How to measure a nursery before you buy furniture

What you need

• A tape measure (a 25 ft one is easiest; a soft sewing tape is too stretchy).
• Paper or your phone's notes app. A rough box sketch is enough.
• Ten minutes. A second person helps on long walls, but isn't required.

The 7 measurements, in order

1. Wall to wall, at the floor (A)

Measure each wall along the floor, from baseboard to baseboard, not at eye level. That's the space furniture actually sits in. Measure all four walls, because rooms are rarely perfectly square and an inch can matter. Write the numbers in inches: "120 × 132" is easier to work with than "10 ft × 11 ft".

2. Windows (B)

For each window note the distance from the nearest corner, its width (including the trim), and the sill height from the floor. A low sill limits what can go under it, and you'll want the crib away from windows and any blind or curtain cords.

3. The door and its swing (C)

Measure the door's width and note which side the hinges are on and whether it swings into the room. An in-swinging door sweeps a quarter circle as deep as the door is wide (most interior doors are 28–32", 30" is common). Keep that zone empty. Do the same for a closet: sliding doors need no floor space, but swing doors need their own arc, and bifolds stick out about 12–18".

4. Outlets, vents and switches (D)

Mark outlets (you'll want one near the chair for a lamp or sound machine and one by the changing area), heating and cooling vents, radiators, and light switches. Furniture in front of a switch or a floor vent is a common surprise.

5. Usable wall lengths

Subtract the door, door swing, windows and closet from each wall. What's left is where furniture can go. In most bedrooms that's one full solid wall plus a few shorter stretches. This number matters more than the room's square footage.

6. The furniture's outside size, plus its clearance

Use the product's outside dimensions (length × depth × height), not the mattress or drawer size. Then add the floor space it needs to be used:

Typical ranges, not specs for any one product. The US full-size crib inside is fixed at 28" × 52⅜" by federal rule; frames vary. See full-size vs mini crib dimensions and how much space a glider needs.

7. The way in

Measure the narrowest doorway, hallway and stair turn on the route to the nursery. An open door's clear opening is usually about 1½–2" less than the door itself because of the door's thickness and stop, so a 30" door gives roughly 28". Most cribs and dressers ship flat-packed, but a fully assembled dresser or a glider may not, so compare the box or item size to that number.

Turn the numbers into a layout

1. Put the crib on a solid wall, away from the window and out of the door swing.
2. Put the dresser where you have about 36" in front of it. Under a window is fine.
3. Put the chair in a corner, then check that its footrest (reclined) doesn't land in the path from the door to the crib.
4. Check the walkway: you'll be walking it at night, holding a baby.

More: laying out a nursery around the door and window, will a crib fit in a 10x10 room, small nursery layout ideas.

Common questions