Finding your flow

In this extract from her new book, the style expert explains how interior design can benefit your mental health and physical wellbeing.

- MELISSA PENFOLD

Optimising the flow, or movement, through your home is essential for your sense of wellbeing. The goal is for the circulation within rooms, between rooms, and between indoor and outdoor spaces to have the same physical and psychological benefits as you might experience walking in a natural environment such as a forest.

Think of floor plans that lead from open spaces to more sheltered spaces like paths leading from sunny, open clearings to shady spots.

Architectural openings – doors and windows – have a positive effect on air flow, ventilating rooms naturally. Windows and doors positioned so that breezes flow from one end of the house to the other can cool rooms significantly, often alleviating the need for artificial air conditioning.

A natural desire to increase the feeling of space in a home probably lies at the root of the decision to demolish internal walls and open up a floor plan. It often makes sense to merge rooms with related functions. But be careful; proportions sometimes look odd when you take walls away, and windows may suddenly seem out of scale.

We tend to be happiest when we can adapt our homes as our needs change.

Sometimes this requires revised layouts, room extensions or additions, or the division or merging of spaces, but often it can be as simple as changing what rooms are used for. Look around your home and think of ways to make your rooms work better. Use rugs, screens, or modular shelving to break up larger spaces without renovating.