The pandemic has changed a lot for literally every person on the planet. We live in an interesting time when, for perhaps the first time in our lifetime, everyone is experiencing the effects of the same situation. We have this global connectivity that we stumbled upon (more accurately: were forced into), and it’s changed my design business. Today, I want to tell you about how pandemic interior design has changed what my clients want during this season.

One of my clients-turned-friend recently sent me an article about ‘feel good interior design’ and how that became a thing over the pandemic. I couldn’t agree more! For my design business, pandemic interior design has been completely different than any of my interior design project that happened before the pandemic. Isn’t that fascinating?

Interior design is actually super primal. I like to think that interior design was really the first design industry. I mean, someone thousands of years ago had to make the decision to move the rock over here or over there, decide how the dwelling would flow to protect from the elements, predators, to preserve warmth, and how to get the best natural lighting.

There needed to be seating around the fire for warmth, meal times, but also for socialization. It’s so interesting to think about what micro decisions needed to be made pertaining to a space, and how these same decisions are being made now, when many of our primal instincts are triggered because of the global crisis.

What I’m noticing with clients is the return to simplicity and meeting primal needs. We are reverting back to our ways before we were caught up with social media and spent most of our time in front of screens instead of looking out into the world in front of us. 

Sounds like a tall order for an interior design project right? Haha. I get it. But, I truly believe in the psychology of interior design as well as color psychology. It’s been so apparent how much of an affect psychology has on our spaces, especially during a global pandemic!

That’s what I’m aiming to share today. How pandemic interior design was in a sense, a return to normalcy and to the family unit, to understanding our needs and especially our limits, and re-meeting those we live with all over again. Maybe you’ll even see yourself in some of these!

So, without further adieu, let’s talk about what my clients started wanting/doing during our pandemic interior design projects.

How Pandemic Interior Design Changed What My Clients Want

1. Repurposing current items

My clients are now wanting to get creative and are more willing to use and/or repurpose what they have. Dining chairs as a distance learning hub? Yep. Bar cart now holding school supplies? Been there. Makeup vanity becoming a Zoom station? You betcha. Rearranging your living room and bedroom to 1) get good sunlight and 2) hide the mess for Zoom calls. Yes, ma’am! It’s been all about the Zoom needs.

This is very interesting because typically, when you hire an interior designer, you want everything new. Out with the old, in with the new (because usually the “old” is what I was hired to sort out to begin with). And I get it; it’s exciting to experience a brand new space. I’ve been fortunate enough to have clients who have been wanting to use what they have this entire time, but now everyone is wanting to reimagine their spaces and repurpose existing furniture in creative ways. It’s a pandemic necessity!

Nobody has saved thousands of dollars to right away be able to accommodate 2 home offices and a home schooling classroom. So, my clients and I have become a team in very deliberate space planning and figuring out exactly where things should go….down to the inch. I’ve basically been building apartments in a Jenga or Tetris fashion for the last year:-) That’s pandemic interior design for ya!

It’s been the wild west of space planning and I’ve done more floor plan options per client during the pandemic than I have in my entire career. Not complaining though–it’s just because for the last year, our spaces have had to change SO MUCH so accommodate a dramatically different lifestyle. 

Not only that, but I’m getting clients who are needing full home makeovers, not just individual rooms. It all needs to flow better ASAP. So working fast and efficiently has been paramount in delivering the goods with urgency. Each space has items that need to be repurposed and used in another space. Items are shifting as quickly as needs so it’s been a messy, beautiful, creative journey of being able to completely change how families are living. 

2. Everything serves multiple functions

Now usually this is only typical of my NYC clients because, hello, small space living like woah. But now, it’s everyone! Everyone is needing spaces to be versatile and serve different functions at different times of day. So now everyone is getting a glimpse of what daily life in NYC is like lol. Welcome to the jungle!

Peep that beautiful chair with sheepskin in the corner of the…wait for it…laundry room. If that doesn’t perfectly represent pandemic interior design then I don’t know what does!

3. Spaces need to be mobile

Meals on wheels, offices on wheels, bookcases on wheels, chairs on wheels, storage on wheels, interchangeable shelving, etc. It all needs to move. Poufs need to become seating, laptops need a table that can double as a dinner spot on the sofa, furniture can’t be bulky and heavy in a “forever spot” because that spot could change next week as things unravel. Basically, it’s been musical chairs with literal chairs!

4. Everyone is nesting

My clients are ‘nesting’ as well. You know the term ‘nesting’ actually refers to pregnant women getting their spaces ready for baby, but really, everyone can nest, and pandemic interior design has shown that everyone will nest.

Nesting is all about putting touches on your space that allow the inhabitants of your dwelling to have a better and more comfortable life. That’s what everyone seems to be doing during the pandemic. They just want comfort. I for one have developed a BIG LOVE for slippers, robes, cozy blankets, warm cups of tea, and candle making.

5. Social spaces are needed

This has been an interesting revelation–people who are together 24/7 want their spaces to be better equipped for more togetherness–organized togetherness. Spaces have to have a big social component.

People who are around each other constantly are also imagining how they will have fun together. No one is going out or inviting others in, so they are focusing on their immediate circle and how to have a fun night in with those people.

More importantly, I’ve needed to cultivate a very very specifically designed environment where clients can live with their families, but not tire of them. A designated fun time and space has been the solution. Making time for fun together has been crucial—and challenging!

6. Privacy is key

The need for creating private space within a social space is paramount–and tricky! Don’t you like how I listed the need for privacy right after the need for social spaces? That was intentional; our days are a mashup with each other and balancing alone time to regroup and social time to reconnect has been important in preserving family sanity (or what’s left of it, haha). You need spaces to be both social and private–it is possible! Hint: a great way to do that is with nooks! Just take an empty corner of your home and show it a little love.

7. Polarized views on color and pattern

Usually I get a mix of “color is ok, but not too much, please”. Now, clients prefer one or the other. It all has to do with the psyche because color affects people differently. Some people want color. They want vibrancy and happiness. Or they want a colorless calm with comforting texture.

Either way, people are looking to their spaces to inform their emotional wellbeing–which is something that hasn’t been at the forefront of decisions before.

8. ZERO CLUTTER ALLOWED

No one has every actually wanted clutter, but now, with the chaos outside our doors, we really don’t want any clutter. Everything needs to have a home and everything needs to remain out of sight and out of mind until it’s in use. It’s a survival technique so you get mini breaks from thinking about your current situation if you don’t have to look at your current situation, ya know?

Over the last year, I’ve fine tuned what I call ‘sneaky storage’. Clients have been LOVING it. Sneaky storage is beautiful and decorative storage that doesn’t look like storage, but can fit a ton of stuff! It yields a solution to the mess, while allowing the mess to be easily accessible and away from view. Perfect.

9. Ambiance and hygge everywhere

Peace is what we need. It’s actually what we have always needed. We need to separate family members and household chaos at different times of day. We need to use strategically placed lighting to set the tone for one area at one time of day, and the same area at another time of day. I told ya, it’s been very specific space planning.

We need a settee to be a work hub during the day, but filled with cozy blankets and pillows for at home happy hour while the kids are in the other room (in a social space we designed). We need candles, the softest of blankets and bedding, aromatherapy, and ambient lighting. We need to create zen in designated areas of our spaces where we can go for reprieve when things get intense.

10. Spaces get the extra layer of love much sooner

Typically, we are full steam ahead on all the big decisions like furniture and everything that we need ASAP. Then my clients like to live with the space a little and we revisit other layers of decor such as art, ceramics, etc at a time in the future. This has ranged from a couple months later to over a year later.

Now, there is urgency. Spaces need to be completely finished because there is so much emotion riding on it. Call it a need for the endorphin rush you get from accomplishing a task, or it could be chalked up to clients not enjoying staring at unfinished projects (because they can no longer escape to the office), but pandemic interior design means an expedited timeline for adding the last layers of love to a space.

11. More in tune with wants and needs

Now usually, people need my guidance for this. My goal is to get to the root of what makes someone happy. I try to pull it out of them by asking soooo many questions. I go through their lifestyle, their daily activities, their personal style, their family’s routine, etc. I try to solve problems that my client’s hadn’t really even realized were problems. I try to get to know what they love and what is important to them.

But for pandemic interior design? Clients are more in tune with their own wants and needs–not because they know for sure what they want, but because what they have just isn’t working in this new “everything happens at home” model. So it’s addition by subtraction. 

Clients know what needs to stay, what needs to go, and what isn’t working but could work in a different way with my guidance. By knowing what’s not working, they can point me in a clear direction of what needs to happen to make things flow freely again.

They are also more willing to just go for it. There’s nothing to lose, and what’s to gain is their sense of ownership of their spaces. The extra level of personalization through art, unique furniture shapes, DIY solutions, etc is what pandemic interior design has been about. Clients are willing to get their hands dirty and get closer to a home they love. It’s been over a year of really strong partnerships and opinions that I’m so grateful for!

So, what do you think? Do you see yourself in any of these? It’s been an interesting year for everyone, that’s for sure, and I’m curious about all the ways you have needed to adapt within your home. If you did this without the support of a designer, I’m giving you a GIANT round of applause because I know that wasn’t easy.

Needs for the last year have been constantly evolving, so I’ve had to stay on my toes as a designer, ready to ditch one plan if another need arises, ready to completely change a floor plan at a moment’s notice, willing to abandon our dream sofa and change gears on a dime because it’s now not in stock for 8 months. It’s been nuts and fortunately, both I and my clients have come at it with a sense of humor and a lack of preciousness, ready to switch gears and focus on solutions. This is special.

As a designer, I’ve had a lot of personal growth over the last year. There is no time to waste so I’ve really been fine tuning my communication so that we get where we need to be faster. I’ve had to be very black and white about things, whereas, I usually prefer to have wiggle room. I’ve had to be super frank with vendors and deliver news that I had no control over.

I hate being the bearer of bad news and there has been plenty of bad news that I have been unable to control–something that has caused me anxiety and stress. I don’t produce furniture, I don’t control shipping or lead times, I have zero influence over orders that are delivered in the wrong color because a warehouse is understaffed and things are falling through the cracks. It’s just been me and my clients, acting as a team, constantly laughing at the hilarity of it all. Because what else can we do?

Kudos to you for reading this far; I know this was a long one! There have been lots of changes and growth dealing with pandemic interior design and life in general, and now that we are finally seeing the light, it’s been kind of therapeutic to take stock of the last year or so and realize how we thrived unexpectedly. So, I’m giving myself a pat on the back and you should too:-) 

-Kristen

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