It seems like the coronavirus pandemic, and subsequent lockdown orders, have changed just about every aspect of our day-to-day lives. It’s interesting to think about how it will impact our lives in years to come. Home decor is just one area we’re starting to see shifts as a result of current events.

Why? If you think about it, the coronavirus changed the way we live, and our homes are a direct reflection of the way we live. We are spending more time and doing more inside our homes, which means our homes need to adapt to support our needs, both practically and emotionally. 

Let’s explore some of the key ways the COVID-19 pandemic will change the look and feel of our homes going forward.

More home office spaces

One of the most significant lifestyle shifts the world has seen due to the pandemic is the shift towards working from home. When the coronavirus broke out, workers who may’ve worked in an office or other workplace their entire professional lives were forced to adapt to working from home. They may’ve cobbled together a makeshift home office to get by until things returned to “normal.”

But many predict work-from-home policies are here to stay. Kate Lister, president of Global Workforce Analytics, said, “Our best estimate is that 25-30% of the workforce will be working-from-home multiple days a week by the end of 2021.”

That means home offices are likely going to become a staple of the majority of homes in the future. 

Closer attention to outdoor spaces 

One of the first aspects of pre-COVID life we all started to miss as soon as stay-at-home orders went into effect was the great outdoors. Working from home with an empty social calendar made us miss the fresh air, even just on the walk from our car to work in the morning.

The result? We began to make greater use of the outdoor spaces we have at home. Maybe we cleaned up our back porch, started vegetable gardens, or picked up some fresh outdoor decor so that our outdoor spaces were more enjoyable. 

We believe this greater appreciation for the great outdoors will stick around for years to come.

Bringing the outdoors in 

In the same vein as paying closer attention to the comfort and decor of our outdoor spaces, we predict we’ll also see more outdoor elements indoors in the future.

With a greater appreciation for the outside world naturally comes the desire to bring the world inside, through elements like greenery, indoor gardens, natural light, and natural elements used in countertops and flooring.

Antimicrobial surfaces and fixtures

Lastly, it’s understandable that many of us have become a tad germophobic thanks to this pandemic. It may have led some us to take a long, hard look at our indoor spaces and just how clean and sanitary they are. And more likely than not, we weren’t too proud.

That’s why we believe a home decor trend we could see in the future is antimicrobial, easy-to-clean surfaces and fixtures such as copper, brass, bronze, glazed ceramic tile, and no-touch fixtures.