Lockdown Living and How Knowles Can Help!

In an era where 24-hour food delivery, same-day shipping, and accessing new film releases is an expected luxury, people are spending increasing amounts of time at home. In an inter-COVID climate, where lockdowns or periods of isolation will be the norm for the foreseeable, homes are adapting, because they need to.

Whilst new-build homes have the foresight, and some would say luxury, of being designed with requirement in mind, what happens to those houses that were built 25, 40 or even 100 years ago? It is because of 2020 and the recent pandemic that clients are now actively seeking properties with more space, or looking for creative ways in which they can transform their existing space to adapt to a COVID-friendly environment.

With the world being thrown into continuous lockdowns, consumers are having to adjust to a ‘new normal’. What does this mean, and what does it mean for our homes? Working from home has forced an increase in the need for a small area, previously an unused space, now branded ‘The Home Office’- a much required separate space that allows home life and work life to not be intertwined.

But whilst relooking at a homes layout and functionality is important, a home’s aesthetic or styling choice is becoming increasingly front of mind. In an era of Zoom, where our homes are the backdrop to hourly meetings, those from the outside are closely looking at our choice of wallpaper, choice of paint, or even how tidy our room is. In the early stages of lockdown, whilst we got reacquainted with our home on a more intimate level that before, people would spend time choosing where to host their Monday Morning Team Chat – somewhere with the nicest backdrop. Has ‘Zoom Shame’ hit you yet? According to Y Pulse, 77% of 18–37-year-olds now want to put more effort into decorating their home or apartment, up from 70% in 2017.

Other areas of our homes are becoming a priority too. With people increasingly investing in selfcare, bathrooms are becoming important – with the aim to create a spa-like, serene environment. Kitchens are now not just a functional space, they are a space that we rely on when our local restaurants aren’t open – we now want all the mod-cons, newest appliances but space saving solutions.The kitchen is and will always be the heart of the home, and sometime soon this space will be used once again to host loved ones, so we want to make it a destination for all to gather.

With the closure of gyms, many are converting spare rooms into home gyms. Post-COVID fitness is a daunting idea to some, but after all,and hygiene at the top of our agenda, do we really want to be sharing equipment? Physical gyms are soon to be replaced by ‘Stream Rooms’, rooms to host your personalised virtual workouts with avatar trainers or a place where you can join your favourite gym class, whenever is convenient for you.

‘The Home Office’ is now a much required separate space that allows home life and work life to not be intertwined.

So, with all the above in mind, and when struggling with ways in which to maximise your space in your home, have you considered a basement?
Retro-fit basements are a transformative way of gaining space within a home – something Knowles’ clients have come to us for, for over two decades. A basement is the ideal solution for a new home office, gym, stream rooms or spare bedroom – all of which were considered a luxury pre-pandemic, but now possibly a necessity? Often sitting beneath the full footprint of the house, these spaces can be designed in a way that feels light, open, with clever designs that optimise and utilise natural light.

What does this mean for the future and home technologies?

Along with macro-designs, micro details such as technologies are now being invented to fortify your home from the threat of COVID-19, from Matteo Zallio’s ‘Handy’ door opener, to retrofitted hands-free door handles like the ‘Ergonomic Lever Handle’ from FSB, to iris recognition front doors. Once your inside, could it become the norm to step into a decontamination area entryway where coats and shoes are decontaminates, and we are scanned top-to-bottom using ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, once a industrial medical solution, now a selling point for new homes.