How the Pandemic Changed our Homes

We all know the impact the covid-19 pandemic had on our mental health, physical health and economy. But what about our homes? 

As an interior designer, my mind wanders to the question; after staying inside for 2 years, how have our homes and our relationship with our homes changed? And how can we transform our spaces post-pandemic? We are still not post-pandemic, but the world seems to be moving on. 

How the function of peoples homes had to change during the covid-19 pandemic 

Boom – the covid-19 pandemic hits and all of a sudden the rooms in our home had to shift into these multi-purpose spaces. And we were all forced to spend all of our time inside these spaces. Maybe your condo living room had to turn into your home office and gym. Or maybe your spare bedroom had to morph into a mini daycare and yoga studio. Or maybe your home just completely lost all sense of function and organization, no judgment here. Most people ended up with makeshift not-so-functional spaces that made them feel unmotivated, disorganized, and chaotic. 

Once the pandemic hit the needs of my clients completely changed (Hi, I’m an interior designer if you’re new here). All my clients suddenly needed an at home office, playroom and home gym. All those requests are pretty easy to achieve if you have extra space, but let’s face it, most people don’t. Especially city folks like me, we don’t have another 500 square feet to spare.

So what is the solution here? 

The solution is that we need to be very intentional with how we use space. Our spaces need to be multipurpose and also allow us to feel good so we can be high functioning while in them. 

How we feel in our homes post-pandemic

I think most people don’t feel so hot about their homes after the pandemic. Well, even before the pandemic I don’t think most people felt particularly good in their spaces. However, pre-pandemic everyone spent less time at home so the impact on how we felt in our homes wasn’t as bothersome or noticeable. Post-pandemic, most people feel very tired, frustrated and uninspired in their homes. Improper organization and living in the same ol’ drab uninspiring spaces every day can really cause some pent-up aggression.

Even post-pandemic, most people are still spending more time in their homes as many have adopted a hybrid working model. So many people continue to be impacted by their not-so-great spaces. 

What impact does working/living in a poorly designed and uninspiring space have?

Well, I’ll speak from my own experience. When I was living in a home that was cluttered, poorly decorated, and not functional I was a super irritable and anti-social person. I did not enjoy life’s simple pleasures/tasks like cooking, doing chores or even just hanging out at home.

I actually started to describe myself as an irritable and anti-social person. But, it turns out that really wasn’t the case.

In the summer of 2022, I move into a small condo located in downtown Toronto. Suddenly, I had less space. But despite this, I became a lot happier and actually started to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

Wow. So after all those years and all that money I spent in therapy, I really just needed to move huh.

Well, therapy does help but..

What was the real difference here?

When I moved to this small downtown condo I created a space that really worked for me. I laid out the furniture in a way that made sense for my own personal needs.

Three things I implemented in my condo

1. A kitchen table that doubled as a prep “island”. This gave me the ability to have a big workstation in my TINY kitchen.
2. A lounge area with light easily movable chairs. This gave me the option of having an open area for my at-home gym.
3. A desk which I use as my office desk and makeup vanity. This was a key factor in my living space as I spend many hours in front of my computer. And, I got accustomed to doing my makeup while sitting down so I knew this desk had to be purposeful for that as well.

My current condo is super small but I really made it work for my lifestyle and that’s the key. I’ve noticed a big shift in my energy, attitude and overall happiness from this change of space. It’s truly remarkable how your home can impact you.

You don’t need to move in order to find happiness in your space. You just need to get out of your post-pandemic home funk. What you can easily do is rethink your space and rearrange your furniture accordingly.

The positive impact rearranging your furniture can have 

When the human eye gets used to seeing the same thing and kind of goes blind. It’s like that saying “When you sit in shit too long, it stops smelling”. 

As an interior designer, I am constantly walking into people’s homes. I walk in with a fresh eye and I’ll notice things about the home that even homeowners themselves had not even noticed.

How can you unblind yourself from your space? Change. The eye notices changes. If your space has been set up the same way for 10 years, but suddenly, something is moved around, you’ll take notice. 

So, what happens when you rearrange all the furniture in your space? Well, suddenly the space has completely transformed, it’s like you’re seeing the room for the first time.

Rearranging your furniture allows you to experience the same space in a new way. The goal of this is to create a space to be more functional and eye-pleasing.

As humans, we like new. Most of us are addicted to consumerism. Why else would be we more excited to wear a new dress instead of an old one? And suddenly, once we wear the new dress, it becomes old it loses its excitement…

The good thing about rearranging and redecorating is that you don’t have to buy all new furniture and things. I mean, you can. If you got it like that, why not? But it is certainly not necessary to refresh your space and make it feel new. 

A personal story

When I was a child I cant tell you how many times I would rearrange my bedroom. It would bring me so much joy because it would feel like a totally new space again and again. 

Here is a funny story about my childhood bedroom, well at least, I find it funny.

One day, just like any other I woke up in my pretty pink room and went to school. My foreign mother decided that she would repaint my room while I was at school. And she knew just what any 12-year-old girl would like! A dark brown room! What a genius idea my mother thought. And how thrilled was I to come home to the “surprise”… 

On the note of brown paint, here is my favourite one by Sherwin Williams French Roast SW 6069.

I recently asked my mother, “Why did you think it was a good idea to paint a 12-year-old girl’s bedroom brown?!”

She answered, “I had extra brown paint and I didn’t want it to go to waste.”

I guess we can say that my mother started the #nowaste trend.

The moral of the story, not all change is good.

But anyway…

Here are some steps to refresh your space post-pandemic:

1. Declutter, declutter and declutter some more

Keep things that actually mean something to you and throw out what doesn’t.

This also means rethinking your purchases. Do you really like that picture of a random beach you found on sale at HomeSense? Is it sparking you any joy?

Maybe it’s time to donate some clothes and recycle some things. The more you throw away the less overwhelmed you will feel. I promise you won’t ever go looking for the things you’ve thrown away.

2. Rethink your space 

How is your space functioning right now, is it even functioning? Are you getting frustrated while in the space? 

Determine what the main purposes are in the space and determine the pain points, how can they be solved? 

Perhaps they could be solved by removing some unnecessary furniture pieces and/or moving around your furniture to serve the space better. 

3. Try new things in your space

Sometimes you try out a new furniture layout by living in it for a while, only to realize that it does not bring you more function and/or joy in the space. And that’s fine, it even happens to me. But, discovering what doesn’t work is in fact a great discovery. When determining what doesn’t work, you can determine what does. So perhaps try different layouts, take note of your what is causing you reoccurring frustration and continue to alter the room based on that. 

An example:

When I first moved into my condo I placed my office desk right against a wall. Days later I realized it just didn’t feel right. I moved the desk against my window (breaking an interior design rule) and BOOM! I loved it. Not only was I getting natural light while I was sitting at my desk (I need that vitamin D baby). Having a view of the outdoors really boosted my mood while working.

So, to give your space a post-pandemic refresh, it’s really all about understanding what makes a space feel enjoyable. Also, figuring out what works for you as an individual.

I promise you that you can learn to love your space again post-pandemic. Take action and be intentional with your space. 

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If you want to connect one to one and refresh your home with my assistance...guess what, I have an Edesign course for that!