The residential world is experiencing a multi-use renaissance as the endemic period of the pandemic brings in the idea of hybrid functions to the home space. As people emerge from homebound isolation spent working from home, attending school online, and periods of downtime spent browsing Pinterest boards, their over-exposure to internet and social media trends has led to a mixture of design trends within each space of the home. This post-pandemic phase creates exciting opportunities for residential designers and their customers searching for design inspiration that opens up novel uses of more traditional rooms – for example, an area of a kitchen that doubles as a functional study station and as a place to prepare or serve meals. Just in time for the back-to-school season, here are three of the latest post-pandemic homework zone trends we’re seeing right now.

Kitchen islands as workspaces are nothing new. We’ve been seeing the single island in this space for a long time now. When you have a large, open culinary paradise, like the room in the photo above, two islands are always better than one, especially when there’s enough storage for homework supplies, art supplies, and cooking supplies in drawers on either island. Parents can cook meals while the kids do homework, draw, or color at the second island. Moreover, unlike permanent, dedicated use areas of the past, a second island allows homeowners to simply put books and pencils away and add candles, nibbles, and wine to entertain guests.

To create the kitchen in the image above, Wilsonart® designers used Solid Surface in Metro Concrete to create the carved waterfall countertop on the main island. The hard surface is ideal for both vertical and horizontal surfaces and made of materials perfect for a variety of fabrication techniques and specialized applications. Choose from stone and woodgrain-inspired designs and a huge variety of colors. The second homework zone island employs Wilsonart Solid Surface in Ice Statuario for the main countertops. The LUJO® Collection’s White River Forest TFL narrow shaker cabinets and open shelving throughout the room tie everything together with a natural warmth.

If the all-white kitchen trend that’s been going on for a long time now doesn’t inspire you, color is on the horizon. Nature-inspired blues and greens are all the rage this year in brighter and more subdued dark tones, if not on counters, for wallpaper, cabinets, or furniture. Either way, you can add contrast with a Wilsonart® HPL countertop in a crisp white or sleek black. And for the more adventurous, the blues of HPL in Admiral and Catalina. And if it’s greens you prefer, Wilsonart® HPL in Chutney and Cricket (not pictured) for bold cabinets are ideal ways to get on trend.