Necessity is the mother of invention, and March 2020 and the months following have put our homes to the test: they suddenly needed to serve as schoolhouses and home offices (not to mention play space). As the COVID-19 pandemic rolls on and the landscape of work-from-home for many sectors becomes potentially permanent, re-configuring and reconsidering rooms in our homes has become a reality for many of us.
A dining room is an ideal place to serve as a defacto home office especially when there are children in the household that also need some school time supervising. Vinyl tablecloths can be a durable and colorful way to simultaneously protect the table and get kids visually primed for their day. Kids will love using a label maker to designate “their” stuff and give them ownership of “their” space, and it’s also a calming way to reinforce consistency during a turbulent time.
Need a little separation from your mini “coworkers” (or your adult partner)? Consider investing in or repurposing a secretary. We’ve also used them in family rooms, living rooms, and bedrooms to help clients carve out a little space of their own. Placing glass shelving above is functional for corralling papers and other stackables and adds a chic, airy vibe. The secretary itself can be closed at the end of the day, an important signifier that the workday is done.
If your dining room has built-ins, now is the ideal time to refashion them into a library. Whether these spaces hold bookkeeping tomes, children’s activity books for when a Zoom meeting distraction is needed, or even objects that inspire, built-ins keep the room’s chaos looking contained (even when it feels the opposite!). Staying creative is key: we even converted a bookshelf into a desk for one client by replacing on of the shelves with custom depth to allow for more work and knee space.
When the dining room table isn’t an option for a school or workspace, the kitchen island is another popular landing spot for activities. As the traditional school year calendar gives way to summer, this space is ideal for cooking activities, science experiments, and crafts.
Our life’s work is based around creativity and adaptability, and the last few months have demonstrated that design can and should be flexible. Whatever the new normal is moving forward, creating a streamlined, user-friendly work and school space is possible and personalizable.
