What you need to know about ergonomics: 9 tips on home improvement

Even a small apartment will be comfortable if its ergonomics are thought out. Place the furniture in the living room, calculate the size of the headset and household appliances - with our advice, it is easy to do it yourself.

Ergonomics is not just a list of rules for arranging furniture in your apartment or house. Its goal is to improve working and leisure conditions, to create comfortable conditions for a healthy and productive life. Not sure how to apply its basic principles to your life? You may always benefit from our tips.

     

Avoid obstacles

When choosing a place for this or that piece of furniture, pay attention not only to how they look next to each other, but also to sufficient space for the passage. Give up fragmented drawers and file cabinets in the hallway in favor of a single headset along the wall - the width of the passage will be the same everywhere. In the living room, make sure that the coffee table does not block the approach to the sofa - otherwise you will constantly stumble over it. Check if cabinets or appliances are interfering with opening doors.

Set up a comfortable point of entrance 

The main secret of a pleasant going back home is a comfortable entrance hall, where all objects are in their places: here we leave our shoes, raise our hands and put our hat on the shelf, take off our coat and stretch for our pleasure - our elbows are not resting on anything. A wardrobe or an open hanger, a shoe rack and a shoe cabinet should be mandatory. We also advise you to provide shelves or a chest of drawers where you will put your keys, gloves, bag. You may need a couple more hooks for a shoe horn, umbrella, and dog leash.

Watch the height of the furniture 

Consider the height of the hangers and shelves in the hallway and bathroom, taking into account the height of the family members - you may need an additional row of hooks for the children. Keep in mind that furniture can be divided into three groups in height. The first is used for sitting, changing shoes, cleaning shoes - its height from the floor is 40-50 cm. The height of the second group of furniture does not exceed 200 cm - it includes elements with drawers, shelves, mirrors. The third category is furniture for long-term storage. Its height is limited only by the height of the ceiling.

Don't sit close to the TV 

A sofa and a TV-set are the basic requirements of a modern person to furnish a living room. Keep in mind that the safe distance from the TV does not depend at all on the width or length of the room, but on the size of the screen. For example, the distance to a 35-40 "HD screen should be at least 1.8 meters, and for a 50-60" diagonal, this parameter should be increased to 2-2.5 meters.

Don't move the bed against the wall 

No matter how tempting it is to expand your bedroom by placing the bed against the wall, try not to do that. Please note that the distance from the edge of the bed to the wall or wardrobe with sliding doors should be at least 70 cm - such a passage will allow you to undress and lie down comfortably. Making the bed and changing the bed will also be easier in this case. 

If the room does not allow such a layout, there should be free space at the end of a bed: so that the person sleeping by the wall does not have to climb over his partner, disturbing his sleep. 

Don't force the bathroom 

It is not enough to beautifully place all the furniture in the bathroom; you need to do it as comfortably and safely as possible for a person. 75 cm is the distance that should be between each piece of plumbing equipment, as well as between the equipment and a wall or door. Don't try to fit all the items in a small bathroom at once: look at things realistically. Sometimes it makes more sense to give up a large bathroom in favor of a shower unit in order to carve out space for additional storage or a washing machine. And, of course, there is no need to squeeze a separate dryer into a typical bathroom, when there is an alternative - a washer and dryer in one. 

Use the working triangle rule 

When it comes to kitchen layout, knowledge of the correct working triangle is indispensable. Ideally, the path when moving from the refrigerator to the work surfaces, then to the sink and stove should be minimal - no more than 6 meters. Maintain a distance of at least 40 cm between the stove and the sink to prevent splashes of water from extinguishing the fire. This space can be occupied by a tabletop. And do not put the refrigerator close to the stove: this may impair its performance.

Remember the "opening zone" 

Free movement and convenient use of household appliances are an important requirement for kitchen layout. For example, to work with an oven or a dishwasher, leave at least 110 cm in front of them, but in front of a kitchen cabinet with drawers, you can put a table after 90 cm - it will be comfortable to bend even to the lower drawers. 

Same with other storage systems 

It is not enough to simply "squeeze" a chest of drawers or a wardrobe into the space of a room - it is imperative to provide a place for their comfortable use. In front of the chest of drawers, you need to leave space for free opening of the drawers and for the passage - for standard furniture it is 100-150 cm. When installing the cabinet, check whether the doors rest against the bedside table or the bed itself: if there is very little space, replace them with sliding ones, like in wardrobes.

Guest Contributor

Melisa Marzett is a freelance writer who has been writing since she was a little girl. She is an author of many works who is currently writing for https://writing-help.org/, which is a custom paper writing service, providing services on college editing and writing assignment of any difficulty level. So, if you are a student who desperately needs help or any kind of academic writing assistance, feel free to go online and ask melisa. Meanwhile, she lives in Bali, Indonesia and keeps writing, exploring the local beaches, doing yoga and meditation.