So I finally had a good excuse to play with Google's Sketchup this weekend. I've been thinking of getting a loft bed (like a bunk bed but with a desk on the bottom, for space efficiency) from Ikea, but I wanted to know how well it would fit. Plus with a virtual layout, I could try various arrangements to see what fits and what gives me the most space. So I grabbed the old tape measurer and made this.

Not bad for an amateur. It's not precise, large spaces I rounded to the foot, smaller measurements to the half inch, but over all it gives me a better representation than merely eyeballing it.

This is my room/workshop. Well, how its going to look after tonight. Currently the desks are against the window, dresser is against the doorway wall with a small shelf beside it, and one rack against the other wall. There's also lots of shelving in the closet for parts. Currently there is some dead space, but with Sketchup, I was able to rearrange things first, put the small shelves under one desk, bring in another rack, and eliminate the dead space. Also, by placing the racks by the window, I'm hoping to increase ventilation, though now I need to worry about weather :D.





