From home office layouts, to integrated health and wellness, the COVID-19 pandemic is already shaping custom home designs on the Sunshine Coast
How the world will change post-COVID-19 is still uncertain, but one this is certain – the way we design our custom homes on the Sunshine Coast will be different compared to how it was pre-pandemic. More and more people have been using their homes as a place for work, school, exercise and more. Our custom designs are even more though-out than ever before – our goal in custom home design is to make peoples’ lives better in the space they have available. Here are the key features we believe more people will be asking for in their custom home designs on the Sunshine Coast.
Revised Layouts
Space planning is critical when designing a flexible home. What COVID-19 has shown us is that it can be a hindrance when our work lives merge into our living spaces, and thus designating areas based on a specific function is making a comeback. So, does this signal a change from open-plan living, back to a more traditional floor-plan design? Ultimately this depends on the needs of your family.
A more traditional floor plan can allow for a distinct demarcation between home and work life, allowing you to clearly define what each space is to be used for. With a visible trend and acceptance of more people working from home, a study nook in an open plan living space might not be the best design choice.
On the other hand, the open-plan styles do have a more modern feel to them. In this scenario, you might consider some alternative design solutions:
- Mobile partitions with acoustic properties could be a viable solution to provide separation between spaces while also allowing the open-plan feel, and;
- Consider a wall-bed which allows you to double up the spare room with the home office.
At the end of the day, a thoughtfully designed home can foster increased productivity, balance, health and happiness – something that we at Beachside Construction strive to achieve with every custom home design on the Sunshine Coast.
If you’re considering a renovation, or adding a home office, Beachside Construction on the Sunshine Coast can assist. You could also use the HomeBuilder grant towards the cost of this renovation.
Functionality to work from home
Home offices need to be fully functional with appropriate seating, lighting, work surfaces, acoustics and temperature control. By designing the right space for the right use, we can empower people to be just as productive from home as they would be in an office environment.
Herman Miller, a well-known ergonomic task-seating manufacturer, experienced a considerable increase in sales following shutdown. When people are working in their home office from time to time, a basic office chair would suffice, but when that increases to three, four or five days a week, it’s important to have the right ergonomics. Other office furniture manufacturers have experienced explosives sales direct from consumers, rather than the usual B2B sales. These changes all support the idea that appropriate home offices are becoming more and more important in the overall custom design of homes on the Sunshine Coast.
Keeping fit at home
Whilst gyms across the Sunshine Coast, and indeed the world, were closed, people have resorted to working out at home. So where does exercise take place when your partner is on a conference call and the kids are on an all-class Zoom meeting? Exercise is also critical for our mental health and overall well-being, and in these uncertain times, this is more important than ever before.
How could you incorporate a workout space into your custom home design? Another bonus of building with a custom home builder on the Sunshine Coast, is that you can add these spaces to your new home through the design process.
Integrating health and wellness
As the global community has spent much more time at home these days, one thing has become apparent; a home should be a sanctuary.
There are some beautiful design options you could incorporate into your home to give it a greater ‘sanctuary’ feel; meditation areas (inside and outside), spa-style bathrooms with natural light, and fully-decked out guest rooms (in case of a quarantined family member).
Kitchens, as always, are also of utmost importance. With less people eating out or opting to order in, eating in the kitchen and cooking has increased due to both necessity and enjoyment.
There is also a much greater spotlight on hygiene. Antibacterial and antimicrobial surfaces will become more important, such as porcelain tiles, quartz, granite, solid-surfacing like Corian, or laminate countertops like Formica or Wilsonart, in kitchens and bathrooms; stainless steel for appliances; and copper and krion may become more common for countertops and bathroom finishes. Garages might be equipped with a sanitary station for disinfectant wipes, disposable gloves, mask storage, and a sink for hand-washing.
Less has become more
During this lockdown period, many of us have gone through decluttering our homes, mastering the KonMari Method. There’s no doubt that we are learning to live with less, and this can free up space in our homes. When it comes to custom home design, consider the true needs of your family, and the way you like to live your life. At Beachside Construction, we feel honoured to build dream homes for Sunshine Coast families. We would love to work with you to help bring your dream home to a reality.
Contact Beachside Construction
To discuss your dream custom built home on the Sunshine Coast, please contact Paul or Tonya at Beachside Construction.