Here at Futon Company we always love a trend report, so were super-chuffed to lay our hands on this fabulous nugget from Well + Good
It says: In 2020, our homes became our sanctuaries – and our office, gyms, classrooms, and so much more. In 2021 we’ll find creative ways to foster our wellness at home by maximising comfort and flexibility (even when square footage is minimal)… The pandemic has turned a great many of us into homebodies, and given that we shouldn’t expect to return to some semblance of normality until at least the end of 2021, the coming year will see us continuing to invest in our homes. That may mean taking the leap from couch desk to proper desk, perfecting your living room gym, buying more plants to add a little nature to your space, or trying out any other number of strategies to bolster the comfort, functionality, and boundaries of our living spaces…. The changes to our home brought on by the pandemic fall into two categories: stopgap measures that involve short-term adjustments, and lifestyle changes that will likely stick with us in some form. Of course, most people don’t have a bunch of extra rooms lying around, just waiting to be converted into offices or classrooms or yoga studios. So another big storyline has been solutions for multi-functional spaces…. Not only will people seek to declutter, but they will be more mindful about the products they buy, investing in quality over quantity…There’s a new wave of dual-purpose furniture, and more investment in crossover products, like a dining table to anchor a room, that can also be used as a desk… If your space is really tight, or you have the opportunity to create a separate room for work by installing a fold-away bed that can be a desk area during the day, then go for it.
By maximizing the square footage in our homes with functional furniture intended to serve our varying needs (like by working in the same room where we sleep and talking to our therapists at our kitchen table), the struggle to maintain boundaries between the workspace and personal space is real…. One way to do this is by scene setting with lighting. Lighting can be used to signal to your brain that work is done for the day, or that it’s time to go to sleep.
Futon Company says: We’ve just selected key highlights from the report, but it’s worth reading the full blog for some illuminating insights. What we noticed was that many of the concepts and ideas are hacks that small space dwellers are already familiar with – like zoning spaces, investing in multi-functional furniture and using lighting to shake things up. And while there are many aspects of the pandemic that we don’t especially want to focus on, the main positive to come out of this situation is a real appreciation for our homes and the spaces we live in. We heart home!
