Space planning that starts with how you live
Before you choose a stone, a wood tone or a light fitting, one question shapes almost everything else: how the home is divided. Where you walk and where you pause, where the light comes in, where things disappear to. Space planning is the stage where those questions are answered on paper, while every correction still takes an eraser, not a hammer.
At SELÈ STUDIO, interior planning is the skeleton of the design. The right division of space is what keeps an apartment beautiful for years, not only on the day it is photographed. We plan apartments and homes ahead of a renovation, with a personal approach and attention to the small things: the width of a passage, the depth of a cupboard, the height of a socket beside the bed.
On this page you’ll find what a good plan solves, what the planning process is made of, and when a registered architect or engineer is also needed.
What is space planning, and how is it different from design?
Space planning, or interior planning, is about how a space works: the division into rooms and zones, the position of internal walls and openings, the furniture layout, and the water and electrical points. Design is about the atmosphere a space creates: materials, colors, textures and styling.
The two are intertwined, but the order matters. A striking stone island won’t save a kitchen whose surrounding passage is too narrow. A beautiful bookcase becomes an obstacle when it stands in the path everyone takes to the balcony. Hence the name interior architecture: work on the inner structure of the home, within the existing shell. Interior design for apartments and homes then rests on that foundation.
Four things a good plan solves
Dividing the space
How many rooms you really need, and which zones can share a space. A work corner absorbed into the living room, a walk-in wardrobe instead of a room nobody uses, a kitchen that opens onto the dining area, or deliberately stays separate from it. The layout follows your routine, not a template.
Circulation
A home is also experienced by moving through it. A good plan checks how you come in and where keys and bags land, how you get from the kitchen to the table without bumping into a chair, and which way the doors open. A passage a few centimeters too narrow is felt every day.
Storage
Good storage is almost invisible. It is planned in advance: full height, at a depth that suits what goes in it, and where the thing is actually needed. A cupboard by the front door, a pantry by the kitchen, a niche for the vacuum and the laundry. When storage is part of the plan from the start, the walls stay quiet.
Light
Daylight decides where it is pleasant to sit, eat and work, so window orientation is studied before any wall moves. Artificial lighting follows the plan too: a pendant above a table whose position hasn’t been decided is a guess. Once the layout is fixed, every light point, socket and switch can be placed in advance.
What the planning process is made of
Measuring and checking the existing condition
The apartment is measured and what’s already there is documented: walls, openings, ceiling heights, water, drainage and electrical points. In an existing home this starts with a visit.
Getting to know who lives there
A conversation about your routine, your habits and what matters to you. Who cooks, who works from home, what piles up in the corners. The requirements of the plan come from here.
Layout options
Several ways to divide the space, each with its advantages and trade-offs, so the decision comes from comparison and not from instinct alone. When it’s hard to imagine, an option can also be explored as a visualization of the space.
Furniture layout plan
A scaled drawing with every piece of furniture at its real size, including the clearances needed to open doors and drawers. Everything else rests on this plan.
Detailed drawings for the contractor
Depending on the scope: a construction plan (what comes down and what goes up), electrical and lighting, and joinery. The more detailed the drawings, the easier it is to compare contractors’ quotes, and the less the build relies on improvisation. From here the work can continue into renovation support on site.
What an interior designer plans, and when you need a registered architect or engineer
Interior planning deals with division and layout within the existing structure. Some changes go beyond that and require a registered professional: demolishing or opening a load-bearing wall, changing the façade or external openings, adding built area, and any work that needs a building permit. Even a wall that looks like a simple partition should be checked before it comes down. In a mamad, the reinforced safe room found in many Israeli homes, the walls, door and window may not be altered without Home Front Command approval.
In these cases the planning is coordinated with a registered architect or engineer, who is responsible for the structural and permit side. We cover this in more depth in the difference between an architect and an interior designer.
Before the first meeting: what to think about
- Who lives in the home today, and who might in a few years.
- Who works from home, and what the work needs: quiet, calls, a large screen.
- How you cook and eat: quick daily meals, or hosting around a long table.
- What needs dedicated storage, such as bikes, sports gear, books or seasonal clothes.
- What you love about your current home, and what frustrates you every day.
- What doesn’t move: a piece of furniture coming with you, a window that must stay clear, a view you want from the sofa.
You don’t need complete answers. These are starting points for a conversation, and the plan grows from them.
From plan to space: one wall, several jobs
You can see it in the living room in the first image. The TV is recessed into the plaster wall rather than hung on it. The oak bookcase rises to the ceiling, and a single low stone plinth runs beneath both zones and ties them together. A solution like this isn’t bought ready-made in a shop. A recessed screen means deciding the wall’s depth at the construction stage, and with a full-height bookcase you need to know in advance what will face it and where its light will come from. See the oak living room project
Frequently asked questions
Can you plan an apartment without renovating it?
Yes. Even with no demolition or building, a furniture layout helps you decide which pieces to buy, at what size and where they will stand, and shows where a socket, a light point or storage is missing. Sometimes the right arrangement of furniture and joinery solves what looked like a need to renovate. And if you do renovate later, the plan is already there.
When should planning start?
Before you hire a contractor and before you choose materials. In a renovation, the plan is what contractors base their quotes on.
What should be checked before moving a wall in an apartment?
First, whether the wall is load-bearing. An engineer decides that, not appearances. Next, what runs inside it: electrical, water or drainage lines that would need a new route. Wet rooms also depend on the fall of the drainage pipes, so a kitchen or bathroom can’t always move anywhere you like. Finally, what the new wall will do to the light and ventilation of the rooms on either side.
What is a furniture layout plan?
A scaled drawing of the apartment with all the furniture at its real size: sofa, table, bed and wardrobes. It shows whether there’s room to walk, to open a door or a drawer, and to sit comfortably. It is also the basis for the electrical, lighting and joinery drawings.
Does a small apartment need planning too?
In a small apartment every centimeter counts, which is exactly why planning matters there. It finds storage in unused heights and depths, lets zones share space without colliding, and prevents buying furniture that doesn’t fit. When space is limited, every decision carries more weight.
Want to start with the plan?
Tell us about the home: what’s there, what’s missing and what matters to you. We’d be glad to meet.