Post-COVID Living: Will You Make These Changes to Your Home

One way or another, COVID-19 continues to change our day-to-day lives. Even with many parts of the country reopened, we are spending much more time inside of our homes than ever before; and with that comes renovation.

Maybe you’ve realized that some things in your home just don’t work for you as you work from home, or you just can’t stand staring at your outdated flooring or paint colors day in and day out. Maybe the pandemic has simply given you more time to check things off your home’s to-do list.

No matter the reason, we’ve seen a significant uptake in home renovations across the country and we believe these changes are here to stay.

Make sure to scroll to the end to watch my latest video, on Why Summer 2020 is the Time to Sell.

Hands-Free Fixtures

Both safety and ease-of-use come to mind with hands-free fixtures. As time progresses within this pandemic and once it’s over, you can expect to see many more hands-free lights, faucets, toilets, entertainment systems, and more.

Non-Porous Surfaces

We may start saying “good bye” to butcher block countertops and cutting boards as disinfection becomes more of a top priority in every person’s life.

No-Touch Trash Cans

Since trash cans can be breeding grounds for bacteria, we’re sure to see an uptake in foot-pedal garbage cans and automatic-shutting lids.

Extra Sinks

We’re all washing our hands much more often than ever before. You can expect to see more half-bathrooms or even sinks installed in entryways in the near future.

Keyless Entries

Our door locks may soon be controlled by our smart devices or through infrared detection as we cut down on high-touch areas.

Bidets and Smart Toilets

With a rise in technology and an intense toilet paper shortage in our recent past, bidets and smart toilets could become an essential peace-of-mind to many families across the country.

Closed Floor Plans

Open floor plans have been all the rage in recent years, but as families spend more time together at home, their need for personal space is increasing. You can expect to see new homes built with closed floor plans (and many more doors) in the near future.

More Home Offices

With work-from-home becoming an almost expected element in the career field, home offices will move from being a luxury to being absolutely essential.

A Place to Zoom

Homes may even begin having dedicated “Zoom” spaces for work calls, complete with a calm and well-kept background space and adequate distance from any potential noise sources.

Walk-In Pantries

With more time at home, more meals cooked in the kitchen, and the desire to have excess food on hand after experiencing those bare grocery store shelves that were found at the beginning of the pandemic, homes will start having dedicated space to store dry food.

Delivery Rooms

Meeting the delivery driver at the door is no longer accepted or appreciated, but we still need a way to keep our packages safe from the time they’re dropped off to the time we pick them up. Delivery drop-off zones toward the front of the house (or even separate, small rooms for packages at the front of the house) may be a common feature in future homes.

Better Outdoor Spaces

With more time spent at home comes more of a desire to perfect the outdoor space. You can expect to see larger yards as families spend more time in their own space than the park. You can also expect to see an uptake in home vegetable gardens as families aim to be more self-sufficient.

An Increased Appeal Toward Suburb Living

People want more space in today’s world, and many of them no longer need to worry about the added time on their commute since they’re working from their home offices. These two factors combined lead to a desire to ditch the convenient city living for a spacious and more independent suburb lifestyle.

It’s clear our world is changing and that our homes will have to follow suit. Luckily, these changes are quite appealing to our new, COVID and post-COVID way of life. Which of these changes will you be implementing in your home (or searching for in your future buy)?

Thank you for taking the time to read my monthly newsletter, and please don’t hesitate if you have any questions regarding buying or selling your home.