Believe it or not, COVID-19 didn’t just shut the whole world down and kill millions of people, it also adjusted home design trends. From how we think of our home spaces, to a stronger emphasis on cleanliness, to so much more, we have seen new trends. Keep on reading and we will break down how COVID-19 has affected today’s design market.
CLEANLINESS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER BEFORE
This is something that we can all understand. With COVID-19, a cleaner space meant less chances of spreading the virus. The transition of this into home design saw people making home decor decisions based on the fact that it can easily be cleaned and is antimicrobial. We have also seen a boom in touchless home solutions, such as motion activated appliances, voice-activated technology and keyless entries for the same reason. Hopefully this trend is here to stay!
HOME OFFICE SPACES HAVE TAKEN ON A WHOLE NEW ROLE
The pandemic saw a huge shift to jobs becoming work from home, which is still the case for many positions. Some companies even gave employees the opportunity to make work from home permanent. Due to this, office spaces in home took on an important role. Since people were there 24/7, they needed a safe, quiet space to work to separate their work life from their home life. Also, since people had more free time, they were able to take the time to re-invent that space, so they re-decorated, and transitioned rooms, to make working from home more comfortable and convenient.
PRIORITIZING OUTDOOR SPACES
Being outdoors has always been refreshing, but even more so during the pandemic. Closed/tight spaces have higher chances to spread the virus, so outdoors have taken on a whole new meaning. Homeowners took it upon themselves to become more self-sufficient and grow produce at home and tend to their gardens in their free time. Stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot saw a surge of business during this time because not only were people fixing things in their homes and re-decorating, but they were also finding ways to transform their outdoor spaces. This has pushed architects to incorporate porches and balconies more in home design to help people maximize their outdoors and appeal to this trend.
OPEN PLAN HOMES BECOME LESS APPEALING
Open plan homes were very popular before COVID. It was a way that homeowners felt like they had more square footage in their homes without the extra price tag. But, it also meant a little less privacy. With work from home becoming widespread and kids doing school virtually, the need for some privacy and space became more commonplace, so the traditional home plan has increased in appeal. Of course, many people still love open plan homes but we definitely see traditional homes making a comeback.
The coronavirus has changed many things in the home design world. Whether or not these changes are here to stay is still up in the air. Regardless, design trends are ever-changing and there will always be adjustments to how we design our homes.
