How COVID-19 Is Shaping The Future Of Design

With social distancing orders in place and COVID-19 shining a spotlight on our health and safety measures there is an important conversation to be had in the design world. People are realizing just how much impact our homes have on how we feel and conduct our lives and how important it is to establish a work-life balance when working from home. We are seeing a shift toward mental and physical health influencing design, simplifying, and spaces accommodating working from home in a way that promotes health and productivity! Here are just a few ways COVID-19 is shaping the future of design.

Home Offices

Gone are the days of the home office being simply an afterthought. With more and more businesses offering virtual services and employees working from home, we’ve noticed that now more than ever is the time to have an established work area within the home. This can look like getting your current home office organized for everyday use or as simple as setting up a desk in the corner of the room! The key is to have a sense of separation between work and home life which can help with productivity and maintaining a healthy balance when working from home.

Home Office – Designed by Honeycomb Home Design Photographer Marcel Alain Photography

Dedicated Spaces

Along with offices within the home, we will be seeing more areas dedicated to a sole purpose. For example, having your office be its own private room ensures you won’t be disturbed while working from home. Similarly, having a kids’ room and a dedicated area for students in the household to study and work on assignments will also be given more of a priority. Having an area solely for work or schoolwork ensures higher productivity rates because you’ll be training your brain and body to know when it’s time to get to work! Usually this training happens when one gets dressed for work, commutes to work, and finally sits down in the desk they only ever work in. The key takeaway here is to establish a routine that gets your mind ready to be productive and to only ever work in one space. So, as tempting as it sounds to work in bed in your PJ’s, we suggest you leave the bed for sleeping and the dining table for enjoying home-cooked meals with family!

Office with sliding doors – Designed by Honeycomb Home Design Photographer Marcel Alain Photography

Functionality and Comfort

People are becoming more aware of just how much interior design matters! How our space flows, how we feel in it, and how it functions is so important for our mental and physical health! Customizing one’s home to enjoy a beautifully personalized space focused on comfort and a strong sense of functionality is beginning to be more of the norm. Also, designing your space with colors, textures, and finishes that evoke a sense of calm and serenity is starting to become more crucial as people have a stronger sense of awareness of how they feel inside their homes.

Master Bedroom Sitting Area – Designed by Honeycomb Home Design Photographer Marcel Alain Photography

Sanitization Areas

These days feeling a sense of peace in one’s home comes with a new ritual of health and safety measures! We will begin to see more areas at the entrance of the home for taking off shoes and hanging up outerwear to keep bacteria and harmful pathogens separate from the home. Mudrooms will be more important in serving as a decontamination area where families can drop their coats and bags, sanitize shoes, and wash up before entering the rest of the house. With sinks and easy to clean floors in the mudroom / decontamination area families can ensure everyone is staying healthy!

Mudroom Storage – Designed by Honeycomb Home Design Photographer Marcel Alain Photography

Antibacterial Surfaces

With cleanliness and sanitation on the rise, we will be seeing a wider use of certified antibacterial finishes and simpler, less ornate surfaces! With companies like Finsa creating gorgeous finishes that are antibacterial we will be seeing more of these types of finishes in kitchens, bathrooms, closets, and wherever you want to be a little more intentional about the hygienic benefits of antibacterial surfaces. With sanitation being so important for a healthy home, design will be simplified to exclude elaborate and embellished elements. Easy to clean surfaces will dictate the design of the home and along with simpler designs comes a sense of calm.

Designed by Honeycomb Home Design Photographer Marcel Alain Photography

Quartz Countertops – Designed by Honeycomb Home Design Photographer Marcel Alain Photography

Intentional Sourcing

Another way design is changing is by sourcing more intentionally! Now more than ever there are so many reasons to source finishes, furniture, and building materials from the United States. By sourcing more intentionally designers can help stimulate our own economy, ensure ethical and fair treatment for laborers, ensure the safety and integrity of pieces, and not having the design process stopped in its tracks if the borders get shut down! Designers will also start to be more intentional about sourcing from local businesses, when possible because we are all in this together!

Cabinetry Made in the USA from one of our vendors. Designed by Honeycomb Home Design //  Photographer Marcel Alain Photography