Perhaps in the last several months, while sheltering in place, you’ve made mental notes about aspects of your present home that you would change in order to enhance your effectiveness in warding off infection.
The wonder of a new home is not only what the house looks like, but more so how well it works. In my work with clients, as we delve into those aspects of daily life would make life easier or more enjoyable, I urge clients to think about simple details; think evolution and not revolution. What positive attributes of your current home do we want to enhance, and what desirable attributes are missing?
I believe that small accommodations to your evolving lifestyle that we incorporate in your new home will put a smile on your face each time you experience their benefits.
The post-pandemic home office
Let's give it a shot.
Most of us go to work at an established place of work, and work at home in an office/bedroom, at the dining table, or in some other non-private space.
Now, having worked at home for five months, how would you describe the post-pandemic home office?. After all, your home office may become your only office. Take ownership of its design.
Things to consider:
Each working adult needs to have a dedicated office, If there will be more than one office, will they be near each other or separated for privacy?
The office is not shared with any other function, and it has a lockable door.
The office(s) are located away from the home’s busy communal spaces.
If you receive guests at your office, it should have its own entrance from the outside or be immediately adjacent to your home's entry, so the rest of your home remains private.
What is your desk (built-in, freestanding, or perhaps a standing desk)? What other furniture should be included (a work table or guest chair)?
When sitting/standing at your desk or work table, what do you prefer to look at: a wall, the outdoors, the door?
Consider your specific office equipment and storage needs. How much open shelf storage, and bulk (closet) storage do you need?
What types of general and task lighting will you need in addition to natural lighting and ventilation?
What quirky personal features do we want to include, e.g. a refrigerator stocked with bottled water, granola bars, and fresh fruit… a single serve coffee maker… a shower… a mirror ball and tiny dance floor? (Just kidding about that one.)
Make an “office recipe,” and include the key ingredients and the quantity of each. This will not be an infrequently used space; it may well be your full-time office. As that, it should be as well thought out as your kitchen or master bathroom, and it should be tailored to your specific needs and work habits.
The post-pandemic mud room
OK, now let’s be a bit more futuristic. What have you learned in the last several months about the ideal mud room, where you enter the house from the garage?
My own thinking on that is in the formative stages, but I know that my mudroom would include two new post-pandemic features:
1. The consummate handwashing station
A dedicated handwashing station immediately adjacent to the door. It will include a small deep sink with a goose neck faucet that turns on and off when I put my hands under it, a built-in soap pump, and a wall hung roll of paper towels. Maybe even a sound box that sings “Happy Birthday” twice to help me make sure I’m washing long enough.
This is not the laundry room soak tub, a dog bathing sink, or a kitchen prep sink. It is a dedicated handwashing station, and I will not block traffic into the house when I’m scrubbing my hands.
My handwashing station will be wall-mounted and will include a footstool beneath it so that my grandsons can wash their own hands (also make sure that they can reach the sop and paper towel positions).
A cabinet below the sink for a small trash bin, extra soap and paper towels, and a drawer designated for clean masks.
2. A package-opening station
A built-in bench for shoe removal with an easy to disinfect surface (e.g. quartz countertop material).
An open space on the floor for the storage of at-home shoes or slippers.
The outer packaging material of delivered items should not wind up n your kitchen island. So the bench will be long enough to place large newly delivered boxes from online shopping or grocery bags and low enough so that you can see what you are unboxing.
A shallow drawer just beneath the seat will contain scissors, a mat-knife, packing tape (to seal up returns) and indelible markers.
I’ll discard the container in my garage recycling bin without ever carrying them into the house
Of course my post-pandemic mudroom will include an operable window to admit plenty of natural light and fresh air.
Many people spend time planning infrequently used spaces like the baking station. Everyday activities should be given consideration by seriously exploring well-planned areas in which to undertake the tasks easily, conveniently and even joyfully.
In my role, I'll ask a lot of questions about your daily living activities and some of their minutia so that I can design your Warmmodern Living Lindal with features that will support — even enhance — your health and lifestyle every day.