The great wish to restart, to go back to life and challenge oneself: all these positive feelings created by the Covid-19 pandemic are shared by millions of people around the world.
In addition to the obvious fear caused by an unknown situation that forced us to face an emergency of epic proportions, we are all experiencing also a wish for social, entrepreneurial, employment and economic rebirth that Covid-19 did not weaken at all.
If it is true that the desire to return soon to the usual pre-pandemic activities is stronger than ever, it is equally undeniable that the many months spent at home also had positive effects, forcing us to experience a different routine.
We learned to become familiar with smart working, understanding that agile work from home is a very valid option that can also be applied profitably in the long term.
Organizational challenges and difficulties intertwined for a long time until they drew up a new way of life that allowed us to dedicate ourselves also to hobbies and activities for which, often, we never had time available.
During the weeks of mandatory lockdown, more and more people became interested in renovations: we are not talking about major renovations, but small home makeovers to be done during the lockdown.
Many people dedicated themselves - and continue to dedicate themselves - with great passion to fix up their homes: simple improvements to make the rooms more pleasant and functional, even in light of new needs.
In this article, we will describe 3 simple makeovers for your home to do during lockdown:
- Decluttering, the art of removing the unused
- Organizing space
- Room planning
- Choosing multipurpose furniture
- The true usefulness of an object - Smart working, creating a personal workspace
- A well-lit location
- A console with the right proportions
- The importance of a comfortable chair - Re-arranging, a new restyling concept
- The simplicity of a home-made makeover
Decluttering, the art of removing the unused
Using the time of forced quarantine to do small home makeovers during lockdowns: to change the look of a room a few simple things are all that is needed.
A first, simple step is decluttering, namely that action that allows us to get rid of unnecessary objects.
But let’s take a step back and let’s ask ourselves a question: why do many rooms often feel overwhelming?
Compulsive shopping sessions lead us to buy items we probably do not really need. And, subsequently, we fail to get rid of what is actually unnecessary. The consequence is obvious: a hoarding path begins, creating mess and confusion.
So, if we are thinking of a first makeover of our home during the lockdown, it is important to learn the rules of decluttering.
Let’s review them together.
1. Organizing space
It is not necessary to have large spaces available to find the right location for each object.
The keyword is organization: drawers, shelves, containers strategically placed will meet every need. We would like to remind that an elegant room just needs a few well-planned elements.
Let’s remember that a room is mainly functional and, for this reason, it is important to have elements in it that are actually useful.
Everything must be placed with a clear purpose, with the most useful objects in sight and, in the background, those less used.
2. Room planning
If we are planning a major decluttering meaning that it involves the whole house, we must start from an overall view, carefully analyzing each room, and plan an approach that starts from big items to small ones. In what sense?
Let’s take a general look of our home, considering colors, illumination, prevailing mood, modern furnishing elements and the more traditional ones.
Next, let’s narrow that view and focus on one room at a time, in its entirety, deciding on the most appropriate interventions, and then completing the analysis by dealing with the smaller details.
It’s important to let ourselves be guided by our personal style: everything that is not convincing will automatically be excluded by our selection.
Thanks to this approach, it will be easier to organize the work by getting rid of anything that is unnecessary.
3. Choosing multipurpose furniture
The space available inside the apartments is getting smaller and smaller.
We are referring to small square footage that is very common, especially in cities, where the demand for housing is high and prices automatically tend to sky-rocket.
Specifically because of the limited space available, optimal organization is paramount. But there’s more.
A big help is offered by multifunctional and space-saving furnishing elements that can help us to furnish our home in style even if the rooms are small.
4. Understanding the true usefulness of an object
Do I need this object? How many times did I use it in the last few months? Do I really like it?
These are the right questions to ask ourselves if we are in doubt about getting rid of something.
Very often, we attach emotional value to objects and that is why it is difficult to get rid of them.
Keeping a few items for reasons not strictly related to their usefulness is perfectly okay but it is important to make sure that this attitude does not become a habit to the detriment of good room organization.
Let’s not hesitate and let’s pursue the policy of less is more: let’s get rid of what is unnecessary to make our rooms brighter and much more airy.
Smart working, creating a personal workspace
During the pandemic, we have all become familiar with the term smart working: a new way of work that, after months, has became an integral part of many people's lives.
Working remotely from one's home brought to light both advantages and disadvantages: removing commuting time, not having to deal with the stress of traffic, saving the cost of a lunch break are definitely benefits.
Even though there are many positive aspects, the level of focus we can attain at the office is difficult to replicate at home: children playing or studying, the noise of television and appliances in the background and the presence of other family members do not contribute to the creation of a sufficiently isolated environment.
This is why, among the home makeovers during lockdown, our thoughts have undoubtedly focused on the creation of a space dedicated to smart working: this method of work born as a response to a need, in the future will remain present becoming a major opportunity in terms of work both for companies and employees.
But what are the steps to follow to equip a perfect workstation?
A few simple rules will allow to fully enjoy our smart working hours:
1. A well-lit location
Let’s choose a spot close to a window, to be able to enjoy the sunlight for most of the day.
If this is not possible, make sure that the lighting is adequate, preferring a light fixture that spreads even brightness and add a table light or a wall lamp, very useful in the evening hours.
2. A console with the right proportions
If we have a lot of space available, we can place ourselves in the middle of the room so as to benefit from an airy and not suffocating environment.
On the other hand, if the space does not allow this and the mini-office must be in front of a wall, let’s personalize it with a console, where to place notebooks, books and other supplies.
The desk is very important and, no matter how small the space at our disposal may be, it is important to remember that for a comfortable workstation, the dimensions should not be less than 1.20 meters long by 60 centimeters deep.
A square desk is ideal so as to exploit the space at its best.
3. The importance of a comfortable chair
To finalize the design of our home-office, let’s choose a comfortable chair because we will have to sit here for several hours in a row.
In addition to the aesthetic element, make sure that the backrest is high enough to support the lumbar region and that the armrests help maintain posture.
There are many models of ergonomic chairs on the market that combine both health and aesthetic aspects. If there is sufficient space, let’s place a small pouf as a resting surface. It can help both to add a touch of warmth to the room and to rest the legs when relaxing.
Re-arranging: a new restyling concept
Buying and adding innovative details to make a room cozier, newer and more interesting - this equation is not always true. Shopping is often not the best way to put a restyling plan in place.
To give a room a fresh new look, shopping is not always required.
The small makeovers of our homes during the lockdown taught us that it is sufficient to re-arrange existing furnishings to change the face of a room.
Mirrors, carpets, tables, paintings, lamps, sofas, home décor accents, curtains: each element can find an alternative spot, a surprising one and, until then, one that was not taken in consideration: in an instant, every room will take on a different appearance.
When it comes to arranging furnishings, we can adopt an additional strategy to revamp a room: instead of placing sofas, armchairs and tables flush with the walls, let's approach a more contemporary vision and place the elements more centrally in the room to give a sense of greater breath and fluidity.
The simplicity of a home made makeover
All the home makeovers implemented during the lockdown made the rooms more functional, more liveable and more aesthetically pleasing.
Started out as a way to relax and spend the hours of enforced quarantine more pleasantly, these small jobs introduced us to the world of DIY.
Shops forced closed for a long time made us appreciate and consider more carefully what we already owned.
Thanks to this new perspective, we had the opportunity to understand the real usefulness of a furnishing item, its right place in a room, the need to modify or create a new space.
