One may wish it away as much, but Covid is there to stay for some time. Might as well realign, readjust and make peace with this menace. The options and advise offered may sound mundane and simplistic; actually we want it to be so. Lets see some ideas that can be useful, without major investment of time money and effort.

The first step is to realign your spaces. The safest way to avoid Covid is to stay home and avoid contact with outsiders. Some of these are

  • At your entrance, add a Basket or a container, say, 500 mm by 500mm with a depth of around 300 mm. This could be hung in the area of the Main Entrance, to be used by all and sundry supplies which come to your house, ie, milk, e-retailers, fruit veg vendors, newspaper and so on. The advantage is that you do not contact the human. Only the material delivered needs to be disinfected.
  • To support the above, you could have a small shelf or hanging option implemented to place the Sanitiser / disinfectant sprayer. You could spray the groceries etc at your door. Also, any visitor, before entering the house, uses the sanitiser and thereafter, on entering, washes his hands.
  • Shoe rack cum sitting. Hindu culture has always been extremely rich and hygienically optimal. Removing one’s shoes before entering the house makes tremendous sense. The filth which stick on to the shoes, is best avoided inside the homes. A small space could be utilised to adjust a shoe rack cum siting, where we could change from the outdoor footwear to the one worn inside. It can be fabricated in a couple of grands.

The next new concept which has gained favours with most, is “WORK FROM HOME’’. This coupled with work at home, could be quite strenuous if you do not have the right layout. To cater to office work, the best option is to rearrange an area with in the house as your office, which could house your working table, chairs, PC/ Laptop and its peripherals, as also stationery etc. In case you did not have such a table- chair, it may be ergonomically important for you to procure one, as you may be spending long hours on it. An unsuitable seating may cause long term harm. You could even use the Dining table with due consideration that it should be viable to move the “office” during meal times.

Monotony & Boredom. Staying indoors often causes boredom and loss of interest. Some start feeling as if they have been home quarantined / arrested. One of the easiest way of bringing life to the existing set up is to change the existing layout by rearranging the furniture of different Spaces and intermingling them with each other. For example, the relocate the Bed Side tables to the Drawing room and vice-e-verse. Highlight one area of the room. It could be the area near the TV or the large Family painting or anything. In the kitchen you could make the window as the Focus.

Blending different finishes also give a feel of change. It is not necessary that furniture matches with other elements. In today’s times these are part of Art work. Try and add contrast and texture to a room. Metal, with wood, or linen or anything which your wild imagination can think of, could be mixed and matched.

Most house have a number of paintings and framed photographs, souvenirs, gifts and more. Take a look at their locations in the house and then go about relocating them in different places. There will be a sea change in the look and feel of each room. Compliment them with the various lamps you may be having in the house. The two will affect a great deal of beautification.

Color and Vibrance. The easiest way to add colour and change is the exploitation of your cushions, pillows and their brethren of different shapes & sizes. Add these of varying colours, designs, material, shapes and sizes and you would find your home to be differently coloured. Add with them the Rugs you own and the two will gel and glow.

Use Covid as a God sent opportunity to get back your house in shape. Spend some time removing the decade old unused clothes and toys and so on from your house. As per Vastu too, de-clutering and cleanliness is vital for good mental and physical health. Ensure there is enough circulation space and you do not keep banging into something or the other while moving in your house.

Lets make the best of the prevailing situation and enjoy the time at home. Minimal expenses in the effort would go a long way in seeing through 2020.

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