To improve function, improve flow
By Melinda Mitchell
Flow: To proceed steadily and easily; to move smoothly with unbroken continuity; a continuous movement or circulation; an apparent ease or effortless performance.-- Wikipedia
It’s all about flow -- and in order to get more movement and ease in your spaces, you need to consider the way things work (aka: function).
Function: the purpose for which something is designed or exists; role; to perform a specified action or activity.
-- Wikipedia
After a few years of living in their house, a family may realize that, no matter how they try to adapt to it, their home just doesn’t quite “fit” them anymore.
Something seems amiss: awkward angles, ineffective entries, bottlenecks, and clutter-producing dead ends.
The ideal flow of their space is getting clogged up in small boxy rooms; old systems don’t work. Nothing seems to function the way it is supposed to.
For example, your kitchen. Isn’t it true that when company comes, the guests all seem to gravitate in the kitchen? Kids return from school, grandchildren come to visit, the neighbors drop in … and everyone ends up wedged between the sink and fridge.
Very few cooks enjoy being relegated to preparing a meal in a tight space. This results in “entertainment avoidance.”
When faced with this flow challenge, many clients assume they just “need more space” when what they really need is a different way to make use of the space they already have.
Why add more square footage when, with careful consideration and armed with a unique design, you can accomplish much more with less? This includes less personal stress, less structural disturbance and often less money.
Ask yourself:
How do you use the kitchen? Do you love to cook? Who does the cooking? What do they cook? Do you grill? What kind of food storage do you need?
What other activities take place around the kitchen? (For example, homework, crafts, home-schooling, bill paying, etc.)
How can each of these activities be accommodated with both work areas and storage options?
How is the kitchen entered? Is there a mudroom or garage entry that needs a better transitional solution?
Do you entertain a lot? Do the neighborhood children love to hang out in your house? How many people eat in the kitchen? What does a family gathering look like?
What are your frustrations? Not enough space to move around? Not enough seating space for holiday entertaining? Are appliances outdated and inadequate for the meals you would like to prepare?
What about light? Do you have enough to accomplish tasks? To keep you healthy and happy? Are your views pleasant? Do you feel energetically supported in this most important of family spaces?
By answering these and other questions, it is possible to think “outside of the box” and design better spaces within the existing footprint of your home.
This may involve moving an interior wall to open a kitchen and dining area into a “great room,” which keeps all family members in the same general space – but not on top of each other.
Be aware of the flow of your home. Consider the function of each room. And then, if necessary, get help to make both of these life-enhancing components part of your everyday living spaces.
Northern Virginia resident Melinda Mitchell is a professional organizer and design-build expert with Sun Design Remodeling Specialists Inc. (www.sundesigninc.com). She can be reached at 703-425-5588.