Another positive spinoff thanks to Pandemic
Evaluating and Improving
As families spent more time at home, they looked around with fresh eyes re- evaluated their living situation. Many opted to run out the door seeking new digs, joining the frenzied bidding war, celebrating their win or nursing their losses. Multiple others made the long term choice to stay put and improve their surroundings. Homeowners began to rebalance their homes and asses how to utilize for their changing needs. Opting for useful spaces like home offices, gyms, outdoor entertainment areas and play spaces for children.
This has led to what economists are calling the “homebody economy”. McKinsey predicts that since 2020 there has been a "rebalancing" of the homebody economy, with the focus shifting to home improvements, at-home cooking, comforts like online entertainment, instead of traditional areas like travel and entertainment.
Boom Times
All across the land the sound of power tools is echoing. Carving spaces and rethinking uses for every family member is the new challenge for homeowners and contractors alike. Surging home improvement has given a boost to the economy and transforming the face of America. With new found focus and faced with record high housing market as well as a shrinking inventory, homeowners are exhibiting willingness to spend time, money and thought into remodeling when compared to past generations. DIY renovation too has become a trendy form of discretionary spending. By some estimates spending in this sector is outpacing is outpacing product retailers.
If the pandemic had not swept through the country, leaving everyone hunkering indoors, these permanent alterations would not even have been considered. It is as if a new set of priorities is in place and everyone is re-evaluating the true value of their spatial world order in terms of use and return on investment.
Rethink & Redesign
Renovations are going beyond fixing squeaky doors and broken hinges to redesigning mudrooms, outdoor decks and office spaces. With the focus on spaces to perform as multi-functional utilities, be it for dual career couples, who might need to be on conference calls and zoom meetings at the same time, children who would be hogging the internet, redesign needs to take into account privacy, convenience and storage solutions.
Another emerging trend is that of smart homes. This can run the gamut of thermostats and televisions on timers, lights, door latches on apps. No area of the house is left untouched, with coffee machines and cooking devices on timers, everything is designed and integrated to make day to day life easier. Even little toddlers know how to command Alexa to play nursery rhymes and ask for weather reports. Smart home integration makes everything from doorbell to school work and security monitoring possible.
Our homes are our inner most sanctum so naturally many of us are gravitating towards sprucing up our nests. For many these projects are therapeutic, as we diverted our minds by browsed endlessly for perfect options. Even with the global supply chain being upended at nearly every point, homeowners continue plunging on with the renovations, looking forward to the final glossy finished product.
Do any of you have an interesting experience to share? I am excited to hear about it. Our community grows as we swap stories, learn and lean on each other. Sorry for my weeks of writing silence as I was preoccupied and let myself get distracted. I am delighted to be back and hope you missed me and are excited to read my blogs once again!
We are stronger together
Comments