Interior Chaos

The pandemic has brought many changes to our lives — including how much time we spend in our homes. Many of us have things about our home that we don’t like or spaces that don’t really work for us, but we were able to kind of ignore them or procrastinate on making changes because we spent the majority of our time outside the home.

But now, we’re being forced to face these things head on because the balance of our time has shifted so drastically. Over the last year and a half, many people have started to awaken to how much our homes really matter to our lives, and how important they are to our overall success and wellbeing.  

The design and renovation industry has been busy through this pandemic, with many homeowners wanting to create better spaces for themselves and their families. With this influx of demand and the challenges the pandemic created, things are a bit crazy out there with delays, backorders, long lead times and storages of materials.

So, what’s behind the chaos?

Shortages Everywhere

Lumber mills cut back production early on not anticipating the surge of demand and then raced to catch up on production and prices soared. Also, foam has been rationed due to supply disruption from a major freeze in the Gulf Coast, causing the pipes that provided chemicals required for foam flexibility to freeze.

Textile Production

Textile production slowed as many countries hardest hit by the pandemic are also countries producing the textiles. 

Skilled Labour Issues

We are also seeing skilled labour shortages, especially in furniture manufacturing, including some specific techniques can take years to master, such as certain upholstery techniques, sewing skills, pattern making, and handspring tying. Manufacturers struggle to keep up with growing demand while employees need time off for quarantines, loss of childcare, etc.

Shipping Concerns 

The shipping industry has been hit hard! Shipping containers were in gridlock because when factories had to pause production, so did the flow of containers. Ports are now overwhelmed and cannot keep up. Also, container costs have almost tripled. The entire system is strained. 

Every sector seems to have been affected in some way. And the results are directly affecting us, the consumers. So, knowing this, what do we do?

Check out Plan Your Projects: Designing during the pandemic, Part 2 for some tips on how to effectively manage these concerns.