At the time of writing this, the UK will have been in week 6 of lockdown – an unprecedented scenario and one which everyone is trying to adapt to. It is looking likely that we will remain in some form of lockdown for a while longer …
Having been locked down inside our homes for such an extended period, the majority of us will have learnt something about them ….
4.
By the time you read this article two things may have happened:
1. WFH - Working
a) the UK is in week 8 of lockdown or b) the UK has started to come out of lockdown albeit slowly … Writing this article from the perspective of interiors, regardless of whether we’re in scenario a) or b) of lockdown, the majority of us will have learnt something about being inside our homes for such an extended period …. We either love it or want to list it (if you’ve not seen Phil & Kirsty’s Love or List It #LIOLI on C4 go take a look – it’s a fascinating watch).
Love it So, what kind of things have we learnt?
1.
Working from home is not at all easy - so we’ve tried to list out some helpful top tips for you to try.
2.
You love your home, but the lockdown is killing the love.
3.
You love the location, but you’ve discovered there isn’t enough space.
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You’ve suddenly started to appreciate and spend more time in the garden …
from home or hell – making it work for you The secret here is to create a defined space to work – even if it’s temporary (desk vs dining table, learning zone vs living room, boardroom vs bedroom). Some of us may be fortunate enough to have a dedicated room in the house or garden from which to work; others may have a nook which can be used for this purpose (has anyone spotted the journalist on the BBC using the top landing of their property); some of us might not have that luxury so it’s the kitchen table, part of the lounge or a space in a bedroom. Regardless of the physical space, here are some top tips for the place you have available ….
Zoning – both physically and
virtually. If you’re sharing the kitchen/dining table with your other half and/or kids, then you
may need to allocate time zones for when each of you use the space. Equally, you may decide that you can work together at the same table but each of you has a dedicated space. Try to clear the table when everyone’s finished working – find a place to store everyone’s things so that the table can be multipurposed for eating, food preparation, play time etc. There are great temporary storage solutions available online – see Argos, Wayfair, Wilko, Amazon, Dunelm etc. Zoning isn’t just for work – it’s for all the other aspects of our lives that are now centred around being in the house – home gym, school room, playroom, salon, bar etc … the list goes on so try to work out how you can either dedicate space to these separate activities, or whether you need to make your rooms multi-task throughout the day. This is where creating virtual zones will be key. Agree who, how and when different parts of the home will be used for which activities.
Surface space – have you got enough
