Map the small routines
Where do bags land when you arrive? Where does morning light fall? Who needs quiet while someone else cooks? These ordinary questions reveal planning priorities that a furniture catalogue cannot.
Make room for movement
Draw the routes people take through a room before filling it. Consider opening doors, pulling out chairs and carrying laundry. Review clearances with your designer using the actual furniture dimensions and household needs.
Give storage a purpose
Organise storage around the things you own and where you use them. An inventory of daily-use items, seasonal items and occasional items is a useful starting point. Storage works best when it belongs to a routine.
Review before building
Mark key dimensions at full size when possible. Compare layouts with your family and discuss accessibility, changing needs and future uses. A considered plan creates freedom for the details that follow.
THE KAYANSH JOURNAL
Back to the journal