the standard dimensions of mattresses and bedding, and even the optimal placement of the stove hood in a kitchen and towel bars in a bathroom. The book offers guidance with issues such as the positioning of art, curtain hardware, televisions, and lighting and the key dimensions of items such as bookcases and carpets. An additional chapter delves into calculators and templates for textiles and soft goods like upholstery, pillows, and window treatments. Finally, Design by the Numbers reveals the rules and principles that the best decorators use so often they hardly recognize them as formulas—for example, that a room should have a minimum of three light sources arranged in a triangular formation. It’s the ultimate decorating cheat sheet.