The Easiest Ways To Measure A Room Without A Tape Measure

By Jennifer Pellerito

It happens to the best of us – you’re touring a home and planning out the furniture in the space, or perhaps you’ve just moved into your new home and everything is packed away into boxes. In either predicament, you’re stuck in the impossible situation where you need to know the length and width of a room, but you don’t have a tape measure handy.

Too many people find themselves in exactly this same situation. Is there still a way to measure a room without a tape measure? Well, as a matter of fact, there is! Read on for a few ideas that will surely save you if you don’t happen to have a tape measure handy.

Your foot

Probably the most intuitive way to measure without a tape measure is using your feet to measure a room. This option might be more time consuming than others depending on the size of the room, but it is also one of the most accurate.

Carefully walk toe to heel across the room’s length and width. If you have a pen and paper available, be sure to note of how many steps you take. Then, the trick is all in knowing your European shoe size. A size of 35 is 9”, a size 40 is 10”, and 45 is 11”. Once you know how many steps you’ve taken, just multiply it by the length of your foot, and voilà, you now know the measurements of your room.

Your height

If you’re stuck in a bind without a tape measure, another great way to measure a room is as simple as lying down on the floor. If you know your height, then you can find out the room’s measurements. It’s particularly helpful if you have a helper with you who can mark where your head or toe is so that when you get up you won’t lose your marker. However, if you don’t have someone with you, use an object like a pen or paperclip to mark where you should next lie down.

The difficult part about measuring a room with your height is that sometimes a room won’t evenly distribute, so when you reach the end of the room, you’ll have to do some guesstimating. This mode of measurement certainly isn’t the most precise, but it is much faster than using your feet and walking heel to toe across a large room.

The width of your arms

With your arms outstretched, use the distance across your chest between the tips of your fingers to measure a room. This distance typically measures to about the same as your height, but instead of lying down across the room, you can simply use your body’s wingspan to measure across an empty wall. Again, it’s important to keep count of how many times your arms’ width fits along the room. This is much easier, however than standing up and lying back down because you can simply hold your finger in place and move to the next starting point.

Since the measurement of your arms outstretched is usually equivalent to your height, you can easily figure out the size of the room. Also, it’s a bit easier to guesstimate the measurement if the wall doesn’t perfectly fit because you can simply use half the width of your wingspan and calculate accordingly.

A binder

If you know the size of your binder, then you can most certainly figure out the measurements of a room! Perhaps your real estate agent luckily happened to bring one, or even a clipboard would work. Generally, a one-inch, three-ring binder measures 11.5” in length. Considering that’s only a half inch away from one foot, you should be able to easily come up with a nearly accurate estimate or even a precise measurement.

Similar to the suggestions above, this process also involves carefully counting how many binder lengths it takes to get from one side of the room to the other. Don’t lose count, and you’re sure to be on your way to getting a reliable measurement.

A laser measurement tool

If you have a laser measurement tool handy, lucky you! This tool might even be better than having a tape measure around. When used correctly, this useful gadget can measure a room in seconds flat. All you have to do is a press a button, and a laser appears. You should be sure to line up the gadget as straight as possible, to ensure the laser beam is straight across instead of at an angle, which would measure a greater distance.

Moreover, a laser distance measure will also be the most accurate way to measure a room without a tape measure, and it’s still easy to measure even if you don’t have a companion around. Once you have your room’s measurements, the next step is more fun - you'll be selecting furniture and designing to your heart’s content. Nonetheless, don’t miss the important step of taking measurements and even creating a floor plan before investing in a luxury sofa or coffee table.