Plato has rightly quoted, ‘necessity is the mother of invention!’ This is becoming accurate for us, now more than ever. This is the time when the world is witnessing events of epic proportions, collaborating, supporting, and coming collectively as a neighborhood more than ever. The line of distinction among today/ tomorrow, noon/ evening, indoors/ outdoors is someplace getting lost. The physical influence of the pandemic is far lesser than the influence it has had on our mental state and well-being. People are discovering new approaches to combat the challenges made by the pandemic, specially in their living spaces.
Flexi residences are becoming the new normal through this time when the pandemic has locked us inside our homes. The Flexi home options are enabling men and women to adapt to a more time-focused life-style. A current study by Xiaomi, which is a renowned name in sensible devices, states that post lockdown announcement in March 2020, about 70% of men and women have reported revamping their homes and the atmosphere they live and work in.
The study also revealed that 3 of 5 participants responded by saying that it has come to be challenging to balance the work-life equation as leisure and work environments have merged and the ‘personal space’ has gone missing even in their personal residences. While the pandemic has taken so significantly from us, it has also provided us the time to be collectively with our households. This neighborhood life-style could in no way have been imagined in the pre-pandemic era.
The complete situation of how men and women live, work, interact and sustain has changed post lockdowns and men and women are now exploring approaches to restructure the indoors to make them multi-functional. Multi-functional residences or sensible residences will fulfil the needs which are now arising such as working, working out, relaxing, and rejuvenation corners.
With men and women spending more time collectively at home, the demand and need to have for versatile adaptation of residences is emerging in most cities, which permits them to use their residences for living, working, and earning. The selection to invest in or renovate properties now depends on a lot of variables like indoor space, sunlight amplification, ventilation inside the property, good quality of air and water, proximity to crucial services and so on. More men and women are also thinking of converting sections of their property into a devoted work space.
Our residences need to have to do more. But residences can not adjust overnight, and therefore styles and architects have been innovating new items that can be integrated into current residences, which includes automation, sensible devices, versatile furnishings, movable furnishings. These features are now getting projected as USP for apartments.
Spaces out there for a home in other nations like Hong Kong, Singapore, and so on had been little, and therefore necessary to have furnishings that can multitask or be moved about. Solutions like these had been meant for a niche segment and made for smaller sized pockets across the globe.
Due to the pandemic, India has been seeing an upward trend for such features. People have the identical space as prior to the pandemic, but they need to have to do significantly more – therefore the need to have for flexibility. Again, current residences can not be transformed drastically.
People are experimenting with the ‘cafeteria balconies’ – which give outside feels inside the comfort of your home the ‘attic rooms’ which give the kids the really feel of a play college/college convertible open spaces in homes and rejuvenation corners are the trends in demand presently. Trends like stroll-in bathroom closets, convertible furnishings, sensible zones for digital activities, and so on. have also seen an improved adoption price.
Presently, even the short-term options by realtors, designers and architects are producing residences more functional in line with the life-style alterations the pandemic has brought up in order to produce several utilities for designated corners in the residences like the dining, garden, bedroom, or study. This is enabling the renovation of residences in a manner that streamlines the interiors and producing a home that is less difficult to retain up with the multi-utility demand. The business is also evolving accordingly – there are lots of brands now advertising movable walls – to convert their residences into offices and enable them to switch back into a home.
As the nation witnesses the worst phase of Covid-19 outbreak, lots of households have currently converted their residences into versatile multi-functional residences. Going forward, it will no longer be about designing a one/two BHK property for men and women to live in it will be more about structuring the home and interiors in a manner that the location men and women reside in is turned into a multi-functional space merging into the reality of indoors getting a space with more than just singular purposes.
The affordability of clients remains largely unchanged. Spacious living rooms are normally thought of a luxury. With versatile walls, this luxury becomes a reality, with no adjust in the affordability. The mantra of ‘less is more’ is more apt for today’s situation.
This new standard unquestionably calls for us to re-look and restructure the home we live in. The pandemic, coupled with the lockdowns, has made a lasting influence on us – our present, and the future. This evolution of the customers’ desires and behaviour has spurred realtors to produce new definitions of flexibility for residences. The future will see more innovations than ever prior to and produce more multi-functional spaces for all of us.
(By Anilcy Verghese, AVP Sales & Marketing, Karle Infra Pvt Ltd)