Space Planning
All rooms are first and foremost functional spaces, in which we live, eat, entertain, sleep, read, dress, bathe etc. If the room does not meet its first critical criteria of functionality – it really won’t matter how beautiful it looks!
So before you begin to consider how the room will look and feel you need to plan the space. Once you have received your project brief and the floor plan you can begin to consider how you are going to utilise the space.
Houses in the UK are the 3rd smallest in the world, only Finland & Germany have smaller homes and so considering how to make the most of the space available is a hugely important part of the interior design process and can not be overstated.
Questions to consider...
1. What are the primary functions of the room?
2. What are the secondary functions of the room?
3. Is there a conflict between primary & secondary functions – how will you resolve this?
4. How many people will use this room at any one time?
5. Will children use this room?
6. Is there anyone with special needs/disabilities who will use this room?
7. Will pets use this room?
8. What is the natural flow of the room – the walk space/distance between doors – does this need to change – how will you change it?
9. What are the storage requirements for the room - what will be stored – size and amount of stored items.
10. How is the room currently heated – is it adequate?
11. What is the current lighting in the room – is it adequate?
Once you have addressed all the questions listed above – you can then begin to specify what items of furniture/storage/lighting need to be included in your design to meet the functional requirement of the space.
2. What are the secondary functions of the room?
3. Is there a conflict between primary & secondary functions – how will you resolve this?
4. How many people will use this room at any one time?
5. Will children use this room?
6. Is there anyone with special needs/disabilities who will use this room?
7. Will pets use this room?
8. What is the natural flow of the room – the walk space/distance between doors – does this need to change – how will you change it?
9. What are the storage requirements for the room - what will be stored – size and amount of stored items.
10. How is the room currently heated – is it adequate?
11. What is the current lighting in the room – is it adequate?
Once you have addressed all the questions listed above – you can then begin to specify what items of furniture/storage/lighting need to be included in your design to meet the functional requirement of the space.
Space Planning software
There are a lot of CAD based software programmes which are available to buy and are quite inexpensive and you will need only a basic understanding of a PC to use them. There are also free online planning programmes which you can use for a limited time at no cost. These are great for this level of study and will quickly and easily allow you to create a workable floor plan and save you a lot of time:
floorplanner.com is one of the simplest to use and is entirely free!