At Home in the time of Quarantine...

As we each settle into a new daily routine in what are surely unprecedented times, confined to our homes during the age of the Corona Virus and "Self Quarantine", it is impossible to not view our homes through a new lens.
For most of us, our homes have been a transient location primarily for sleeping and getting ready for the next appointment, social engagement or dinner out. Who ever thought that we might spend multiple days within the walls of our homes having never stepped outdoors.
This unexpected opportunity to spend extended periods of time at home are certainly an opportunity to revisit how we live. Looking around, it is impossible not to re-evaluate our use of space, our need for light and the level of comfort that we have designed into our spaces. In the past, the disfunction of so many of our home environments could be excused as we were constantly on the go. Now more than ever it is a time to take note and design our homes for living well. We need functional living spaces that provide areas for both work and personal activities and a level of comfort that is relaxed and conducive to spending weekends at home - and yes - working at home during the week.
Never before has it been more important to have well organized spaces with ample storage to put things away in an orderly manor as well as having comfortable furniture where one can relax, read and watch movies for longer periods of time.
It is also essential that our homes are visually attractive and that the design and decoration is a representation of who we are personally. As we spend extended time at home it is so important to have artwork, fabrics, floor coverings and furniture that are meaningful to us - "our things" should tell the story of our passions, our journey and our personal taste. Each object should elicit a wonderful memory of a great experience that we have had and shared. Our rooms should be cocoons that welcome us into our space - each object a friend that has witnessed life with us.
As an interior designer, the spaces in which we live have always been important to me - though like all of us, I too have passed through my spaces far too often without stopping. Now, we have entered a new moment in time...we are forced to pause and live in the spaces that we have created well, or not quite so well.
At this moment we are each evaluating our homes with a very sharpened vision. The result for many is that attention to these sacred spaces is long overdue!
Fortunately for me, I am learning that all of those rooms in my home that I had so passionately designed and filled with furniture, furnishings and artwork actually do work. However, until now, they had often been sorely underused - passed through and admired thinking that someday I wouldl delight in spending time on this sofa watching a film, in that particular chair reading or really listening to music, or at a beloved desk working by the fireplace.

We rang in 2020 with our usual hopeful anticipation and fanfare - knowing that the new year would be different and better than ever...I traveled to Colombia again staying in Bogotá and visiting Medellin for the first time in February - returning to New York City invigorated with a long list of plans, future travel, lots of opera, museum openings and new design projects. March then ushered in the Corona Virus and ultimately; quarantine! Every plan was ultimately cancelled and a different year certainly was waiting around the corner for us all...
So here I am, forced to really use, enjoy and evaluate my home and its designed spaces...
I have realized now that as difficult, tragic, unexpected and un-welcomed as life in the time of the Corona Virus is, it has also been cathartic and I have welcomed this time to live differently - and perhaps more normally. Don't misunderstand; the financial impact is both worrisome and daunting, but the simplicity of this new regular routine has also been incredibly special to me. I have actually lived in my home and shared hours and hours and hours - day after day - with another person without all of the wonderful distractions that keep us away from our homes.
While like everyone, I look forward to social gatherings, cultural events and to the interaction that we are so built to be a part of, but I will always cherish this great "Pause" and know that my home really is my castle - the place of my physical and emotional safety AND my spiritual restoration.
May we each come out of this knowing ourselves better and more deeply, balancing our time and commitments with just a bit more care, and giving more attention to creating a home environment to thrive within and be happy to spend extended periods of time...a place that truly represents and brings comfort to all that we are.
For me, I hold a new appreciation for the sanctity of where I live and how precious every day of life is. Let's now purpose to live fully and with abandon, and with a new love for the importance of what we each call home.