As we continue to try to stay sane, the focus seems to be less on productivity and more on keeping our collective mood positive. Everyones ‘Insta’ stories are either filled with inspirational quotes on how we’re here for each other or memes on what condition we’ll be in at the end of this lockdown. Just put one foot in front of the other and keep moving.
While everyone is definitely going stir crazy, we’ve been seeing lots of videos on how pepping up your home and workspaces can really help not just uplift your mood and give you a change of scene but make you feel like you’ve achieved something. Interior designer and fashionista, Farah Agarwal vouches for just how ‘doable’ these home décor set-ups are. “You can choose from how simple or complex you want it to be, based on your mood and the materials you have available around you. This could be as simple getting together some fabric, flowers, leaves, or even stuff from your own kitchen,” she says. “In the current scenario, when everyone is going through phases of self-doubt or just low times, these are definite mood boosters.” And she’s not just talking about the effect of these décor changes, but the act itself.
Architect Gowri Adappa, similarly, has used this downtime to give us different vignettes of styling around her home, simple tips and tricks to beautify and declutter spaces that we may take for granted. After watching her ‘how to style a bedside table’ video, I gave myself a serious talking to. Mine is a tottering pile of medication, books, and other paraphernalia while Gowri’s looked straight out of a magazine. The good news is she can show you ‘how to’ in a manner of minutes. So there is hope yet. And it looks like people are loving it too. “The response has been overwhelming and I am glad people are enjoying them, and this gives me the reassurance to keep going although I must say, it’s quite nerve-racking to talk to a camera!” says Gauri.
Event planner Lado Batra (Stages by Lado), has taken things one step further by coming up with DIY home décor kits, in pretty much any theme you can think of. As someone who always made a big deal of her birthday, Lado started feeling blue about the celebration that she wasn’t going to have this year. So she thought ‘if you can’t go out to party, why not bring the party home to you?’ She’s done everything from a Sweet Sixteen to Disco to even a Corona-themed party. “Though I can’t wait for life to get back to normal, this situation has made me realize that desperate times call for desperate measures. And I’m so glad that my desperate measure has brought joy to my clients and in-turn to me,” she says.