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Layer 4 · Method

Diagnose first. Sequence second. Do not invent the missing number.

Room Lab is a sequencing instrument. Room Pulse diagnoses six human conditions. Lab turns that diagnosis — or a declared room — into free moves, one reversible test, measured commitments, and an atmosphere lock. It does not certify building code. It does not fill unknown with zero.

01 · Conditions

Six frictions, higher is worse

01

Movement

How people walk: pinch points, blocked routes, and whether a body can pass.

EffortlessBlocked. Layers: furniture, architecture.

02

Light

Daylight, artificial distribution, glare, dark zones.

LayeredFlat / absent. Layers: light, pattern.

03

Comfort

Seating, scale, thermal and acoustic feel, body fit.

InvitingTolerated. Layers: furniture, light, soft.

04

Personality

Character, layers, color and pattern, a second life.

UnmistakableAnonymous. Layers: pattern, soft, planting.

05

Function

Multi-job capacity, storage vs. use, work/rest zoning.

Supporting daily lifeFighting it. Layers: furniture, soft, planting.

06

Reset

Cleaning load, clutter rebound, maintenance friction.

Easy to restoreExhausting. Layers: furniture, pattern, planting.

02 · Layers

Read bottom to top

  1. 1 Base ArchitectureWalls, floor, openings. The given. Do not decorate around a room that does not work.
  2. 2 Furniture & HardscapeWhat has weight. Move it first if it is blocking the job.
  3. 3 LightDaylight first, then lamps you can unplug. Fixtures wait for a test.
  4. 4 PlantingVolume without a wall. A hedge in a pot is a partition you can reverse.
  5. 5 Pattern & ColorPaint, paper, textile panels — after the room can be used.
  6. 6 Soft Objects & TemporaryScreens, curtains, throws, the folding wall. Personality without a contractor.

03 · Stages

Free. Test. Commit. Lock.

01

Free moves & clears

No-cost reorganization

02

Reversible tests

One change at a time

03

Measured commitments

After tests succeed

04

Atmosphere lock

Personality injection

04 · What Lab will not do

  • Invent a Pulse score. Unknown is unknown, not fine, and not zero.
  • Invent a furniture dimension. If the publisher did not print it, Spec Desk leaves it blank.
  • Convert an unnamed room budget into zero. Unknown money is unknown.
  • Treat a rendering as measurement proof. Concept View, when it exists, is labelled concept.
  • Sequence paint, paper, or hardwired fixtures over a named safety concern.
  • Certify that a dwelling meets code. 36" is a planning heuristic.
  • Send your room to a server. Cases live in this browser. The Pulse diagnosis arrives here and stays here.
  • Ask you to understand the internals before you get a first move.

05 · On a phone

Five places in the bar. The rest live in How you move.

On a narrow screen the suite sits at the bottom: Desk, Lab, Spec, Budget, Cases. The first visit spells the order on that bar — open a room, diagnose, sequence, test the object, fund or wait — and a Guide holds Zones, Atmosphere, Paths, the Wizard, Compare, Method, and Home Screen instructions. After that the bar names where you are and the next useful instrument. Tablets that hide the specialist links keep a How you move control in the header. iPhone: Share in Safari’s bottom bar, then Add to Home Screen. Android: Chrome menu, then Add to Home screen. Cases stay on this device. Opening a Room Pulse diagnosis still needs the live link from Pulse.

06 · Spec Desk

Will this actual object fit and work?

Pulse diagnoses. Lab sequences. Spec Desk tests a published product against the measured room: scale, circulation, visual mass, function, existing-room friction. Catalog numbers are IKEA US pages captured 2026-08-27. A missing side stays unknown. A picture is not a measurement — Concept View, when it arrives, will be labelled concept, never proof.

07 · Budget Planner

Commitments first. Atmosphere last.

Budget Planner sets one total amount for the current round of work. Known commitments are subtracted first. A reserve is protected for unknown costs. What remains is sequenced across reversible tests and measured commitments, with atmosphere last. The atmosphere-forward option waits while movement is the ranked problem or a named safety concern needs professional review. Spec Desk prices are tested against the remaining budget. A blank budget is unknown, not zero. This is a planning guide, not a quote.

08 · Provenance

Sources, freshness, confidence

Important rules carry a source type. Heuristic is not standard. Methodology is not a measurement. Conflicting or incomplete stays labelled.

Primary walk ≥ 36 inches

Currentheuristicmedium

Lab uses 36 inches as the fail line for a primary walk with the door open, and 42 inches as preferred. This is a professional planning heuristic. It is not a certificate that a dwelling meets code.

Residential circulation heuristic informed by IRC egress widths and ADA accessible-route minima · source · checked 2026-08-27 · vlab.clearance.v1

Hall, kitchen aisle (42"), and bed-side (24") use the same family of heuristics. Unverified when dimensions are unknown.

  • Whether a given door is a required egress in this dwelling is often unknown and is never guessed.

Pulse friction 0–100 (higher = worse)

Currentinstrument-contracthigh

Pulse rates six human conditions. Lab ranks known scores high-to-low and ties-breaks movement → function → light → comfort → reset → personality. A missing score does not rank and is not treated as zero.

Room Pulse method (RFD-RP-001) mapped by Lab · source · checked 2026-08-27 · vpulse.diagnosis.v1 / envelope 1.1.0

Legacy Pulse 0/1/2 ratings map to friction 100/50/0. Quick Start does not invent scores.

Safety holds until a professional clears it

Verifiedmethodologyhigh

Structural, electrical, gas, moisture, and the way out are outside Lab authority when they fail. A watch is visible and does not lock. Unknown is unknown — Lab does not invent a fail or an all-clear.

Room for Drama methodology — Lab will not sequence atmosphere over a named safety concern · checked 2026-08-27 · vlab.gate.v1

Professional-boundary status from Pulse is mapped so a named safety concern cannot be skipped.

Six layers, bottom to top

Currentmethodologyhigh

Architecture is given. Furniture, light, planting, pattern, and soft objects stack on it. A layer that does not reduce the primary friction is held or refused.

Room for Drama spatial method · source · checked 2026-08-27 · vlab.layers.v1

Atmosphere biases the upper stack; it never unlocks architecture.

One change at a time, seven days

Currentmethodologymedium

A reversible test is information. Two simultaneous changes make drift unreadable. Check the same Pulse questions after seven days. If the primary did not move, put the change back.

Room Lab 7-day test · checked 2026-08-27 · vlab.experiment.v1

Duration is a test window, not a clinical finding.

Pulse → Lab (stays in this browser)

Verifiedinstrument-contracthigh

Pulse places the diagnosis in this browser (it never leaves the tab). Lab shows the plate before loading. Unknowns stay unknowns.

Shared rules for what travels · checked 2026-08-27 · v1

applicationId RFD-RP-001. Lab maps; it does not re-diagnose.

Spec Desk: published measurements only

Currentmethodologyhigh

Width, depth, height, material, price, lead time, and care are captured from the publisher or entered by the occupant. A missing number stays unknown. Catalog seed is IKEA US pages captured 2026-08-27. Fit tests scale, circulation (36" heuristic), visual mass, declared jobs, and whether the layer reduces the primary Pulse friction. A picture is not a measurement; Concept View is later and labelled concept.

Room for Drama methodology — a product is tested against a measured room, never against a mood · source · checked 2026-08-27 · vlab.spec.v1

URL fetch is SSRF-safe https only. Published product pages are preferred. IKEA measurement lines are a fallback. Prices are a snapshot, not a live quote.

  • Lead time is ZIP- and stock-dependent and is never invented as a single number.
  • Whether a given door is required egress remains unknown unless Pulse marked it as needing professional review.

Budget: commitments first, atmosphere last

Currentmethodologymedium

A named budget is architecture. Known commitments are taken first. A reserve is held as unknown-cost, not leftover paint. Remaining money is sequenced free → test → commit → lock. Pulse ranking, whether professional review is required, and measured-room area score four profiles (Balanced, Atmosphere-forward, Function-first, Lean). Atmosphere-forward waits while movement is the primary problem or a named safety concern is on. An unnamed budget is unknown, not zero. Spec Desk published prices are tested against remaining money; they are snapshots, not quotes. Thresholds are heuristics.

Room for Drama methodology, theory shared with Tangled Thistle Budget-to-Atmosphere, rewritten for rooms · source · checked 2026-08-27 · vlab.budget.v1 / lab.budget.intel.v1

Event categories from Budget-to-Atmosphere (venue, food, guests) are not used. This is a planning model, not a specification and not a code opinion.

  • Landed cost (freight, tax, haul-away) is asked as a hidden-cost prompt and is never invented as a number.
  • Per-square-foot bands are planning heuristics, not market comps.

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