COVID-proofing your home

Now that you have to adapt to live with Coronavirus, learn how you can easily redesign, refurbish or renovate your house.

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It has been six months since Covid-19 hit central Europe and things got shut down. Now lockdowns are easing up, things are re-opening again and our lives seem to slowly be regaining various degrees of normality. However, new spikes in infection cases are appearing and the next few months remain uncertain. One thing is sure, we are far from the normal we were used to before the pandemic. We are now adapting and trying to find new ways of doing things, a new routine, a new normal.

While the new normal may take different forms for different people and in different countries, for all of us, our homes have gained a larger share of our time. No matter the details of our new routines, most of us spend more time at home now than we did before Covid-19. As a result, our homes need to be redefined. Now that we have to work, live, sleep, eat, relax and maybe even educate our children all in the same place, our homes have acquired a new meaning and our relationship to our homes is being redefined. This is happening whether we like it or not. It would be much better if we redefined our homes intentionally.

Here are the 4 simple steps we encourage you to think about. In fact, they are pretty similar to the steps required to reach a medical diagnosis, so we call this process an Architectural Diagnosis and Treatment Plan.

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1. Take inventory of the symptoms

Before you start, it is important that you take inventory of your thoughts and ideas. So sit down and write down the annoying frictions as well as fun ideas you may have. Consider clustering your thoughts in 3 columns: the problematic items that bother you often, the little frictions that would be nice to improve and the ideas you may have for an ideal space. This is important for the prioritisation that will be needed at a later stage.

2. Perform a physical examination

Now that you have your thoughts and ideas organised on paper, go for a tour of your house. Walk around your home with your list and take notes of the new ideas that may pop up or the things you see that can be complications or question marks. Is there a column in an unfortunate place? Is there a wall you’d like to remove but you are unsure if it is a structural bearing wall (that, therefore, cannot be removed easily)? Write all questions, doubts and new ideas down.

3. Reach a diagnosis

After the physical examination, comes the provisional diagnosis. Here you come up with an initial version of what you think the main problem really is. You may need to prioritise in order to pin-point the essential core problem(s). What do you really want to fix? Are there any minor issues that can be considered ‘side-effects’ and that may be improved by addressing some of the other core issues. You may dive into some research here, and may even need to request the drawings of your house from the municipality or the architect that may have worked on it last. The goal of this step is to identify the real problems and their potential complications if any.

4. Create a treatment plan

Now that you have identified the core issues, it is time to create a plan. What are the solutions available out there to address the issues you highlighted? What do you think you may need? Study, explore, research and sketch what is or may not be possible to do in your house. In order for a plan to be successfully implemented, looking at costs here is essential. For every solution, you will need to research the corresponding cost. Make sure you consider materials cost, as well as labour costs if applicable. When we engage in this process for our clients, we compile all the thoughts, ideas, information collected, possible solutions and cost per solution in a final report we deliver to them. This constitutes a roadmap for their next steps. It is important that this report is complete and comprehensive. This is to ensure that when you start implementing the solution(s), you do not face any ‘surprises’ that were not accounted for in the report. Going over time and over budget is often the result of an incomplete roadmap upfront. In addition, make sure you structure your treatment plan per solution, i.e. include a breakdown of costs per solution. This is helpful when you need to make priorities based on limited time, budget or other resources.

Click here for a full version of this article, where you can find more insights.

As you go through this process, don’t feel bad if you find yourself going back and forth between the different steps. Often, this is not a linear process and it is normal to go back and forth. For example, going back to check something in the house once you are putting together the diagnosis is perfectly ok.

Curious how we have helped numerous other clients with this very process? Would you like to know how you can apply this process to your specific situation? Get in touch with us and request a free quote.

Not ready? Download here your free copy of The three fatal mistakes report.