Home by numbers

- In the dark about illumination? Each square foot of space in a living or dining room should be matched by two watts of incandescent light.

- Mixing and matching dining room furniture? There should be about eight inches between the tabletop and the seat of the dining chair.

- Flowers in a tall arrangement should be two times the height of the vase. But if you're creating a centrepiece, keep the arrangement two inches lower than the eye level of seated guests.

- Multiply the diagonal width of your television screen by three to determine optimal viewing distance.

- Add an extra four inches when measuring a cut of wallpaper; the two additional inches at either end will make for stress-free trimming.

- Multiply a window's width by 2.5 to determine the width of fabric needed for full- looking drapes. For a perfect puddle, add eight extra inches to the length of a drape from rod pocket to floor.

- A drapery rod, track or wire should be mounted at least two inches above the window and six to 16 inches beyond either side.

- Hunting for a stud? Typically, the space between wall studs is 16 inches.

- When arranging your book nook, avoid eye strain by ensuring that the light source from any floor lamp is 20 inches from where you will be holding your latest page-turner.

- A chandelier should hang 30 inches above the dining table in a room with eight-foot ceilings. For each foot higher than that, raise the chandelier an additional three inches. To gauge a desirable diameter for a chandelier, measure the width of the room in feet, double the number and call it inches.