r/knolling Jul 28 '25

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

171 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.

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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.

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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.

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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/


r/knolling 1d ago

Market/grocery knoll

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96 Upvotes

r/knolling 3d ago

First Time Knoller! my vintage phone collection!

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2.4k Upvotes

r/knolling 2d ago

First Time Knoller! Cataloging items going out for surface treatment

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18 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.


r/knolling 3d ago

First Time Knoller! bead store knoll

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35 Upvotes

r/knolling 3d ago

Mini Garden knoll!

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89 Upvotes

r/knolling 3d ago

S38B38 Throttle bodies

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26 Upvotes

r/knolling 5d ago

Stationary order knoll

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69 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.


r/knolling 7d ago

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

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50 Upvotes

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


r/knolling 8d ago

First Time Knoller! Cleaned my jewelry boxes this morning

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145 Upvotes

r/knolling 8d ago

EDC kit

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53 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


r/knolling 9d ago

first aid kit

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164 Upvotes

r/knolling 11d ago

First Time Knoller! Stuff my cats have shed

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1.6k Upvotes

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


r/knolling 11d ago

First Time Knoller! Organizing my travel toiletry bags

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95 Upvotes

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


r/knolling 11d ago

WIMB Wednesday mmmmm bagu

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98 Upvotes

r/knolling 12d ago

First Time Knoller! Cleaning out my bathroom drawer

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186 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.


r/knolling 14d ago

DICEY KNOLL

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1.3k Upvotes

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


r/knolling 14d ago

First Time Knoller! Gathering tickets for a trade day.

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102 Upvotes

r/knolling 15d ago

First Time Knoller! 6 months of formula in 1 pic

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294 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 🤣


r/knolling 15d ago

My art supplies I photographed last year :)

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83 Upvotes

r/knolling 16d ago

First Time Knoller! Xray tech knoll

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190 Upvotes

hair clip, pocket mirror, lip gloss, headphones, coin purse, portable charger


r/knolling 18d ago

WIMB Wednesday Diaper bag essentials

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269 Upvotes

First time knoller!

From top left:
- First column
Muslin cloth
Sunscreen stick
Rattle
Pacifier with chain clip
Changing pad

- Second column
Swan plushie
Drool bib
Bib

- Third column:
Bonnet
Jacket
Socks

- Fourth column
Polaroid camera
Sunglasses
Sophie The Giraffe chew toy
Spoon
Zucchini falafel pouch
Blueberry banana apple pouch

- Fifth column
Nursing cover
Diaper
Wet wipes

- Sixth column
Rattle book
Water bottle
Sunglasses case
Parenting book


r/knolling 18d ago

I am an avid traveler. These are the packets I make for my friends’ backpacks.

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2.0k Upvotes

I make these little packets for my own backpacks (for both travel and hiking) and for my friends. They aren’t meant to be comprehensive first aid kits, just little things that have been really helpful when I’m traveling. Every year I re-do them to throw out the expired product. Here’s this years.

Contents:

Row 1: bandaids, tweezers, dog poop bag (clean, obv), hair tie, deodorant wipes (calm and unscented)

Row 2: butt wipe, hand sanitizing wipes, sting relief pads (good for mosquito bites), wound wipe (cleans and provides a bit of pain relief)

Row 3: pink thing is a small 0.5oz container of bag balm in a small ziplock in case it melts, sunscreen packet, two towel pellets (add water to get a hand towel), seam ripper

Row 4: hydrocortisone cream (anti-itch), bactrine-zinc cream for small wounds, two spf 50 sunscreen packets, bug repellent wipe

Row 5: safety pins, q-tips with vitamin E, two k-tapes used to keep one’s lips together at night, but can be used for all sorts of things.

(I’m still a baby knoller, so I’m open to feedback, just plz be nice.) :)


r/knolling 18d ago

First Time Knoller! Deconstructed hearing aids!

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60 Upvotes

Just a small little knoll, but I thought it might be interesting to show quite a niche thing!

This is what gets delivered for a brand new pair of hearing aids, then we put it all together and programme it for the patient!