Have you ever walked into a home, maybe even your home, and thought something was off but you couldn't pinpoint what it was? It may have been wonderfully decorated but something was missing. Often it's the flow.
TLDR: Flow is how you easily move through your home and how well the rooms relate to each other. Good flow means clear everyday routes, rooms that belong together side by side, and defined zones in open plan spaces. But a little intrigue, such as a well-placed accent chair, can make a home more interesting to move though, too.
So, what does flow, also known as circulatory paths, actually mean? It's the idea of how rooms interact with each other, how they relate to each other - the movement and connectivity. When a home flows well, it means you can breathe and move effortlessly, with little resistance or thinking required. It's amazing how it can affect your mood because it supports how you interact with your surroundings.
And when it doesn't flow, you feel it. Think of having to walk through the living room to get to the bathroom, a front door that opens straight into the middle of a room, or two doors that clashed every time they're opened. None of this is a disaster on their own, but together they create a feeling that something is off.
Interior designers split this movement into primary and secondary circulation paths. Primary paths are those that are used more frequently than others, such as the path from the front door to the kitchen (think of carrying the shopping in), whereas secondary paths are those less used such as the route from the office to the spare bedroom.
How do you create good flow?
It's about the path of least resistance. Rooms that belong together should be near each other, such as the kitchen and dining room, and transitions should make sense. This can be done through the placement of doors or openings, open pathways and focal points. Door swings, sight lines and consistent flooring or colour can also quietly carry you from one room to the next.
Within an open plan space, it's important to use zones to divide the cooking, dining and relaxing areas so that there is clear definition and purpose.
You also need enough clearance around furniture so you're not shuffling sideways past the sofa, for example.
When designers are planning a space, we sometimes use bubble diagrams to explore these relationships before we get to a floor plan. Each bubble represents a space with a particular function, and the bigger the space, the bigger the room or the more that room is used. Placing bubbles shows us which rooms need to sit next to each other so we can lay out the home in the most logical way. It's simply a different way to present a typical floor plan.
But a little resistance can be a good thing.
Everything above is what I'd call functional flow: the everyday routes that should be clear and effortless. However, I also believe in experiential flow, where a little resistance and few obstructions break up the familiarity of comfort and expectation.
For example, you walk into the house, through the hallway and glance into the living room to see an accent chair (a statement chair, usually decorative rather than for everyday seating) placed against a wall by the door, within the sight line for the next room. Because it partly hides the full room, it adds intrigue as to what's in the room and reveals the space gradually rather than all at once.
There's a lesson here from winding garden paths, too. You're not necessarily taken down the quickest route, and it's about leading people gradually through the space rather than straight from A to B.
So, good flow is effortless where it needs to be, but there’s always room to bring a little interest. Next time you walk though your home, pay attention to where you speed up, slow down or get stuck. A home that flows well isn't just easy to move through, it makes you want to keep exploring.
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