Designing your home for your body type

We spend a lot of time thinking about pretty colors, fabrics, floor plans and budgets and all the other fun stuff that goes into designing or redecorating our homes. But, how often do we think about our body type? Huh? No, I am not talking about which colors will make us look slimmer or taller. I’m talking about how our height and body size should be taken into consideration when making big purchases. After all, we have to live here, don’t we? Now, naturally, if we live with others, as most do, there can be a big difference in body type from one person to the next. But, it’s an important aspect that often gets overlooked amidst all the other important details.

6’3″ Julia Child famously raised the height of her kitchen counters in her Cambridge, MA kitchen (now ensconced in the Smithsonian) to accommodate her size.

In this antique farmhouse project I worked on in New Hampshire, my petite client, who loves to bake, opted for a lower space at the end of her center island. She did this so she could more easily roll out bread dough and other tasty treats.

A few years ago, I was working on a living room project with a client and we went into Restoration Hardware to look at sofas. This Barclay sofa is lovely. But, it’s 42″ deep. This was when RH was doing truly over scale pieces that required cranes to get into their new homes. So, my client and I – both about 5’2″-  tried out this lovely English arm sofa.

Yup. While the sofa would be comfy to lie down and nap on – with the entire family – it was ridiculously deep and uncomfortable to sit in. If we leaned back, our feat didn’t touch the ground, or we were perched on the edge. Not good.

Now, you might be thinking – well, my partner and I have a completely different body type. He’s tall, I’m short – what to do? As with everything – it’s all about compromise. Perhaps instead of a 42″ sofa, you select 36-38″ and add some larger, plump pillows for the shorty in the family to lean back against. I recently had clients who don’t particularly like throw pillows and actually didn’t want any on their new sectional. But when shopping, I pointed out that while she is tall and most sofa and chair depths would be comfortable for her, she probably has friends (including her petite daughter) who would appreciate a little boost that a well-placed pillow would provide.

How high to hang a chandelier over a table is always a big question. General rule of thumb is about 30″ off the top of a table for best lighting. But, in the case of the room above (sorry, I don’t have a better photo!) we installed this gorgeous antique French crystal and bronze chandelier more like 40″ over the table. The reason was because my lovely client K. is nearly 6′ tall and she didn’t want to feel like she was looking down on the fixture.

Designing for body type not only includes height but it also includes width. And let’s face it, we’re all over the map when it comes to body size these days. So, for those who don’t know me, I’m a “person of size” which is a vaguely PC way of saying that my tush takes up more than its fair share of space.

Larger sizes also effect wear and tear on furnishings as well. Cheaper chairs and sofas (hello, IKEA) may not hold up well under the extra weight that a heavy, or simply a very big and tall person. I once had a client who was average height but she was fairly slim. She ended up buying a less expensive sectional for her tv room because she wouldn’t have added undue stress to the piece. But a larger person would probably find that the same frame is sagging over time.

Going back to my farmhouse project, my client ordered these beautiful custom-made Windsor chairs from Windsor Chairmakers in Maine. My short client had them make the legs a little shorter which made the sit easier and more comfortable for her. But, I also wanted to point out that wood chairs such as these with stretchers receive a lot of pressure when a larger, heavier person is sitting on them. The downward pressure pushes the legs outward in all directions (hence the addition of the stretchers). Now, this wasn’t a concern for these clients and these are very well-made chairs which are structurally very sound. But, chairs of lesser quality in this style will eventually loosen up and the stretchers will pull out of their holes, causing the legs to splay even more. This effect can be mitigated by using a rug underneath, which holds the legs “in place” better. But place a cheaper chair on a slippery wood or tile floor with no “grip” and gravity and downward pressure will take its toll.

Anyway, I could go on and on about how height and weight – body type – effects how comfortable we are in our furnishings and how well they hold up. There was the time I was at a spa in Bermuda and almost drowned in a soaking tub because my feet didn’t reach the end and I accidentally kicked off the removable foothold. That was embarrassing!

Do you have any stories of how different body types effect your design decisions?