Whoops! We lost a day someplace! Sorry for the delay in this blog. However, the other day, a former particpant in one of my design workshops wrote me aboutsome spacing for an island in her soon-to-be-remodeled kitchen. (See Comments under the blog, When is an Area Rug NOT an Area Rug, with Sharon Breay’s response.) I was pleased she was thinking ahead about circulation space.
Space for circulation is often overlooked in our involvement with styles, colors, room focus, etc. We forget to really analyze how much space we need in order to get around in an area. Oh, we leave “some” space–maybe a foot or so.
In kitchen areas, we can generally expect more than one person to be moving about, at least some of the time. Cabinet and appliance doors open to narrow a passageway. Stools are pulled out into the passageway. Likewise dining room chairs must be pushed from the table to allow us to get into them and up from them.
A standard rule with designers is to leave a minimum of 3.5 feet space in a kitchen aisle or around a dining table for circulation. Coffee tables and sofa’s need about 2 feet of space between them for leg room. To enter a conversational furniture arrangement, again use the 3.5 feet rule as minimum. Of course, one “can” get through in a smaller space–however, it is awkward and appears cramped. People are more comfortable with the extra space.
Your existing hallways or corridors may not be 5′, but if someone in the household is walking down the hall with a laundry basket, and someone else is approaching from the opposite end with something at his side, they will wish the hallway WAS 5 feet wide. (Even wheelchairs can turn around in a 5′ space–a definite consideration should there be an accident or an elderly in the home.) Typically, we say a minimum 3 feet of width for a passage that only one person will walk through, and a minimum of 3′-6″ where there may be two people passing from opposite directions. (Odd?? yes! How does that second person fit into a 6′ space?–Both people have to slide a bit sideways!) If you are building, just make the halls 5′ wide. You will be very glad you did–as will every owner of the home thereafter.
Remember, your spaces need to fit you like your favorite shoe. Ask yourself, “Does the Shoe….FIT? If not, feel free to contact us, Breay Design Associates, for help……You’ll be glad you did!
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Thank you so much! Quotes for myself, I post on the 15th and 30th of each month on the topic of interior and
landscape design. Welcome aboard!–Sharon
Casio, we are now on Facebook, with fan page going up soon. Twitter will no doubt follow. Thank you for your comments, and I
hope you enjoy our new posts every 15th and 30th of a month.
Aswad–I am definitely delighted you DID find this blog! Thank you! I post on the subjects of
interior and landscape design (my profession) on the 15th and 30th of every month. Glad you
found it; I look forward to your comments and questions.–Sharon
Thanks for your comments, Soffa. We post on the 15th and 30th.–Sharon
Glad it helped you Samual. And good luck to you–Sharon Breay
Carolyn–It makes me happy that my post has been able to answer your issue! Feel free to write in your questions
or comments on the interior and landscaping blogs I post on the 15th and 30th.–Sharon
Thank you! I’m very pleased that my writing was comprehensible. I post interior design and landscaping
design concerns and issues on the 15th and 30th of each month.–Sharon
Swanzy, all my posts are my own writing, unless I use something I really thought was great; then I will give credit
to whomever I got the information from. I post on the 15th and 30th of every month on interior and landscape design.
Sharon