At the start of each year I like to look forward. I can’t think of too many of us who are sad to be leaving 2020 behind and stepping into 2021. 2020 was an unprecedented year — and along with everything else, it also heavily impacted the building industry.
So what lessons did we learn last year that we’ll take into 2021 when it comes to building? Here’s what I think we’ll be seeing a lot of.
What’s changing in home design
One thing we learned about being home in 2020 was that … we really weren’t meant to stay home all the time, were we? For a lot of us, especially those of us living under the same roof as our families, our home was more like a place we stopped in between our many activities. We’d wake up, go to school or work, come home for a quick dinner, take the kids to practice, join our book clubs, go to a movie, or whatever else, and then come home, sleep, and do it again the next day.
So when the pandemic kept us all home, what happened? We began to notice that our open-concept homes didn’t quite meet all of the needs of our new life. Suddenly we had to find space in our homes to create offices, gyms, classrooms, and more. As our dining room tables began to function as work desks, we realized having dedicated space in our homes was a good, necessary thing. When construction started up again, a lot of the builders and renovators I work with started getting tons of calls for renovation projects that brought specific zones back INTO the home.
Will open concept ever disappear completely? I doubt that — but I do think we’ll be seeing renewed interest in having more formal zones at home. Not only does this help define a space, so you can have a zone in your home that’s just for work, it will also give us a little bit of privacy from the rest of the people in our homes with us. I’m not saying we’ll all start avoiding each other, but if you lived with others during this past year, I’m sure you’ve come to appreciate having a little alone time now and then.
Renewed interest in healthy homes
COVID-19 had us all staying home a lot more than we’re used to. It got us all thinking about our personal health and taking proper precautions to protect ourselves and the people around us from getting sick. I’m hoping that while you’re practicing good hand hygiene and wearing your masks when necessary, you extend that healthy point of view to your home, too.
Even in a normal year, we spend a major percentage of our lives indoors. It’s incredibly important that we ensure that our homes contribute to our good health. What do I mean by that? I mean taking steps to make sure the air we breathe in our home doesn’t make us sick. This is always important — but especially now when we’re spending a majority of our time indoors.
There are a few things I hope you’ll keep in mind this year. First of all, test your home for radon. If there are high levels of radon in your home, long-term exposure could lead to lung cancer. Testing for radon and reducing your levels is a relatively inexpensive job you can tackle this year. Remember to test your radon levels every two years or so.
The materials we choose when we renovate — paints, finishes, stains, and furniture — can all off-gas harmful toxins into your air that can make you feel ill if you breathe them in for too long. These products are getting better and better each year, and many paints and carpets now are designed to off-gas very few or no volatile organic compounds. Nobody wants to breathe in paint fumes day after day, especially when you’re already stuck at home. I think this year, we’ll see homeowners making healthier choices in the materials they use when the renovate.
If you’re worried about the quality of your home’s air, set up an indoor air quality test. This can tell you if you have any toxins in the air that could be affecting your health.
To find out more about Mike Holmes, visit makeitright.ca
For Postmedia News
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2021
