Ever thought about zoning in your house?!

When we first moved into our bungalow, there was a large living room at the front, then a long hallway with bedrooms and a bathroom off it, and at the back, another living room and kitchen. How much did we use the ‘front room’? Hardly ever.

There was a living room next to the kitchen so even though it was smaller, that was where we spent most of our time. The odd time we had lots of people over, we would use the front room, but traipsing back and forth with a tray of cups of tea ensured that it was not in daily use. We weren’t making use of the space. Gone are the days of the ‘good room’!

When a room doesn’t have a clear purpose or it’s in the wrong place, and particularly when there’s a lack of storage space in a home, these awkward areas can often end up just being used as a dumping ground - a big waste of prime space!

It also often happens with bungalows and large houses that the rooms are not zoned well. Bedrooms might be on different floors, living spaces in different parts of the house. It can often mean that certain spaces end up not being used because they are inconvenient for day to day living.

Here is where this concept of zoning in spatial design comes in. It has a number of benefits:

-       Living spaces being clustered together means they are more likely to be used as they are not too far from important things like the kettle and the biscuits!

-       Living spaces can often have options such as folding or sliding doors between them when they are next to each other so that the space can be opened up to create a larger space or divided into smaller spaces, as needs dictate.

-       Having bedrooms near each other is especially valuable when children are in the house. You are more likely to hear them if they need you in the night-time. If you’re at a different end of the house, or on another floor, you’re less likely to hear them and you have a longer cold, dark walk to get to them. Brrr.

-       Having bedrooms in one zone and living space in another creates noise differentiation. There are quieter areas of the home and parts where noise is more welcome. You don’t want to have to shush visitors because your living room is next to the kids’ bedroom.

Another thing to consider is where to have the zones. If you regularly have guests, consider how they will access the living space. Just as when you enter a shop or a café, if you naturally know where to go, it’s helpful and more comfortable. In a similar way, you want your living ‘zone’ to be easily accessible from the entrance. Consider ways you can subtly ‘direct’ your guests to the communal part of the house. Ask yourself, how could they instinctively know where to go? Also, can you plan for a WC to be nearby so guests can ‘go’ without having to enter the bedroom ‘zone’?

Zoning can also come to play within a space, such as in open plan kitchen-living-dining spaces or even in the layout and organisation of your kitchen. I think I’ll leave those for another blog!