Decorating In The Time of Covid-19
So you’ve been in your house for two months now. No doubt, you’ve been staring at some of your old and outdated furniture every single day and it’s grating on you like nails on a chalkboard. You promise yourself that “when this is over” you will do something about it. Aside from beginning the process of finding a designer to help you, there are a few things you can do on your own while you’re sheltering in place.
1. You can still paint. Most hardware stores are still open for business and many will do curbside pickup so you’ll need to have swatches mailed to you and then do your due diligence in picking a color. Then all you need to do is call in the color of choice and they’ll mix it up for you. I’d also recommend stocking up on some other supplies like brushes, rollers, disposable paint trays, painter’s tape and a good drop cloth. Painting is an utterly transformative, yet relatively cheap thrill and it will make you feel instantly productive and happy. Plus, and I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but the fact that it always takes longer than you think is a plus in that it’s going to help you tick off the days with a smile on your face.
2. You can clean, out. I don’t mean the insane spraying, wiping, disinfecting and manic hand washing that we’ve all been doing, but rather, the organizing and weeding out of stuff we really don’t need or use. Nothing makes me feel better than cleaning/clearing/donating my way to a simpler life. If quarantine has taught us anything it’s how much we can actually live without (and I don’t mean getting rid of all your pants now that waist-up is the new normal). I mean doing a real assessment of what you wear, what you honestly don’t, and what doesn’t even fit anymore. Then you can hit the kitchen – where we recently tossed all the way-past-expirations in our pantry and spice cabinet and even found some 10 YR OLD beer hidden in the crisper of our downstairs fridge – and, of course, there’s the classic basement purge. It’s amazing what you’ll find when all you have is time. Clean out, clear out, throw out – let freedom ring.
3. You can dream. Now is the time to look online and start collecting tear sheets, doing mood boards, clipping web pages and just basically curating what you want your home to be. Hit Pinterest, Houzz, online mags, décor blogs, furniture store sites and clip anything that feels good to you. I also highly recommend Evernote to keep your clippings organized since it acts as an online file cabinet and can save input in almost any format (html, web page, pdf), and it has incredible tagging and search capabilities. This will give you a head start on sorting through what you like and what you don’t, knowing what things cost, and what your priorities are in terms of your budget. This way, as things slowly return to normal and retailers begin to open their doors, you’ll be ahead of the game in either doing your own makeover or bringing a professional on board.
Now is the time to do as much or as little as you like. Since we all process anxiety differently I offer strategies for those of us who run a bit hot, and for those who need a more mellow, controlled burn. No judgements. The moral of the story is to make the best of things, to possibly make our homes more comfortable and joyful, and to survive in style.