House-Home: Not a House, but a Home Part Two

Part Two: Make your homes functional.

Center of Individuality: Our Homes

We have moved away from the focus of social life and started to adopt individual lifestyles day by day. The transition from collective life to individual life has affected our daily life from many aspects. We have started to spare more time to ourselves, unlike the previous order that we were accustomed to; and we managed to do this despite the busy flow of city life.

Although we have not completely given up on our sociality, we have started to realize that we are neither dependent on others, nor obliged to spend quality time in crowded environments only, and that there are also some other things that will make time productive when we return to our inner self; more precisely, we have begun to understand the value of it.

Independence and self-sufficiency has become the individual’s manifesto in the city and our homes have started to become the center of this manifesto.

Pandemic, Home, Office: Home-Office

''Home-Office'' is a concept that has established its presence in our lives with the digital age. In the “pandemic year” that we are passing through, this concept opens the door to more teachings, experience, and expositions than ever before.

With the pandemic that the whole world is fighting against, this concept has started to shape our daily lives. We can manage our work, and produce from home, and realize our creative ideas without going to work. This concept has further triggered the transformation of our houses into our homes where we feel ourselves safest. And thanks to this triggering, we have started to have a better command of every detail of our homes... The walls, the floor, the curtains, the furniture, and landscape of our homes... We see all the details more, and sometimes we search for a touch to and innovation in our homes.

Home, not a House Anymore

We have become accustomed to communicating remotely as during the quarantine process as a result of the pandemic; and our homes have started to turn into the environments where we realize this communication. During the quarantine process, we have become able to fit nearly all our social life to the screens. Thus, our house that already has a big place in our lives has turned into our whole life and we have tried to fit our whole universe into our home. We have made decoration changes to make our living spaces that are no longer houses, but have turned into our homes, become suitable for our new life; and all these changes have aimed both to functionalize the existing structure and to reflect ourself in the spaces that we are in. While some of these blind decoration changes worked, some others impaired the atmosphere of the working and living environment. It is not difficult at all to create more comfortable, stylish and functional living spaces; you can turn your house first into your home, and then into your office, simply by following a few minor rules.

Decoration suggestions that will add functionality to your homes;

You can make the furniture that you use in the Home-Office process self-closing, folding, or sliding-folding with minor additions and removals; thus allowing them to disappear after the end of working hours. Hence, you can sit in your armchair and sip your coffee, forgetting yourself in more pleasant thoughts compared to your workplace.
You can increase your daily motivation and maximize your benefit from the sun by simply turning the direction of your desk towards the window instead of simply looking at blank walls.
In cases where you cannot change the direction of your tables, you can flex your muscles that have become stiffened from sitting and paint your walls. The walls that you will paint either with a single color or with geometric patterns will both change the atmosphere of your home, and turn into a beautiful background for zoom meetings.
You can decorate your other empty walls with creative ideas. Place either your books or dinnerware in a full-length wooden cabinet. When redundant pieces disappear, your space will become refreshed and more spacious for you.
Try to reduce the objects not making sense to you in your homes. Try to produce practical solutions in your living spaces where we spend more time now.  
You can increase your storage and preservation areas. You can have organizer cabinets produced for your supplies, textile or kitchen materials, and thus, get rid of the mess.
You can use a room for different functions by dividing large areas into compartments with separators. For example, you can separate the dining area from the living room with a high bookcase.
Don’t forget the fact that the most important function of your home is to make you feel peaceful. It will relax you to see the warmth of the wood on your floors and furniture. Invite nature into and make room for wooden-based products in your homes.
Part Two: Make your homes functional.