Creating living spaces you love and adore without rushing the process
(Sept. 10, 2024) — Remember in 2020 when, instantly, we all had to regroup, reorganize and re-establish our daily routines? Turning our homes into offices, school classrooms, gyms, gourmet cafes, and even create curbside parklets outside our homes, so we could entertain our friends and family, safely, remaining outside in the fresh air.
Remodeling our homes progressed at alarming speeds, as we quickly made accommodations for our new way of life.
Our homes became our sanctuaries during the 2020 blitz – sometimes chaotic, but nonetheless, safe havens. If you’re still living with a 2020 design aesthetic, it’s time for a fresh and detailed update.
The home office, for many, really was a living space quickly thrown together. The guest bedroom, pool house, third car garage or play room – all may have had to give up their intended use – for that work-from-home individual or two.
Fast forward a few years and maybe you’ve added a home office addition, an ADU that now functions as your home office, or if you happen to be an empty-nester, you could have a home office that also doubles as a guest bedroom when needed.
Perhaps you’ve accounted for the actual home office space, but your furniture may still be in dire need of an update. Furniture from that time period may be a hodgepodge of uncoordinated pieces forced to work together quickly, looking more like a used furniture sale than a sleek office that inspires and invigorates.
Your new home office can be as elaborate or simple as desired. From custom-built cabinetry to a well-planned out retail shopping extravaganza, whatever your office needs may be, just like a kitchen, really think about how you will be using your home office, focusing on functional and aesthetic details.
During 2020, the family room was a catch-all for everything. TV-watching and lounging, a place for the treadmill or stationary bike, the classroom for all the kids, casual dining and snacking on the upholstered furniture, a home office for anyone with a laptop, and so on.
Family rooms are supposed to be multi-tasking rooms and well thought-out living spaces, but when they’re continually added to, without a functioning plan, they begin to look more like a little bit of everything.
At a minimum, the family room should be a comfortable, cozy lounging space for family and friends. In addition to the typical sofa and lounge chair, consider a reading nook with a wall full of books and meaningful decor, a fireplace and TV to enhance movie-watching. a pair of lounge chairs that might take advance of a hillside of cityscape view, or even a desk for those who need to work or catch up on homework.
If you need your family room to multi-task, make the space fluid so every task has its own space and not a cumbersome catch all. Make the space cohesive and comfortable with a common decorative feel, while paying attention to functional details.
The kitchen is a busy living space, but during 2020, the kitchen really was maxed out. Many of us had our meals delivered to our homes by any means necessary, but for those lucky enough to have groceries delivered, well, our kitchens became 24-hour diners.
It became this insane catch-all from cooking to home schooling and laundry to home offices, etc. If you still have non-kitchen items on your countertops, clear everything off – now! Bring your kitchen back-to-life with a fresh coat of paint, new window treatments, an interesting backsplash or even new lighting.
Whatever your aesthetics, embrace it and create a kitchen workspace that provides a lovely visual, while also creating functional storage and a place for culinary greatness.
Leave 2020 in the past and vow to never, ever, rush the interior design process.
Interior design works best when it’s slowly and methodically realized over the course of your personal timeline. Implementing unique touches that make only you happy. Select colors and materials that delight you, items you’ve acquired from local and far away destinations.
Think classic-but-unique and conversational design choices. Think beyond the “all white” kitchen and instead, focus on color. Never rush. Instead, let’s savor each design step, the materials we acquire, rushing only to enjoy the living space we’ve created.
Jennifer Leischer can be reached at jenna@j-designs.com.
Jennifer Leischer
Jennifer Leischer is the owner of J. Designs Interior Design based in Clayton, CA. Combining a public relations degree from California State University, Chico, with further studies in design and interior architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, Jennifer began her career as an interior designer in 1998, working for various firms in San Francisco and Orinda, and Denver, Colorado. She describes every designing moment, throughout her career, as a wonderful tutorial about the importance of relationships, open communication, and getting down to the basics of functional, yet stylish, living spaces.