The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has overhauled the living spaces for work, play and rest.
The home has now become a multi-functional space that acts as a school, office, restaurant, and refuge.
Industry experts say home décor, color, environment, decluttering and little modifications in the home spaces can have a profound effect on mental and emotional wellness amid the ongoing pandemic.
Ikea Canada reports a significant growth in the online sales of home office furniture and home décor in 2020 as millions of consumers shop online during the ongoing pandemic.
Lisa Huie, a spokesperson with IKEA Canada, which has multiple locations in Toronto and GTA, said the pandemic has impacted many areas of life including relationships with our homes.
“As behaviours’ shift, so does the purpose of the home from a workplace to a school to gym,” Huie said. “Home is a sanctuary now for all of us.
“We saw a significant increase in both sales and demand for the home office category like desks, chairs and accessories,” she said “There are now 631,800 more desks and 45,000 sit-stand solutions in Canadian homes to help support a healthy and sustainable workspace solutions.”
A study suggests color psychology, the colors used to decorate the home, affect human emotions and behaviour.
Isabelle Boba, a principal and founder of Lux Interior Design Inc. on Wellington Street in Toronto, said there are many studies showing colour can affect mood and emotions.
“Lighting, colour, layout of the furniture, decluttering with customize storage solutions are the main things that ultimately determines how we feel in a space,” Boba said.
“Lighting from the below, from the centre and from above creates a nice glow to the room compared to having the lights from one area,” she said.
“We are finding that people are more open to using more color especially during this pandemic, more bright colors are coming in,” Boba said. “Pre pandemic it was a lot of gray or beige but now customers are considering bright white, mint color accent wall very positive.”
Joey Vogel, a principal and owner of Joey Vogel Interior Design in Toronto, Ont., said décor, colour, furniture and atmosphere has always been linked to mental health and emotional well being. During the pandemic many are experiencing more mental health problems, improving the home environment is extremely important.
“Whether it is changing your mattress, sheets or painting a room many people are no longer okay with putting home improvements off,” Vogel said.
“Light is a huge factor in improving our senses, the more natural light within a room or space the better,” Vogel said. “Keeping rooms on dimmer switches allows to change up the mood and atmosphere of every space.”
Nicolina Martino, an interior designer and owner of Nicolina Martino Designs, Toronto, Ont., said it’s a good practice to change things around, change the narrative, relocate furniture, create new sense of atmosphere every couple of months or year but it’s definitely even more important now during this crisis.
“Neutral, warm tones have very relaxing components to them compared to brighter colours such as pinks, oranges and yellows that can have a negative affect as they are stimulating and don’t allow us to calm down, so its important to choose your colours wisely,” Martino said.
“I suggest using colours like neutral to light tones, grays, anything that’s on the warmer side of the spectrum, as opposed to bright and over saturated,” she said.
Paul Whitelaw, owner of Lando Lighting Galleries in Brampton, Ont., said things have changed a lot during pandemic as people have more time as they are not travelling like before so they are accessorizing and fixing up their homes or backyards.
“We are seeing a huge influx of people coming in since we have opened. People come for in store shopping for items like chandelier and stuff as they want to look at it before buying,” Whitelaw said.
“People are buying more of the accent colors for brighter rooms, better quality of light, vibrant colours, more natural looking, a happy picture,” he said.
“We are finding an increase in sales of items like artwork, mirrors, chandeliers during the pandemic,” Whitelaw said. “A lot of people in condos and townhouses they are doing a lot of mirrors and stuff to make rooms, spaces appear larger.”