The minimum width of a passage

An awkward circulation is one of the most common errors in residential interiors. The furniture looks well placed visually, but in practice you constantly walk around obstacles, knock into the corner of a table, get in your own way.

Two measurements settle the majority of cases.

Sixty centimetres is the vital minimum width for an adult to pass without hindrance. Below that, the passage is uncomfortable and you have to twist your body.

Ninety centimetres is the comfortable width for passing easily, and the minimum for two people to cross paths.

Above 1.20 m, you enter the "reduced-mobility access" zone (accessibility standard), which allows a wheelchair to pass. This is ideal in new-build homes, and mandatory in buildings open to the public.

Identify the critical passages. Walk through your home noting every spot you circulate through each day. Entrance to the living room, between sofa and coffee table, around the dining table, around the bed, in front of cupboards. Each passage must respect the 60 cm minimum.

Passages in front of furniture.

In front of a sofa, allow 75 to 90 cm between the front of the sofa and the coffee table (see rule 03.2 for the precise distance), and 90 cm minimum for circulation behind the coffee table.

Around a dining table, count 90 cm minimum between the table and the wall or sideboard, so chairs can be pulled out and people can pass.

Around a bed, allow 60 cm minimum on each side to circulate and make the bed. 70-80 cm is comfortable.

In front of wardrobes and cupboards, count 75 cm minimum in front of open doors to extract items.

Special case, "forced" passages. When furniture imposes a passage of 50 cm or less, the furniture is too large for the room. Either replace the piece, or rethink the layout.

Small interior case. In a studio or one-bedroom flat under 35 m², applying these measurements everywhere is not always realistic. The professional rule, strictly respect the 60 cm on main axes (entrance to kitchen, kitchen to living room, living room to bedroom), and accept dropping to 50 cm on secondary zones (between a chest of drawers and a wall). Better an impeccable circulation on the daily route and a compromise on rarely used zones.

Interior designers integrate these dimensions from the planning stage. Secondary passages (to a rarely used bedroom) can drop to 70-80 cm, main passages (entrance, living room) must reach at least 90 cm.

In Haussmann renovations, existing corridors can be narrow (70-80 cm). Rather than modify them, they are enhanced through paint, framed artworks, and a smooth circulation by removing any parasitic furniture.

Pierre Yovanovitch often works to 1.20 m on his main circulations, anticipating a possible need for reduced-mobility access. This generosity of space also gives a feeling of calm and luxury.