‘FOR US, HOME IS EXACTLY WHERE CORONAVIRUS HAS HIT HARDEST’
THE TRUTH ABOUT RENOVATING YOUR FIRST HOME DURING LOCKDOWN
Every aspect of British life we ever took for granted has been eviscerated since the Covid-19 outbreak reached our shores. But for my partner and I, home is exactly where coronavirus has hit the hardest.
We purchased our first property together in late October 2019. It was time to leave the rat race of renting in London and put down roots after four years together. Bouncing around student accommodation had its charms, but we had both secured new jobs and we had the ability to get on the property ladder. Our little flat at the end of a culde-sac needed some TLC but it is ours.
We are extremely fortunate that the bulk of the works were finished before we moved in three weeks ago. But panic began to set in when we saw Italy go into lockdown and Britain’s trajectory down that path looked set. There was still so much to do: almost all of the furniture hasn’t been delivered – the sofa, a table and some chairs, among others – and the builders still haven’t finished all of their work. An empty wall still stares forlornly out of our main room where a dining bench was supposed to be fitted. And what if, God forbid, the builders went bankrupt?
To their credit, the builders have been brilliant. They have reassured us they will continue with the work, as long as we are comfortable with that. The associated health risks are clear, but for them, they have no choice but to continue working where they can and for us, a young, healthy couple with no relatives who are particularly elderly or vulnerable, the trade-off is worth it.
We follow Government guidelines about going out in public and have rarely come into contact with our fellow man since being placed under house arrest, but understandably, some builders were not comfortable in entering a household that wasn’t their own once lockdown began.
The biggest challenge of all, however, has been the furniture. Despite the Government’s insistence that supply chains will stay open, some deliveries have been postponed or cancelled. Last week, a sofa ordered from Europe that was supposed to be delivered today was cancelled.
But there are kernels of comfort in that while many physical retail locations have closed their doors, the online world is functioning almost seamlessly. Everything from crockery from H&M Home to outdoor seating from Blue Diamond has come via next day delivery.
We’ve been forced to adapt our homeware shopping habits. We can no longer partake in the romantic ideal of going to showrooms, visualising the options and picking the perfect thing. Instead, we spend evenings on the laptop and a couple of days later, with alarming regularity, an Amazon or DHL van pulls up on the street and out comes another large, unwieldy box. We unpack it, put it where we think it should go, and decide if it works. If it’s unsuitable, all the companies we have dealt with are offering free returns, with many even agreeing to come and collect the items again from our home. Although this has placed an extra burden on our finances, as we pray all the returns are processed before the end of the month, the added convenience of having large items brought to your door has certainly changed our shopping habits.
I’ve embarked on putting together more flat-pack furniture than I could ever have dreamed of. A familiar refrain of DIY is reverberating around the nation, with this fast becoming one of the most common ways to kill time. Indeed, nurses in France have pleaded with the public to stop doing DIY jobs they are not qualified to do, as injuries are starting to clog up A&E departments.
Home renovations are a challenge at any time. Couple it with wartime conditions and a deadly pandemic and it’s a miracle we’re still a happy couple. Marcus Parekh
The builders still haven’t finished their work