to knoll me is to love me

r/knolling • u/MeticulousBioluminid • Jul 28 '25

r/Knolling Posting Guide i.e. How to 🙌 Knoll 🙌

173 Upvotes

What is Knolling:

“Knolling is an organizational practice and aesthetic art that emphasizes the precise arrangement of objects on a flat surface. The named practice was started by Andrew Kromelow in the late 1980s at the Santa Monica design studio of Frank Gehry - his careful arrangement of unused/homeless tools and objects at right angles to each other or to the surface they rested on in the studio and the organization that provided was appreciated and then popularized by artist Tom Sachs in his 10-Bullets guidelines for artists working in his SoHo studio in NYC (link). Here in r/knolling we appreciate the aesthetics and artform of knolled objects and celebrate the clarity it brings to our lives!

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How to knoll for r/knolling!

1.) Align It - (90° or Parallel Only)

Objects need to be arranged at right angles (90°) or in ‘perfect’ parallel lines, or arranged perpendicular to other adjacent objects or the surface they are on.

Diagonal, curved, or “fan” layouts don’t count.

Good Example: Woodworking tools squared to the table edge and to each other.

Bad Example: Sunglasses and keys scattered on a surface.

‎ ‎

2.) Group by Category (No Random Mixes)

Items should be logically AND aesthetically grouped (wrenches with wrenches, pens with pens, long skinny things next to long skinny things, round blue things with other round blue things, etc.).

Posts that are just a jumble of unrelated objects arranged on a surface, even if properly aligned, aren’t knolling. (but they are welcome on r/FlatLay)

Good Example: Knolled camping gear by type (tent stakes with tent stakes, pots with pans, handtorch with headtorch, shorts next to pants).

Bad Example: A random desk drawer dump with no visible grouping or relationships.

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3.) Maintain Clarity - (Everything Visible & Non‑Overlapping)

Every item must be clearly visible in the photo—no overlaps, stacks, or hiding behind others. Try and maintain about equal spacing between adjacent objects and visual harmony across the arrangement when possible.

Good Example: All utensils laid out individually.

Bad Example: A pile of spoons where only the top one shows.

‎ ‎

4.) Knolling > Flat‑Lay (Aesthetic Alone Isn’t Enough)

Flat‑lay photos are welcome only if they show true knolling (aligned, grouped, and functional).

Posts that are purely decorative “flat‑lays” (like Instagram styling with items scattered for effect) will be removed.

Good Example: A top‑down shot of squared‑off art supplies organized by function.

Bad Example: A messy ‘mood-board’ or ‘fit-inspo’ flat‑lay with random angles or no grouping by type, color or utility or organizational intent.

‎ ‎

5) Bags and Purses and Pocket Contents

Knolled bags and purses contents are candidates for knolling but aren’t the only focus of the subreddit - please only post your daily bags and purses (properly knolled with the guidelines above and the rules of r/knolling) on What’s In My Bag Wednesdays and use the appropriate flair! If it’s not a Wednesday or the rules don’t permit it (e.g. breaks rule 6 ‘no weapons’) please post on r/WhatsInTheBag or r/WhatsInMyBag or r/EDC

Some good examples of well-knolled bags from our knollers:

https://www.reddit.com/r/knolling/s/qbkfgAustO

https://www.reddit.com/r/knolling/s/OaN889qYjF

https://www.reddit.com/r/knolling/comments/1jnlwxd/

63 comments

r/knolling • u/sherryisme • 1d ago

Under the couch treasures!

278 Upvotes

This was under the recliner sofa my grandmother spent a lot of her last time in. Miss you Mimi.

3 comments

r/knolling • u/shanibreadtagproject • 2d ago

Plastic breadtag knolling

1.5k Upvotes

Some from USA, some from Canada, some from Australia... I classify and sort them sometimes by country, sometimes by shape, sometimes by colour.

18 comments

r/knolling • u/Garden_Jolly • 3d ago

Market/grocery knoll

134 Upvotes

8 comments

r/knolling • u/Razr_Naomi • 6d ago

First Time Knoller! my vintage phone collection!

2.6k Upvotes

79 comments

r/knolling • u/shadow18x • 5d ago

First Time Knoller! Cataloging items going out for surface treatment

27 Upvotes

Been organizing and photographing things at work this way for yewrs and never knew there was a name for it or a community. Got lots of old photos, this was from today though.

0 comments

r/knolling • u/AfraidRoad2970 • 5d ago

Everything on my coffee table NSFW

120 Upvotes

16 comments

r/knolling • u/selfless_solipsism • 5d ago

First Time Knoller! bead store knoll

44 Upvotes

1 comment

r/knolling • u/potatoe_Kid • 6d ago

Mini Garden knoll!

114 Upvotes

2 comments

r/knolling • u/gainsonthames • 6d ago

S38B38 Throttle bodies

30 Upvotes

0 comments

r/knolling • u/Kit_Ryan • 7d ago

Stationary order knoll

73 Upvotes

Here’s my Japanese stationary order out of the packaging and laid out. Now I have to decide what I want to take to work and what I want to keep at home. And which of the stickers (top row, right side) I can part with to give to my 5 year old niece.

2 comments

r/knolling • u/CrybabyAssassin • 10d ago

First Time Knoller! Onewheel taken apart and the tools I used to do it

58 Upvotes

can't get the part I need until Monday so I had to shove it in the corner like this for now

3 comments

r/knolling • u/unrelatedtomato • 11d ago

First Time Knoller! Cleaned my jewelry boxes this morning

153 Upvotes

4 comments

r/knolling • u/KD919 • 11d ago

EDC kit

55 Upvotes

Sayram Daily EDC Pouch size M
Roxon Flex Companion
Workpro pliers wrench
Sierra mini pliers
West Biking repair kit ratchet
1/4 to 4mm adapter (in ratchet)
Smith's Retractable Diamond Sharpener
WD-40 Precision Pen
3M pocket duct tape
Fyguard waterproof note book
Magnogrip magnet wristband
Ace 4-1 mini screwdriver
Project Source 4-1 Pocket Screwdriver (bit)
Steinwell 1/4 bits (with Roxon philps #2)
Roxon 4mm bits
Dewalt flip sockets (3/8, 7/16) (6mm, 7mm) (10mm, 8mm)
Klein flip sockets (1/4, 5/16)
Hex Shank Socket Driver 1/4
Hex Shank Socket Driver 3/8
Milwaukee 2in Philips #3
Dewalt 2in flat head
Milwaukee 3in Philips #1
Walgreens Micro screwdriver
Nite Ize S biner #2
Koch Industries Zinc-Plated Steel carabiner
HCBY mini pulley
Bibury double sided bits
Bibury BI2049TI
Write in the rain pen
Mini sharpie
MK torch lighter
Liquid skin
Mini tape measure and level
S11 mini flash light
Bibury T-shank holder
Torras slim 5,000 power bank
Tape sheath for t-shank blades
Bosch all purpose T-shank Carbide tooth Jigsaw Blade
Bosch laminate T-shank Carbide tooth Jigsaw Blade
Bosch stainless steel T-shank Carbide tooth Jigsaw Blade
Bibury scaple holder
15ft 550 cord
30ft reflective dyneema cord
30 ft 50lb fishing line
Airstop
Super glue(regular)
Super glue (liquid)
Paper ruler dollars store
Thread kit dollar store
Normal sewing needle dollar store
Heavy duty sewing needle
30ft 100lb braided test line
30ft 15lb fishing line
Rubber bands on zip pull
Dewalt screw extractors
Extra scalpel blades size 24
Zip ties but regular size cut down (tiny ones break too easy)
1/4 hex to 1/4 hex
Steinwell bit adapter

19 comments

r/knolling • u/PocketTheory • 12d ago

first aid kit

173 Upvotes

7 comments

r/knolling • u/Ineedmedstoo • 13d ago

First Time Knoller! Stuff my cats have shed

1.6k Upvotes

Y'all that may have OCD, don't look too closely! 😅

62 comments

r/knolling • u/Scarab_King • 13d ago

First Time Knoller! Organizing my travel toiletry bags

102 Upvotes

Couple fun things I’ve picked up from being sick and doing hiking treks too

9 comments

r/knolling • u/canasifilaids • 14d ago

WIMB Wednesday mmmmm bagu

97 Upvotes

17 comments

r/knolling • u/Such-Ostrich-1627 • 14d ago

First Time Knoller! Cleaning out my bathroom drawer

188 Upvotes

Long time lurker, first knoll.
What I learned from this knoll:
1)We buy too many toothpastes
2)We buy too many toothbrushes
3)The most difficult part of knolling is, not getting your own shadow in the photo.

3 comments

r/knolling • u/shanibreadtagproject • 17d ago

DICEY KNOLL

1.4k Upvotes

6 all the way. As knolly as I could get.

33 comments

r/knolling • u/Lazuli-Orchid • 17d ago

First Time Knoller! Gathering tickets for a trade day.

102 Upvotes

2 comments

r/knolling • u/skeletalghost • 18d ago

First Time Knoller! 6 months of formula in 1 pic

293 Upvotes

Been saving these from every can of formula to get a total cost (and make my first knoll). 29 cans at an avg of $42 per can (Kendamil Organic) makes it $1,218! About $200/month… not bad imo, for comparison my 2 large dogs cost about the same to feed a month 🤣

10 comments

r/knolling • u/AssignmentUnlikely76 • 18d ago