Has lockdown changed our relationship with our Homes?
With these on and off lockdowns over the last 18 months, it doesn’t exactly come as a surprise that our world has shifted in many ways. “PIVOT” was the anthem of 2020. Of course, there’s the issue of the Pandemic itself, which tends to be at the forefront of most peoples minds. But even when we try to transition back into “normal” society, we get thrown back into an unexpected 3-day lockdown. Yes, they’re put in place to protect us, and yes, we’re thankful for that. But, it doesn’t mean it’s easy to deal with. Lockdown life has had us all spending WAY more time in our homes, and for many of us, inherently changed the relationship we have with our home. You may likely find that your personal definition of an ideal workspace has changed, along with your ideal home.
So, how have things changed?
Trends are essentially irrelevant
Homeowners will often crave to revamp their space to ‘keep up with the times’. They ditch the flower power wallpaper for something sleek and minimal. Then inevitably switch it up again when the old trends come back around. But, by removing all the at-home dinner parties and game nights with our social circles, we’ve been able to somewhat ditch those societal pressures to ‘keep up with the Joneses. ’Cause… The Joneses aren’t there- they’re in their own home! So long as it’s a space that works for YOU, that’s all that should matter. Let’s not forget this.
Multi-functional rooms
If you’re still operating under the notion that a dining room table is for dining, not homeschooling, or that the living rug is for the dog and not your daily workout- Mate, can we come to your house!? With the surge of home-schooling, working from home and working out at home, our need for multifunctional spaces is more prevalent than ever before. Many of us found ourselves itching to implement renovations or modifications to our homes over the past year and a half to create a more ideal space that can function with several purposes. Unless you’re blessed to live in a 17 bedroom house where everyone in the household has their own place to sleep, work, workout, and play, you’re likely lining up alterations or possibly a move to an ideal space.
Fresh air and connection to the outdoors has only strengthened
Did you know that the average person spends more than 90% of their time indoors? A statistic that has only increased over the last 18 months. Frankly put, humans are not designed to be exclusively inside creatures. With many of the outdoor activities and chances to socialise outdoors being taken away at certain times, we intrinsically find ourselves craving a connection to the natural world.
Design styles such as Biophilic Design have grown in popularity over the last ten years, yes. But interest in this style has piqued more recently. Biophilic design is a unique style that attempts to connect a building’s inhabitants closer to nature. It is well proven that exposure to the natural world has powerful mental health benefits in our daily lives. In a Biophilic home, you will likely see natural light, the presence of water, pure ventilation, incorporation of greenery and landscape and non-rhythmic sensory stimuli of sorts.
The health and quality of our homes is more important than we may have realised
With all this “new time” we have had in our homes, we are ashamed to say, a lot of our homes are very unhealthy places to be. Low insulation, cold windows, lots of air leakage (drafts), little or no controlled ventilation, and an inappropriate heating system contributes to more than 50% of our homes not really being happy places to be.
Imagine what it would be like to work, play, study, exercise in a home that was 21degrees C and dry all year round. We deserve this, and especially if we can include the natural calming effects of the Biophilic solutions also. So make these things a bottom line before you start adding granite bench tops in your home update plans.
How has your relationship with your home changes over the last 18 months?