When discussing the size of a house, playing field, or any other measures of area in the United States, using square feet as your unit of measurement makes sense. But if you're discussing such matters with someone from any other country, they're more likely to think in terms of meters. You can convert square feet to square meters with simple multiplication or division; however, first make sure you're actually dealing with square feet -- not linear feet.
Calculate a circular space's area in square feet by measuring the diameter of the circle in feet, then dividing it by half to get the radius. So, a 12-foot-diameter circle would have a radius of 6 feet. Square the radius and multiply it by pi, or 3.14, to get the area in square feet. To continue the example, 6 squared is 36; 36 * 3.14 = 113.04 square feet. Multiply by 0.09290304 to convert this figure into square meters: 10.50175964, or 10.50 after rounding to the hundredths.
Deal with irregularly shaped areas by subdividing them into rectangles. Calculate each rectangle's area by multiplying length times width, then sum the total of the rectangles to get the total area of your irregularly shaped space, expressed in square feet. Multiply by 0.09290304 to express the result in square meters.
Note that the formula for converting linear feet to linear meters is not the same as that for handling square feet and square meters. Divide a measurement in linear feet by 3.281 to get the result in linear meters.
Convert linear measurements, if present, to square feet. For a rectangular space, multiply the linear length and width measurements together to get the area in square feet. For example, a 12-by-14-foot room measures 168 square feet.
Multiply the area in square feet by 0.09290304. The result is the area expressed in square meters. For example, the 168-square-foot room from the previous example measures 168 * 0.09290304 = 15.60771072 square meters. For most purposes, rounding your result to hundredths -- 15.61 square meters -- is sufficient.
Perform the calculation with division instead, if you prefer. Divide the area in square feet by 10.76391 to get the result in square meters. Using the example above, 168 square feet divided by 10.76391 yields a result of 15.60771132 -- identical down to the hundred thousandths.
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