hebel. today · 13 November 202614 / 80
Home · Home Organization
Circular flow versus deliberate zoning
Prioritizing circular flow. Leanne Kilroy designs kitchens with multiple entry and exit points to the garden and house, avoiding dead ends that create bottlenecks. This layout keeps the home feeling like a connected whole,…
From 6 newsletters · 1 min read · one thing to try
Prioritizing circular flow. Leanne Kilroy designs kitchens with multiple entry and exit points to the garden and house, avoiding dead ends that create bottlenecks (Leanne Kilroy from The Good Bones Life). This layout keeps the home feeling like a connected whole, allowing movement to continue without backtracking. Dallas Payne also emphasizes the importance of indoor-outdoor flow, using large bifold doors to blur the lines between living areas and the environment (Cecilia at the Kitchens Garden 🪳🦔).
Zoning for intimacy. Timothy Hill received an interior architecture award for a 40sqm apartment that uses walls and breakfast nooks to break up a single room into distinct zones (Mad About The House by Kate Watson-Smyth). Eileen Gray delineated spaces for rest and work within the open-plan E.1027 villa using specific colors and textures to create a sense of enclosure (Dee Jasinska from Vibes Digest). Clémence Orsini and Clément Daventure use bookcases to define library spaces, separating reading areas from working zones within larger rooms.
These approaches offer competing visions for home efficiency. Circular flow favors ease of movement through the house, while zoning provides specific anchors for different activities by creating distinct, enclosed spaces.
- Sabine Hayes suggests picking a color palette for the season to automate decorating decisions and reduce mental load (Sabine Hayes from The Designer's Edit).
- Sarah Baeumler retained existing furniture and scuffs in a renovation to preserve the history of the family home (Sarah Baeumler Living).
Try today · 15 min
Perform a flow audit of your primary living area.
Walk through your kitchen and living room and note every point where you must backtrack or squeeze past furniture.
Steps
- Walk from your kitchen to the garden and back.
- Identify two points where furniture or layout forces you to turn around.
- Move one piece of furniture to open a clearer path.
- Test the new route to ensure you can loop through the space.
- Record if the change makes the room feel more connected.