All guides
35 guides
Dining & Kitchen
Tool How big should a dining rug be? Pull the chairs out and see Is your dining rug big enough? A good rug lets the chairs slide in and out without catching its edge, and the usual rule is that it reaches… 4 min Colour & Walls
Tool How far apart should shelves be? Plan the gaps and see Shelves look wrong when the gaps are wrong. Enter your wall height, choose what each shelf holds, and see whether it all fits, to scale… 4 min Textiles
Tool What size throw fits your sofa or bed? Drag it and see Is your throw too small for the sofa, or so big it swamps the bed? The right size is simple geometry, and you can see it before you buy… 4 min Bedroom
Tool What bed size fits your room? Drag the bed and see Bed sizes are sold by the mattress, but you live with the gaps around it. Pick a size, enter your room's measurements and drag the bed… 4 min Lighting
Guide How big should a table lamp be? Resize it and see A lamp can be lovely and still look wrong on your table. Usually the problem is proportion: a shade too wide for its base, too wide for the… 5 min 3 picks Dining & Kitchen
Tool Round or rectangular table? Seat the guests and see A table that "seats six" can still leave your elbows colliding. What decides it is how much table edge each person gets, and the shape of… 5 min Small Spaces
Explainer How deep should a bookcase be? Pull the shelf out and see A bookcase takes a strip of floor as deep as it is. Most books need far less than the shelf they sit on, so a slimmer case can give a small… 5 min Textiles
Explainer Where should curtains end? Drag the hem and see A curtain's hem is where the eye stops, and a few centimetres in the wrong place makes a whole wall look off. Drag the hem up and down a… 5 min Bedroom
Explainer How tall should a bedside table be? Raise the bed and see The best bedside table is usually level with the top of your mattress, or at most a few centimetres higher. Too high and you reach up and… 4 min Lighting
Explainer Should a lamp shade sit at eye level? Slide it and see A table lamp beside the sofa can feel soft and warm, or like a small spotlight in your face. The difference is often its height. The rule… 5 min Textiles
Tool How full should curtains be? Slide the fullness and see Curtains look cosy or flat depending on one number: fullness, the width of the fabric divided by the width of the pole it hangs from. Slide… 5 min 3 picks Lighting
Explainer Where should a floor lamp go? Drag it around the chair and see A floor lamp can be lovely and still annoy you if it sits in the wrong place. For a reading chair, the sweet spot is beside and a little… 5 min 3 picks
Tool How big should a dining rug be? Pull the chairs out and see Is your dining rug big enough? A good rug lets the chairs slide in and out without catching its edge, and the usual rule is that it reaches… 4 min Colour & Walls
Tool How far apart should shelves be? Plan the gaps and see Shelves look wrong when the gaps are wrong. Enter your wall height, choose what each shelf holds, and see whether it all fits, to scale… 4 min Textiles
Tool What size throw fits your sofa or bed? Drag it and see Is your throw too small for the sofa, or so big it swamps the bed? The right size is simple geometry, and you can see it before you buy… 4 min Bedroom
Tool What bed size fits your room? Drag the bed and see Bed sizes are sold by the mattress, but you live with the gaps around it. Pick a size, enter your room's measurements and drag the bed… 4 min Lighting
Guide How big should a table lamp be? Resize it and see A lamp can be lovely and still look wrong on your table. Usually the problem is proportion: a shade too wide for its base, too wide for the… 5 min 3 picks Dining & Kitchen
Tool Round or rectangular table? Seat the guests and see A table that "seats six" can still leave your elbows colliding. What decides it is how much table edge each person gets, and the shape of… 5 min Small Spaces
Explainer How deep should a bookcase be? Pull the shelf out and see A bookcase takes a strip of floor as deep as it is. Most books need far less than the shelf they sit on, so a slimmer case can give a small… 5 min Textiles
Explainer Where should curtains end? Drag the hem and see A curtain's hem is where the eye stops, and a few centimetres in the wrong place makes a whole wall look off. Drag the hem up and down a… 5 min Bedroom
Explainer How tall should a bedside table be? Raise the bed and see The best bedside table is usually level with the top of your mattress, or at most a few centimetres higher. Too high and you reach up and… 4 min Lighting
Explainer Should a lamp shade sit at eye level? Slide it and see A table lamp beside the sofa can feel soft and warm, or like a small spotlight in your face. The difference is often its height. The rule… 5 min Textiles
Tool How full should curtains be? Slide the fullness and see Curtains look cosy or flat depending on one number: fullness, the width of the fabric divided by the width of the pole it hangs from. Slide… 5 min 3 picks Lighting
Explainer Where should a floor lamp go? Drag it around the chair and see A floor lamp can be lovely and still annoy you if it sits in the wrong place. For a reading chair, the sweet spot is beside and a little… 5 min 3 picks