A home tends to reflect the style and personality of the homeowner. Sometimes, that style can be very straightforward and steady, while other times a house may feel more eclectic in design and decor. Whether you are thinking of the physical vibe or decorative style of your house, we’ve got the tips you need to smooth out those areas causing hiccups in your home’s flow. 

Over the last few years, one of the biggest trends in home design has been creating a more open concept kitchen and living space. Whether you prefer designated spaces and areas or crave open, airy spaces, having flow is equally important. Make no mistake, creating flow in a home entails much more than just knocking down walls or unifying the decor style. It doesn’t mean your home should look uniform throughout, but it does mean that there should be a connective thread that makes it feel like a unified space, from the bedrooms to the backyard. 

Is it Time to Assess Your House’s Natural Flow?

Not sure how you feel about your home flow? Wondering if it could be better or if you are just stuck with your home’s funky layout? 

A quick checklist to ask yourself:

  1. Do you find yourself tackling one room at a time without thinking through an overall design plan to connect these spaces?
  2. Do you like to change up the paint color in various rooms to prevent your home from feeling boring or bland? 
  3. Do you fill your house with items and furniture that catches your eye at the store without knowing where you want it to go or how it will fit in with your current decor?
  4. Do you get overwhelmed when you think about creating a new layout in your house with furniture rearranging or reorganization?
  5. Do you feel like you are cramped in your own home even though it has a good amount of square footage?

Apart from structural redesigns, there are some basic steps you can take to increase the flow in your home. 

S.O.S, My House Has No Flow!

Are you sending out distress signals about the current state of your home flow? We have you covered. Below we are laying out some of our top tips for creating better design and structural flow throughout your space. 

1. Utilize Cohesive Colors

There is nothing wrong with incorporating some color in a home, from moody kitchens to bedrooms that pop. The trick with color is making sure that there is cohesion. You don’t want to have a blue bedroom that feels like it has no connection to a beige bathroom or a green kitchen that seems out of place in a completely white or grey house. While it is one of the most powerful elements in home decor, color is also one of the easiest things to fix. If you feel like the colors throughout your home aren’t blending together nicely, creating a more unified palette can result in a much better visual flow. When deciding on colors (or deciding on how to fix them), make sure you think through the whole color story you want to tell in your house. There should be visual harmony that lends itself to that natural flow, not an abrupt change in color styles and moods.

A great starting point is establishing your personal color palette for all the spaces, with a nice neutral color, as well as several accent colors that compliment the main neutral nicely. While each accent color doesn’t have to be used in every room, it can be helpful to pull in a few colors to each room in various ways. One room may have a dominant color that is used as an accent color in another room, whether on the walls, in fabrics and furniture, or in decor. 

Want to keep the color flow more simple? Go with a straightforward color for all the walls in the house, bringing in color with different accent pieces and accessories. For homes with an open layout, having one single color on every wall (aside from an accent wall or two) can be a way to create cohesive color flow.

2. Update the Flooring

While color always seems to dominate the sightlines, one other main area that gets alot of attention when it comes to visual home flow is flooring. Breaking up wood floors with tile in the kitchen or bathrooms or carpet in the bedrooms isn’t a bad thing — it can be very practical after all. However, problems occur especially in more compact layouts when floors feel choppy and the flow between different styles is not as natural. If you can select one durable floor type to be used throughout a whole home, it can do wonders for the natural flow and simplify the decorative process. Not in the budget to have one single floor type? A more affordable option would be to at least aim to keep the flooring the same in all open areas (kitchen, living spaces, dining room), while leaving tile or carpet in the bathrooms and bedrooms. Another option that can help create a unified visual flow is using area rugs within the same color palette to better connect the transitioning floor types.

3. Rearrange Some Furniture

Does walking through your home sometimes feel like a game of Tetris? Embarrassed by the maze of furniture you make your guests navigate? If you’ve bumped into this problem (or a couch or table in the process), it’s time to start rearranging. The best way to avoid physical flow issues with furniture is considering furniture layouts early on in the construction or design process. If you aren’t building a new home from the ground up, try to walk through a house without anything in it prior to decorating. Sometimes even measuring out spaces and comparing furniture measurements can help you make decorative decisions ahead of time. Already moved in? Not to fear, there is still hope.

Even if you already have furniture in your home but simply aren’t happy with the flow, you can still use this approach to measure out your areas and move couches or chairs around. Eliminating clunkier side tables, bookstands, plants, etc. can also open up a space that feels more cramped and allow for arranging furniture into more spacious layouts. Sometimes it calls for investing in new pieces as well. Consider dropping a larger couch or sectional for a sleeker sofa and complimentary lounge chairs. This can also help create more walkways for guests or family as you go from watching TV or lounging and into the kitchen or other home areas.

When Is it Time to Consider Structural Remodeling?

At some point, there may be only so much rearranging, decorating, and color scheming you can do to improve the flow within your home. The good news? Not all hope is lost. The right contractor can help you evaluate your home structure and determine if there is a way to open up walls and relocate living spaces to create the more natural, cohesive flow you are dreaming of. 

If you are frustrated by the lack of flow in your current home layout and can’t seem to find the solution in small decorative projects, Annadel Builders, Inc. is ready to get to work. We understand how to create natural flow in a space that will enhance the style, preferences, and vision of each homeowner. If you want a custom designed home in Sonoma, Healdsburg, or elsewhere in Northern California that gives you a fresh start and plenty of natural flow, our team is ready to assist with every step of the design, development and construction process.