Why sight lines are key to good home design

 

Blogger Hannah Davey explains why creating clear sight lines through her new-look family home was so important. Plus, watch our video on creating a view right through your home

By Hannah Davey on

Many, many month ago, when the renovation was a rose-scented fairytale, and our heads still filled with endless possibilities of creating the perfect habitat to raise our children, we wrote our now infamous wish list. Back then, I had plans to be more delicious than Ella in the kitchen, and my better half was going to cultivate the garden than Alan Titchmarsh.
Sadly, Father Christmas wasn’t able to deliver many of our plans as the budget nose-dived. However, some details of the redesign were sacrosanct – and sight lines were one of those.

Sights lines are what you can see from any given point in your house – either into other rooms, or outside through windows or doors. In home design, you can use sight lines to draw attention to specific architectural details or views.

We wanted to create a home that flowed organically and allowed the glorious light that floods the hallway to permeate as far as possible. We also wanted to be able to open the front door and see way beyond the hallway – into the kitchen, the garden and towards the fire.

In the end, we had to fight hard over many decisions to keep the sight lines we wanted. Standing your ground with a builder is exhausting and through the project I have certainly learnt when to give in, but also when to dig some four-inch stilettos in the ground and not budge! The angled wall in our hallway was a stiletto-stabbing example.
The measure of success is subjective, but for us it comes down to what you can see, whether you want to explore, and whether it’s exciting, inspiring or homely.
We’ve tried to combine well-established interior styling techniques, like layering and texture, with a backdrop of light, space and structure. And having the sight lines is a key part of that.
If you’re thinking of creating a through view in your home, take a look at our video guide:

https://youtu.be/hZP-EztdVh0