Healthy Flowing Homes in a Limerick cottage
Finding her cottage hard to sell, architect Patti O’Neill took a step back and developed the Healthy Flowing Homes approach which transformed the desirability of her home.
….‘When I went to sell it there were no offers for the first two years. So I took a step back to understand what someone entering the property for the first time was experiencing. I was so used to living here that when I stood back I was quite shocked to see that the first impressions of entering the house were all
wrong – it caused confusion and was unsettling.’ says Patti.
She began to develop the principles of the approach that she now calls Healthy Flowing Homes. This gives top priority to the user experience. ‘It means that our instinctual experience, our first impressions and the way we use a space are taken into consideration while designing. It also considers the orientation to the sun, the views and the connection to outdoor spaces and entrance approaches,’ explains Patti. ‘Analogies to the body help while designing a home, for example how we enter spaces, where we prepare our food, where we relax and where the bathrooms are found. Particularly in the
kitchen it is important to establish the optimum centre of control through the positioning of workspaces, windows, light and door positions. This will have an effect on the food that we make, eat and that in turn will nourish us’. …..
