Many consider their home their sanctuary. It has become a multi-functional place to many – after being quarantined in the house on and off for over a year, many people are looking at ways to make their homes their safe space with all the amenities they need, just a few steps away. Whether you need a home gym or a built-in bar in your outdoor area, these are all changes that might’ve been sparked when realizing you could possibly be confined to your home. Also, the need for heated floors and built-in sanitation stations might be considered a necessity in the post-COVID era. This article will explore some of the ways homes are changing architecturally after the pandemic.
Flexible Spaces
During the pandemic, you might have been at an important conference meeting while sitting at the kitchenette, and your spouse comes in and starts cooking breakfast loudly in the background. This is such a hindrance, and now you are beginning to think about ways to make the space at your housework not only for you but also for your family.
Now that the home is an office and functional living space, you will need to think about spaces that can drown out the noise and provide acoustic isolation for private business calls and storage of work files and equipment. Design Everest has a team of professionals that can assist in determining what can be done to make the house layout suit your new needs. Architects look at the design of a traditional space and can create non-traditional functions that can meet your needs. Here are a few listed below:
Sliding Panels
Sliding panels can be added to create isolated areas in a living quarter, bedroom, or secondary space. This adds an additional function to a room like an office space.
Customized Shelving
You may have a filing cabinet, but those large cabinets cannot occupy your home. Custom shelving in a guest bedroom closet can be added to incorporate filing drawers. You can tuck away your work stuff and lock the drawers when you have family visiting.
Co-working Spaces
Some home developers started adding a built-in work area in the 2010s, but now that a lot of homeowners are not in the market for new construction, they opt for older renovated homes. This may mean an office area is nonexistent, so an interior decorating choice can be to opt for a large dining table. This can be a co-work space for both the parents and children.
- FurnishingsYou may want to invest in furniture that serves multiple functions. A Murphy bed wall space can act as a shelf and desk. The wall can then pull out into a bed, and the shelf will act as the bottom support for the bed. Some units can also act as a sectional for seating during the day and then pull down into a bed. These resourceful furniture pieces create a range of uses for a room.
Separable Spaces
Homeowners are now hyper-aware of the challenges that can be faced if a home does not have options for dividing spaces. The need for separable spaces results from thinking ahead by adding plumbing functions and HVAC systems to rooms that may not be needed right now. If you have a home gym that may require a bedroom and bathroom in the future, adding the piping for plumbing ahead of time is a great way to save costs down the line.
Clean and Sanitized Spaces
When COVID-19 hit, there was a new story every day about the airborne virus living on surfaces for one hour to a week. This uncertainty left many people in a frenzy and uncomfortable with their cleaning routine. Now is a great time to rethink sanitation and cleanliness in the standard home build. Listed below are some options:
Sanitation Areas
Adding a sink and faucet to the garage or mudroom promotes an area to sanitize the packages being brought into the home. It is also an area you can stop to wash your hands before entering the main house.
Germ Resistant Materials
When designing your home, you may have thought about the cost of material and aesthetics. Now many are considering how well the material can reduce the transmission of bacteria and viruses. This includes possible surfaces and antimicrobial coatings on doorknobs, countertops, and wall surfaces.
Air Quality Indoors
After the pandemic, many people started to think about their own health and what that looks like for them and their families. One aspect of health is environmental air quality. Natural airflow is used to cool homes and let the air circulate. There are many options to improve indoor air quality and monitor it. See some of the options listed below:
Monitor Air Quality
- There are indoor air quality monitors that can be installed in your home. These monitors can provide CO2 levels, humidity, and alert of specific pollutants. Though the monitors give a sense of security, it is important to note that they may have inaccurate information. The best way to be aware of the air quality is to test the air for mold and conduct chemical tests.
- Many indoor quality issues are linked to pollen and dust, so tracking this is beneficial to recognizing a larger issue.
- Risk factors for indoor pollution add to the health issues that make individuals at risk for extreme symptoms battling COVID-19.
Address ventilation issues and invest in a quality HVAC system
- Ventilation can be in the form of adding vents to the above crawl space of the home
- Consider purchasing MERV-14 grade air filters to make sure harmful particulates are captured in the ventilation system. These filters should be changed bi-annually or sooner based on the system at your home.
Creating Healthy Spaces
For many, their home suddenly became their workspace, gym, school, and entertainment area overnight. This further inspired the need for relaxation spaces on the property. Homeowners will begin to consider outdoor areas and how to incorporate that into the design of their spaces. Having access to outdoor space is a luxury many took for granted, but the post-COVID architecture will incorporate garden areas and airy atmospheres that people can enjoy at home.
Design Everest can work with you to create the space you never knew you need until now. Call (877) 959-5914 to get a free quote and consultation today.
