Adding, moving, and arranging furniture
Drop a piece in, drag it where you want it (on a phone, hold it for a moment first), point it the right way and size it, the core moves of arranging a room.
Once your room is drawn, furnishing it is just a handful of moves repeated: add a piece, position it, point it the right way, and decide what stacks on top of what. This guide covers all of them.
Catalog pieces start at their real-world size, and you can change any piece's width, depth and height from its panel when your sofa or table is a different size. For something the catalog doesn't have at all, start from the closest piece and set its size, name and color (see Add furniture in your exact size). Everything else here is live and reversible: try a layout, undo it, try another. Smart Flow Check keeps an eye on clearances while you do (see What is Smart Flow Check?).
What you'll need
- •A room drawn in RoomSketch3D
- •A few minutes to experiment — nothing here is permanent
Step by step
- 1
Add a piece from the catalog
Open Furnish: tabs for Indoor, Outdoor and Symbols, a search box, room chips (All, Living Room, Bedroom…) and size chips. Tap a piece to select it, then tap the blue +Add under it, or drag the tile straight onto the plan. The expand button opens the full catalog (Furniture, Appliances & Fixtures) for a bigger view. Every piece arrives at its true real-world size; you can change it once it's placed (see below). More in Browse the furniture catalog.
Tap a piece, then +Add, or drag it onto the plan. - 2
Drag to move it
Click and drag the piece to position it. With snapping on (the solid red magnet in the toolbar, right after Layers), it moves in small even steps, slides flush against nearby walls and lines up with the pieces next to it. Want it exactly where you drop it? Click the magnet to turn snapping off; see turn snapping on or off. Snapping starts on on a computer and off on a phone. On a computer you can also nudge a selected piece with the arrow keys: 6 inches per press, or 1 inch with Shift held.
- 3
On a phone or tablet: press and hold to pick a piece up
Rest your finger on the piece for a moment (about a quarter of a second) without moving. It's picked up: it selects, and from then on it follows your finger. Some Android phones give a tiny buzz when it's picked up. You don't need to tap it first. - A quick swipe that starts on a piece still moves the plan, so you can pan around a furnished room. - A tap still just selects the piece and opens its panel. - A piece that's already selected follows your finger from the first small movement. - Holding a piece no longer pops up the long-press menu. That menu only opens when you hold an empty spot on the plan. As soon as the piece starts moving, a magnifier fills the plan with a close-up around it, so you can see exactly where it sits against a wall or the next piece without your finger in the way. It closes when you lift your finger. (If you've already zoomed in a long way, there's nothing to magnify and it stays off.)
Hold the sofa for a moment, then drag: the magnifier shows where it lands. - 4
Rotate it to face the right way
Use the rotate control on the selected piece to turn it in steps so its front faces where it should — a sofa toward the TV, a chair toward the room. A small arrow on the selected piece's front side shows which way it faces. In its panel, the 90° button turns it a quarter turn clockwise, and you can type any exact angle.
Rotate so the front of the piece faces where it should. - 5
Need a different size? Type it in
Select the piece: its panel shows W, D and H (width, depth, height). Tap one and type your piece's real measurement; each one applies on its own. Many pieces also offer Quick sizes (Small, Medium, Large), and sectionals, L-shaped desks and islands have their own fields (lengths of each side). For something the catalog doesn't have at all (a built-in, an unusual shape), add it as custom furniture. Either way Smart Flow Check uses the real footprint.
Type the piece's real width, depth and height, or pick a Quick size. - 6
Panel in the way? Drag it aside
On a computer or tablet, the panel that opens when you select a piece sits at the bottom of the plan. If it covers the spot you're working on, drag it by its top row (the one with the grip, Duplicate and Delete) to anywhere over the plan. It stays where you put it, even when you select something else, and if it would cover the piece you just selected it steps aside on its own. Tap Reset, which appears once you've moved it, to put it back at the bottom. On a phone the panel is a sheet at the bottom of the screen: swipe it down to make it smaller.
Drag the panel by its top row; Reset puts it back. - 7
What shows on top when pieces overlap
The plan is a view from above, so the app decides what's drawn on top for you; there's nothing to set. Rugs are always at the bottom. A piece that sits on another (a lamp or a stack of books on a table) is drawn over it. Things that hang overhead are drawn over whatever is beneath them, the higher the later: a ceiling fan or light over the coffee table, a range hood over the range, wall cabinets over the counter, a wall-mounted TV over its console. Prints and exports use the same order. Otherwise a newer piece is drawn over an older one. Where pieces are stacked, tapping the spot opens a Select item list so you can pick the one you want.
- 8
Keep a finished piece where it is
Once a piece is exactly right, select it and tap the padlock in its panel (Lock in place). It can't be moved, turned, resized or deleted by accident until you unlock it. See Lock wall lengths, measurements and furniture.
Tips
Point seating at the focal point
Sofas and chairs read as 'right' when their fronts face the TV, fireplace, or the centre of the conversation area. Rotate first, position second.
Use the panel and the arrow keys for tight spots
When a piece needs to sit within an inch of a wall, type its exact angle in the panel, and on a computer nudge it with the arrow keys (Shift for 1-inch steps). With snapping on, a piece dragged up to a wall stops flush against it.
On a phone, hold first, then move
If the plan scrolls instead of the sofa moving, your finger moved before the piece was picked up. Rest your finger on it for a moment, then drag. Or tap it once to select it: a selected piece follows your finger right away.
Bring your own dimensions
If your real furniture isn't a standard size, select the piece and type its real width, depth and height so the layout, and Smart Flow Check, reflect reality.
Common mistakes
Leaving furniture facing a wall
A sofa with its back to the room or its front to a blank wall is almost always a rotation that never got set. Check that every seat faces something.
Forcing pieces to overlap
When two solid pieces overlap, or a piece runs into a wall, both turn red and Flow Check counts it. That usually means the space is too tight in real life too. (Rugs are made to go under other furniture and never count.)
Approximating a size that matters
If a piece needs to be a specific size (your actual sofa, a built-in cabinet), don't eyeball it with the nearest catalog item. Type its real W, D and H in its panel so the fit you see is the fit you'll get.
Frequently asked questions
The furniture panel covers my furniture. Can I move it?
Yes, on a computer or tablet: drag the panel by its top row (with the grip, Duplicate and Delete) anywhere over the plan. It stays there until you tap Reset, which puts it back at the bottom.
How do I rotate furniture to an exact angle?
Select the piece and type the rotation value in the inspector. The on-canvas rotate control turns it in steps; the inspector lets you set any angle.
Can two pieces of furniture overlap?
Pieces can overlap while you work, but overlapping solid pieces (and pieces running into a wall) are outlined in red and counted in Flow Check, so you can see the layout isn't physically possible yet. Rugs are the exception: other pieces sit on top of them without a warning.
How do I turn off snap to grid so furniture goes exactly where I put it?
Click the solid red magnet button in the toolbar above the plan, right after Layers (it says Disable snapping). It turns pale and pieces stay exactly where you drop them. Click it again to turn snapping back on. See turn snapping on or off.
Can I change the size of a catalog piece?
Yes. Select the piece and type a new W (width), D (depth) or H (height) in its panel, or pick one of its Quick sizes. Sectionals, L-shaped pieces and shaped tables have their own size fields. For something the catalog doesn't have, start from the closest piece and resize it.
How do I control which item shows on top when two overlap?
It's automatic, and there's no layer setting to change. Rugs are always at the bottom, a piece resting on another (a lamp on a table) is drawn over it, and anything hanging overhead (ceiling fans and lights, range hoods, wall cabinets, wall-mounted TVs) is drawn over what's beneath it. To pick a piece hidden under another, tap the spot and choose it from the Select item list.
Why does the plan move instead of my sofa when I drag on my phone?
A quick swipe pans the plan, even when it starts on a piece, so you can move around a furnished room. To move the sofa, rest your finger on it for a moment until it's picked up, then drag. Or tap it first: a selected piece follows your finger straight away.
Why can't I move or delete a piece?
It's probably locked: a locked piece shows a small blue padlock on the plan. Select it and tap the padlock in its panel to unlock it. See Lock wall lengths, measurements and furniture.
Will rearranging furniture mess up anything else?
No — moving, rotating, and layering furniture never changes your room's walls or dimensions, and every change auto-saves. Experiment freely.
Start designing your room
Put this into practice in the room planner: draw it, furnish it, walk through it in 3D — on web, iOS, and Android.
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