Last March, Americans were told to close schools and avoid bars, restaurants and travel. The guidelines to basically stay home ground much of the economy to a halt, and we had no idea when normal life would resume. We still don’t. As days with nowhere to go stretched into weeks and months — and now a year — our attention increasingly turned to our homes.

Families used every inch of space, carving out places to work and study. We cooked three meals a day, did armloads of laundry and finally had the time to address home to-do lists. Comfort and coziness became priorities, as did styling Zoom backdrops that wouldn’t embarrass us in front of teachers and co-workers. We searched for antibacterial wipes and stocked up on bleach. Paint and new furniture replaced travel and eating out in family budgets.

Many home-related industries pivoted to meet shifting priorities. Service industries had to find ways to keep employees and customers safe, including requiring masks and sanitizing procedures. Many people who had never bought anything larger than a box of candy online […]