How Design Trends are Shifting to Adapt to Post-COVID Life
This article is excerpted from Construction Utopia, an SGC Horizon publication. To read the full article, click here.
Design firm Mary Cook Associates (MCA) recently released its third white paper dedicated to interior design methodology and fundamentals. This eight-part series from MCA highlights the ways developers and builders of multifamily and single-family units can respond to recent shifts in home life.
The paper, “Living It Up,” develops ‘Five Ps’ recharacterizing livability in single-family and multifamily interiors since the COVID-19 pandemic. These are factors that were not only relevant a year ago, but remain as mainstays for many design projects.
The ‘5 Ps’ impacting home design in the age of ‘work from home’:
- Packages: The increase in delivery-based consumerism is directly impacting design. Making spaces that accommodate packages of all shapes and sizes has become a major new priority.
- Pets: With the increase in pet adoption and ownership during the pandemic, functionality is vital for the wellbeing of pet and owner alike. Communities and homes with interior and exterior pet-friendly spaces and functional amenities, from dog wash areas to feeding and sleeping stations, is a significant draw for pet lovers.
- Plug-ins: The evolving work-from-home (WFH) lifestyle has set new technology standards. Multifamily residents seek collaborative workspaces, strong WiFi, and well-thought-out places to plug in devices, while adaptable spaces are key for supporting WFH in single-family homes.
- Play: Coping with the challenges of the pandemic amplified almost everyone’s need for play, driving demand for recreational spaces and those that promote fitness and healthy habits, including curated space that fosters activity transitions.
- Personal Space/Privacy: Remote work, virtual school, more family members at home and changing quarantining restrictions have created the need for more personal space and privacy within the home, with “pocket spaces” that create mini-territories for specific activities emerging as a design solution.
In the era of WFH, it’s important that home design match increasingly complex necessities. A well-designed interior space may just turn someone’s simple home into an oasis.
Latest from NAHBNow
Jul 10, 2025
NAHB Presents Oral Arguments Challenging HUD’s 2021 IECC MandateOn July 9, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas heard oral arguments in NAHB’s challenge to the government’s final determination requiring that homes built under certain housing programs comply with the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and 2019 ASHRAE-90.1.
Jul 10, 2025
Remodeling Market Sentiment Dips in Second QuarterNAHB released its NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the second quarter, posting a reading of 59, down four points compared to the previous quarter. While the reading of 59 is still in positive territory, this is only the second time the RMI has dipped below 60 since the survey was revised in the first quarter of 2020.
Latest Economic News
Jul 09, 2025
Mortgage Applications Picked Up in June as Rates EasedMortgage application activity picked up in June, supported by a slight decline in interest rates. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, which tracks mortgage application volume, rose 5.4% from May on a seasonally adjusted basis. Compared to June 2024, total applications were up 21.1%.
Jul 09, 2025
Who’s Still Working from Home in 2025? A Look at America’s Telework TrendsRemote work may no longer dominate the U.S. labor force as it did during the height of the pandemic in 2020, but it still represents a substantial share of employment today.
Jul 08, 2025
Top Ten Builder Share Rises Again in 2024The top ten builders captured a record 44.7% of all new U.S. single-family home closings in 2024, up 2.4 percentage points from 2023 (42.3%).