Lessons from Melbournian designer and The Design Journal editor, Melissa Lunardon, while living in the world’s most locked-down city of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"No one fully foresaw the extent of the COVID-19 crisis, but as we emerge from our latest lockdown in Melbourne there are many lessons I have learned which apply to me personally, to design as an industry, and to our society as a whole. Like my fellow Victorians and much of the world, I have been confined to barracks for a while now, and used that time to rethink my business and the ideal interior for my clients. The lesson to me is clear: the pandamic and lockdown is devastating, but it is creating new needs and new trends in design we must be aware of and responsive to. Ultimately, the success of designers and enjoyment of the home for our clients relies on how well we can reinvent activities and designs to adapt to the “new normal” across Australia and worldwide."

Innovate the home office

COVID-19 lockdowns presented the opportunity for innovative solutions. It became apparent that no study nook can cut it as a home office if the acoustics are sub-par. The considerations of sound quality, echo and separation from noises made by pets, children, partners, neighbours and traffic became real and urgent concerns. The inclusion of this important criteria presents an opportunity to really meet form with function.

Home configuraton

Our configuration needs have altered as our homes suddenly became a place for more than just rest. They instantly became schools, corporate offices, gyms and more! Moving forward, I think this means we’ll see a trend towards closable rooms as opposed to open-plan configurations. This includes hallways, which can serve as a valuable vestibule as well as a subtle but effective transition from outside to inside.

Bring the outside in

With some of the strictest lockdown regulations worldwide inflicted upon Melbournians, we quickly learnt the appeal of the outdoors as our ability to leave home was restricted in both frequency and duration. From a design perspective, that means that now more than ever we should seek to configure ways to bring the outside in. Balconies are a great way to achieve this, especially for those in apartment or unit blocks without access to a private rooftop.

Get a garden

For Aussies with a little more space and a ground-hugging home, I suggest designers help clients optimise a sense of egress by landscaping the pockets of garden that sit immediately outside doors and windows. In the past our industry has often tried to maximise internal space by building out to the boundary, but with even a small garden you benefit from light infiltration. In normal times that’s a nice-to-have, but in these days of confinement it’s a blessing and it’s something I’ll be advising clients to incorporate into their homes.

A move towards subtlety

From an aesthetic perspective, I expect the inevitable economic crisis will see the end of many clients desire to make a splash by conspicuously dropping cash. Instead, I predict that quiet, nuanced gestures and subtle surface textures are going to become increasingly important as people move away from “processed” finishes. Light, colour, textures and intelligence of custom joinery will become increasingly important in our work going forward.

Greatest lesson for designers

Given the above, what is my greatest lesson from confinement? Try your hardest to create gym space in every home and have a heightened empathy for four-legged friends! People are needing fitness, work and dedicated pet spaces inside their homes. It’s a challenge but I love the way design can shape itself to the emerging needs of a culture, and as a designers this is a great opportunity to reinvent ourselves and our work to adapt to the disruption of a worldwide pandemic.