A homebound year has meant rethinking our rooms, belongings

This image provided by Doug Birnbaum shows an open planned living area. Homes with open plans and sprawling “great rooms” became popular in recent decades as welcome communal gathering spaces. But that preference for open layouts may be waning. Now that whole families are working and schooling at home together. (Doug Birnbaum via AP)

An open planned kitchen. Amhad Freeman, founder of the Nashville, Tennessee-based Amhad Freeman Interiors, says clients now have time to really think about what they need from a room. (Nicholas McGinn, Jr./via AP)

Nick Nanton’s converted garage in Orlando, Fla., Designers and architects say people are realizing what they do and don’t need, and how familiar spaces can serve them better. (Nick Nanton/via AP)

In normal times, new trends in home design and home decorating bubble up simply because it’s time for something different. A few years of bold color and homeowners start painting things gray. After enough minimalism, a hunger for plaids and florals comes roaring back.