A home is a place which nurtures and shelters us for some hours in a day. But a huge change happened in March when the country went into lockdown for most of us who are not frontline workers.
Home has become a place where we spend our days 24/7.
We are on our 150th day of quarantine. Through that period, we’ve been in many different kinds of Qs—EECQ, ECQ, MECQ, GCQ, MGCQ. There are different strictness levels but they’re all Qs nevertheless. With the amount of time we’ve spent in our homes, we must know by heart every nook and cranny by now.
This is a major change in our lives when we have to live in close proximity with each other. All. The. Time. This would have different implications depending on the size of our households. Imagine being a family of 5 living in a 22 sqm flat, as opposed to living in a 200-sqm home, or a 2000-sqm property complete with a garden in the front and in the back.
But let’s not go there and wish that our homes are bigger because that’s a waste of time and energy. Let’s just deal with what’s in front of us right now. Whatever situation we are in, let’s remember that it’s attitude that counts. In other words, it’s not our circumstance that matters, but how we deal with it.
So let’s put on our pragmatic hat.
The Needs of Each Household Member
By this time, you may have a very clear idea of the needs that your family members have. You would be needing spaces for many different activities, some of which you can find below.
If you haven’t done so yet, have a talk with the family and find out the needs of each member. Try to find spaces in your home for all of that.
You can have one room for different kinds of activities, like adding a WFH station or study area in the bedroom which can also be a breakaway room to listen to music, to read, or to just hang out for some privacy. Have you discovered the joys of gardening? Then set up a DIY vertical garden or a pocket garden in the kitchen for your herbs or your vegetable trimmings if you don’t have a terrace or a small yard.
Color Schemes Based on Space Function
If you want to rearrange your home to adapt to the needs of your family, then here are some color schemes that can guide you on how you can redecorate the different living spaces.
Read Basic Color Schemes to Help You Create a Paint Palette.
Bedroom Color Scheme
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As mentioned, the bedroom can fulfill other needs aside from sleeping. You can have a work station in there and maybe a corner for reading or listening to music. For doing your mindful pursuits like stretching, yoga, meditation and prayer, all these can also be done in the bedroom. You just need a corner or some floor space for those activities. Of course, you may need to discuss schedules with other family members who will also be using the space. Respect each other’s time and space to keep the peace.
For these multiple uses, it would be best to have a monochromatic or tonal color scheme of neutral colors or pastels so you can have that cool and serene vibe.
Color Scheme for an Open Kitchen-Living Room-Dining Area
Most condos or apartments nowadays have an open space for the living room, kitchen and dining area. To define areas, you can play around with paint colors on your walls or on cabinets, or have colors on the furniture and furnishings.
All these living spaces are for social functions like eating and being with each other. Of course, living rooms and dine-in kitchens are for entertaining, but during the quarantine, it should only be for get-togethers with the household members for safety reasons.
Color blocking is used to segment spaces in an open area for the different functions in a space so you create “rooms” within a room. But more than this, color blocking gives a visual striking effect to a big space.
A triadic color scheme could be used. This scheme means that you have three colors in the color wheel that are equidistant from each other.
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In this kitchen you have the triadic color scheme of yellow-red-blue. So if you have an open space and your kitchen cabinets are blue, you can have a yellow sofa in the living room and a red accent wall in your dining area for example.
Think in terms of values and saturations of color so that you veer away from the primary hues. Painting white paint on most surfaces provides a negative space so that the colors can “breathe”.
Tips for Using Colors in Your Home
Having a consistent color story in all the rooms would make your home feel and look cohesive.
In the examples above, choose a neutral color and make it flow through the whole house. So if you follow the white of the bedroom wall, you can carry this color in the other spaces. What you can then do for your color blocking is to add accent colors on the walls or cabinets, on your furniture like your sofa or chairs, or on furnishings like rugs, cushions, curtains.
What can also make your home look cohesive is to have the same type of patterns, shapes, materials running throughout the house. For example, if you have a rattan table in the bedroom, you can repeat that material in your dining chairs or hanging lamps outside.
Read The Seven Elements of Interior Design so you can use other elements (aside from colors) like textures, patterns, and forms, to have a home that looks unified and harmonious.
What is important right now is that your home, the sanctuary that keeps you and your family safe, is a place where all of you feel nurtured and rejuvenated. It is a space that offers you relief and comfort from your cares and worries. It is a dwelling where you all can grow together as a family and as individuals through these uncertain times.
Painting is the easiest and most cost-effective way to brighten and renew your homes. Choose those hues that resonate deeply with you and splash them on your walls.
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Feature Image: Photo by Rodion Kutsaevon Unsplash
