The Covid-19 pandemic puts a stop on almost all outdoor pursuits. People are now spending more time at home and doing more and more activities indoor. This include online classes for children and remote work for parents. This has created a paradigm shift for people who originally view the house as a place to gather with loved ones or to rest and relax. Now, more buyers are looking for a property that facilitates self-care and improve the quality of life.
The health crisis has allowed for easy DIY and home renovations to flourish. Since not most of us can easily afford to purchase a new property, we can always improve our current residence to streamline our work-from-home set up and make our home more conducive to learning for the kids and more suited for a productive day for hardworking mums and dads.
Here are a few home improvement ideas you might want to consider:
Designate a space for work
Nothing improves productivity and focus than having a designated space in your home for everything, including your workstation while you slave the day away working from the comforts of your home. Choose a spot in the house with the least distraction and traffic. This might be an unused extra room, or a nook in the living room. Set up a desk or a table and gather all your work paraphernalias there, including your laptop and computer, your office documents, your mobile phone, and your work journal. You can also put a plant as a simple decor, as well as motivational photos or images, or your favorite diffuser to improve your mood while working.
A good internet connection is also essential in making your domestic workstation work, so make sure that you invest on a fast and reliable service. You can also throw in an ergonomic chair to make working for longer period of time more comfortable. And to complete the whole office vibe, you can also invest on a small filing cabinet or a small shelf where you can easily place everything you might need for work.
Create a space for fitness and relaxation
Working from home also calls for some serious relaxation to avoid burnout. You can convert your balcony or your terrace as a Zen place where you can de-stress and perhaps do journaling or meditation. You can add a couple of plants to make the space more homey, a few adornment, like a dream catcher or your favorite painting or photo, then add your favorite yoga mat. On other days, you can use this space for working out or for yoga. You could even purchase equipment to enjoy other sports from home. For example, you could set up your own putting green {learn more here} to practice your golf! Just add a spot for your favorite fitness accessories or your yoga blocks.
Convert a vacant space into a garden
The pandemic has also paved the way for a huge number of people to go back to basics and discover the joy of gardening. Whether you opt to plant ornamentals and indoor plants, or go for a more practical gardening and tend to a vegetable or herbs patch, both works well in helping you relax and cope better in these times. Apart from enjoying a good hobby, having a garden at home also allows a great bonding activity with the kids, helps in purifying the air in our homes and backyard while allowing us a sustainable practice that also benefits mother earth. It does not even matter whether you have the space or not, as you can plant in pots and put your plants in your balcony or in a spot by the window.
Buying a new property as a last resort
Lastly, if you are opting to buy a new house with more space to give way to online classes and work-from-home activities, experts say that real estate remains to be a resilient investment even now. If you can afford it, buying a property in this time of pandemic is not a bad idea. You can take advantage of easy payment schemes and lower interest rates offered by different real estate companies. And since most transactions and related activities are now done digitally, you can also take advantage of online site inspection, as well as of online payment schemes. To assist you in calculating your mortgages, you can also use this Mortgage Calculator.
Whether you opt for any of the home improvement ideas mentioned above or to buy a new property, if it will allow you to thrive better in this most difficult of times, then do it by all means. At the end of the day, we are all trying our best and if a newly-refurbished work space or a newly-purchased property can help you achieve your work-related goals, then go for it.