The coronavirus pandemic is forcing us to isolate in our homes. Amidst this “new normal,” we are also starting to realize how our interior space effects the way we function and even feel while living in our home.
According to experts, the COVID-19 pandemic is set to re-define interior design in a lot of ways. This is not just going to affect interiors designers in Winter Park, FL. This is going to affect interiors all over the world forever.
And the impact covid is having on interior design is not limited to just the furniture you pick or the layout of your homes, no.
This will fundamentally change the way homes are designed and built.
The open space layout has since passed but will Covid influence this forgotten design trend? At the moment we can only speculate. We could consider that open spaces would be ignored in favor of closed in rooms, separating family members.
The same is true of public spaces like parrks and schools as well as businesses that rely on customer presences like restaurants and casinos.
We have thought how this will affect the mindset of families and how we will arrange our homes. What will living rooms look like? And what can we expect in showers, and patio areas?
We Will See More Open Spaces
We knew this one was coming. We are already being asked to no longer shake hands or hug. The 6ft rule sounds like something we were told in middle school to keep the boys and girls separated… now it’s a normal part of our lives.
In light of social distancing measures, we are now beginning to appreciate our personal space and that will eventually translate into how we design homes in the future.
Even public spaces will already be laid out with comfortable social barriers in mind. Furniture will be placed father apart to avoid overcrowding.
But then again we come to the simple speculation about walls, about physical space within rooms. Will we see a return to the recently ignored trend of open space layouts? Or will room separation and MORE walls dominate future design trends?
It looks like human touch will be something we long for more and more.
We think the latter. Though space is finite, the trend will move towards more space between us and others, as well as more walls to physically limit that space.
Building Materials Matter
We will be more conscious about the materials we use for houses.
For a long time, interior design revolved mainly around aesthetics and functionality. But experts have studied the length of time the coronavirus will stay in different materials and revealed that it has survived the longest in plastic (72 hours), stainless steel (48 hours) and cardboard or paper (24 hours).
Not surprisingly, the virus only lasted for 4 hours on copper, which has always been known for its ability to degrade viruses and bacteria.
In fact, a research team working on a grant for the Department of Defense in 2015 revealed that infection rates were reduced by up to 58% in hospitals using copper alloys.
A 2016 study backed this claim further with the same astounding reduction in infection rates in a pediatric intensive care unit. So industry experts predict that we’ll be seeing more copper and copper alloys like brass incorporated in the design of houses in the future, especially in door knobs and handles.
Home Offices Will Replace Guest Bedrooms
We’ve talked about designing an incredible home office before. But pretty soon a home office won’t be a luxury, it will be a necessity.
As we continue to distance ourselves from others and begin working from home more and more, the second bedroom will no longer be a space you can use for entertaining and showing of your impeccable taste. Instead, this will be your new home office, where you spend at least 40 hours a week in conference calls, video chats and sending emails through your 5G internet connection.
A lot of us are still getting used to working from home, especially those who don’t have a home office to begin with. But this setup will no longer be temporary in the long run, which is why interior design trends in the future will be expected to consider how to create functional and stylish office spaces even in small homes.
A home office will no longer just be a desk in the corner but an area dedicated for productivity and efficiency.
Combining Virtual & Physical Spaces
Now that we’re isolated in our homes, we rely a lot on video conferencing to stay in touch with our loved ones around the world. Companies like Zoom have experienced one of the biggest up ticks in business ever. Connecting and communication has been forced to evolve faster than we expected and that means going more digital. What does that mean for interior design? It means virtual space and physical space will have start crossing over.
And this is going to require a lot of home renovation integrated design.
With that, we are also becoming more conscious of how our interior space is affecting the quality of our virtual conversations, which includes lighting and muffling sounds.
In the future, interior design will be geared towards creating spaces that combine both virtual and physical environments.
Hope for the Future
As we literally hold our breath and wait for this pandemic to be over, we are also beginning to appreciate the space that we live in. But more than anything, we are now living the life that we took for granted just because we were busy keeping up with our world.