How does Covid-19 impact interior design?
We are living in a pandemic crisis and it has touched absolutely everything in our society:
The way we live, interact with each other socially and at home, how and where we work, to just name a few.
As a direct result interior design now needs to accommodate not only how we will live post corona, but how we design our homes.
Our new normal: Working from home
Quarantine has forced people to work from home.
The pandemic has demonstrated that one can be just as productive working from home – something freelancers have been saying for some time already.
Great side benefit is that working from home positively impacts the wellbeing of employees, thus making it a realistic and sustainable option.
There is a steep increase for home office design, real workplaces rather than just temporary workstations in a room.
Designing of these offices, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, focus on efficient lighting, solutions that enable proper video calls, soundproofing, ergonomically correct furniture and provide for excellent connectivity online.
Ideally, the work space should be separated from the rest of the house. This not only allows for greater productivity, but also sets a clearer separation between working and leisure hours at home.
Maximizing your living space
Being together with our families in quarantine for weeks on end has made people reconsider the concept of privacy.
We are seeing requests to convert basements, attics, garages and even parts of the garden into compact living quarters or gyms.
Home layout is gearing towards a closed scheme instead of the open plans that have been a key trend in interiors in the last years.
Thinking even further, there is a need for creating separate spaces with all the necessary facilities, so that one member of the family infected by a virus can remain independent of the entire family.
Designing with an added focus on sterility
Now when designing a home, we take into consideration the need to avoid touching certain surfaces, take into account how many hands touch the doorknobs of your entrance (especially if you live in an apartment building), or the buttons of an elevator.
This explains why vocal and video control is emerging as a huge trend.
Fabulous also for people living alone is that vocal/video control is a really helpful solution in case they feel sick and need help.
We also focus on installing easy-to-clean materials and surfaces; touch-less faucets and improved fresh air systems.
Natural materials such as copper and un-lacquered brass and bronze are making a big comeback since copper surfaces are said to have the shortest survival-rate time for COVID-19.
Home deliveries
One of the things that have absolutely accelerated because of the pandemic is online shopping and, consequently, home deliveries.
Will the houses of the future have a small space before the entrance to be dedicated to package drop-off? I think so.
Another anticipated trend is the inclusion of storage spaces, such as pantries, in all living quarters.
If we thought that these spaces were only viable in big houses, after this crisis we will likely change our minds.
People want to be able to stock up.
Outdoor living spaces
Current requests are trending towards larger budgets in order to effectively design and execute well-equipped outdoor living spaces.
A demand for garden makeovers, a covered patio with a kitchen, swimming pools and outdoor fireplaces enable comfortable outdoor living which in Israel is definitely a worthwhile investment.
Designing our homes is not just about “making pretty stuff”, it is a matter of improving the quality of our lives and bringing wellness into our homes.
Covid-19 has given new importance to some roles – like the ones of architects and interior designers – that were not fully understood before.
This is because the next time we will find ourselves buying a new home, we will reflect upon those times when we were forced to quarantine for weeks inside our homes and we will make our choices more carefully and intentionally.
Yetti Slasky is an interior designer renowned for her unique design solutions for residential dwellings and holiday homes in Israel.
