Just recently I've been finding paralells between my day job as a web designer and my "hobby" as a DIYer. Mostly in the area of "usability", which, more often than not, is just a fancy word for applying common sense.

A case in point is our porch (below), which I've just started work on.

As with everything we do to the house our intention is to restore its original Victorian style. Originally the porch would, I expect, have been open. However, we bought the house with a pair of half-width doors in the opening you can see (I've removed the doors now and since removed the semi-circular framework above it).

There was more to this decision to remove these doors than merely the aesthetic though. A lot of it was to do with the "user experience" of the visitor.

1. The number 13 was on the outer left-hand door, which spent most of its time open and so the house number was effectively hidden.
2. Doorbell was on the outer doors' framework. Because the outer door was usually open people would continue to the inner door only to find no bell to push. They'd then knock and, more often than not, we'd be unable to hear it.
3. Outer right-hand door had a letterbox in it, replicating the functionality of the inner door. Previous owners had stuck a sign to the glass above it requesting that all post be put through main door. They then went one step further and nailed it shut. The outer left door was non-locking so leaving post in the porch was insecure.
4. Having friends visit with prams or carry cots meant having to unbolt the right-hand door, which was more hassle than it should have been.

As you can see i've moved the #13 to the inner door. I've also moved the doorbell to the inner frame. We now have a pram-friendly entrance to the house, which, hopefully, is also a lot more inviting and easier to navigate. Will end up looking a lot nicer in my opinion too.

Karen was indifferent to the matter of the outer doors but was won over by the pram-friendliness argument. I tried mentioning the usability arguments but she just looked at me with that "Oh crap, I married a geek!" look on her face.

Usability should never be over-looked when planning a house if you ask me. Especially in places like the kitchen. In ours the fridge is in the opposite corner to where all tea/cereal preparation takes place. You wouldn't put the toothbrush holder on the opposite corner of the bathroom to the sink now would you? Hey, Karen!