Room layout planning in real feet & inches

The two things a room layout lives or dies on: true object sizes, and the clearances between them. Here are the numbers, and a free tool to check them on an actual drawing.

Standard US furniture & fixture sizes

These are the default sizes Playout's fixture catalog uses — typical US dimensions, width × depth in inches. Real products vary a few inches, so measure yours once it's shortlisted; these are right for planning.

The clearances that make it livable

Fitting the furniture is the easy half. These rule-of-thumb clearances are what separate a layout that works from one that technically fits:

• Walkways: 30–36″ — 30″ squeezes by, 36″ is comfortable, main routes through the home deserve 36″+.
• Toilet: 21″+ clear in front, and 15″ minimum from the toilet's centerline to a side wall or vanity (that's the code minimum — 18″ feels much better).
• Sinks and vanities: 21″+ clear in front.
• Kitchen work aisle: 42″ for one cook, 48″ if two people cook at once — measured counter edge to counter edge (or island).
• Door swings: keep them unblocked. A 30″ door sweeps a 30″ quarter-circle; nothing should sit inside it. Where a swing can't work, that's what pocket, bifold, and bypass doors are for.
• Bed access: 24″+ along each side you'll actually use; making a bed against a wall gets old fast.
• Sofa to coffee table: 14–18″ — close enough to reach a drink, far enough to walk through.
• Dining: 36″ from table edge to wall to pull a chair out; 42–48″ if people walk behind seated diners.

Check them on a real drawing, not in your head

The failure mode of every room plan is doing this arithmetic mentally — wall thicknesses eat 4–5″ per wall, and "about ten feet" rooms have a way of being 9'7″. The Playout editor (free, runs in your browser, no account) draws in exact feet and inches, shows the clear interior span of every wall, includes all the fixtures above at these default sizes, and draws door swings so blocked swings are obvious. You can pin the clearances as constraints — set the island 42″ off the counter and it stays 42″ while you drag everything else around. And when the numbers check out but you're still not sure it will feel right, walk it in VR at 1:1 scale.