What You Need to Know About Space Planning

Space planning tips from the interior design experts

What You Need to Know About Space Planning

Congratulations. You finally got your hands on your new flat and can’t wait to move in. But renovating the house and hiring an interior designer is only the first step in a long (yet fulfilling) journey. The next step you should think about is space planning. How do you arrange the furniture to maximise the floor space that you have? And what do you need to know if order to plan the layout of the space?

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Whatever the shape and orientation of your space is, you will need to understand the basic ergonomic standards that are used to plan any space, including yours. One very crucial factor to take note of is the amount of leeway you allow between the furniture pieces. Basically, you need to have ample walking space around your home. Ideally, you should have around 70cm of walking space between furniture and walls. You might think that this sounds like a narrow space, but it’s actually the same width as your old HDB toilet door.

The 70cm walking space isn’t a hard and fast rule though, there are many occasions where you will require more, or less, space. An example is the walkway in the kitchen. This is a space that should be slightly wider. After all, it’s highly likely that more than two people will be in the kitchen. It should also be bigger because you might need to move bulkier items like the fridge and washing machine.

Similarly, if there is a wheelchair-user in the house, you need to have roughly 1-metre in clearance space.

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Another tip for space planning is to study your floor area. You need to understand that the floor area will be limited once you move in heavier items like the sofa, coffee table, dining table and chairs. these items take up floor space. However, wall space is commonly under-utilised and you can use this to your advantage. As wall space is a lot more extensive, you are able to build more wall features, cabinets or hang more decor items to bring life into the space. As such, you might want to consider keeping your floor space simple and to work on the walls instead.

When it comes to the bedroom, the concepts mentioned above can apply. If possible, try to line your furniture along the perimeter of the room. This leave the centre portion of the bedroom clean and uncluttered. This leaves the bedroom feeling open and spacious, something that any home will be happy to have.

This article is written by Monti Mahtani, Creative Director of M3 Studio Singapore

 


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