The isolation period provides ample opportunity for innovative yet simple home improvements that will brighten up both living spaces and moods – as design, architecture and interiors specialist Mr Tom Morris explains.

Looking on the bright side, at least there’s finally time to get on with all those jobs around the house that you've been putting off for months. Has anyone else finally reorganised their cutlery drawer, fixed that wiggly plug socket and rejuvenated the spice rack?

Reconfiguring the familiar space around us is also a way of helping us deal with this very unfamiliar and monumentally mad situation. Homes are our cages at the moment, but also our nests, and they can assist us in asserting our individuality while we feel so cut off from others. They can distract and they can comfort, even when we’re aching for the freedom of being outside. Here are some simple tips to increase your enjoyment of those four surrounding walls.

Remember how, a few years ago, washing up became an act of mindfulness? That feeling of every sud between one’s fingers and focusing on the art of scrubbing burnt chicken skin from the pan was supposed to be good for one’s soul? Without getting too Changing Rooms about things, giving an old wooden chair a spruce-up is just as enriching, and for similar reasons. Sanding, cleaning and painting will help you develop patience as it requires a certain amount of mindlessness. Be brave on colour because we all need cheering up. Go full gloss. And, if you truly are on the brink, you could always lacquer it  –  that usually requires 20 layers, so you’ll be kept busy until Christmas.

Concentration spans might be strangely jumpy at the moment – or is that just us? – so you may be finding audiobooks or podcasts appeal more than just sitting down with a good read. To reinvigorate your joy in reading, it’s time to address the library situation by putting your books in order. Not colour coordinated (yuck) but classified in four categories: ones you’ve read, ones you haven’t read, ones you didn’t like (get rid) and ones you’d like to read again.

I’m sure we all own old photographs, exhibition posters and the odd car-boot sale oil painting that have never quite made it onto the walls. Now is the time to get them up there. All of them. A cocooning, busy space is often thought of as being oppressive, but it will express personality while we’re all feeling rather alienated. Surround yourself with things you’ve loved in the outside world and give the eye something new to focus on. You could do the highly popular and not entirely un-naff “gallery wall” or, as we prefer to do, stack landscape-formats in columns and hang portrait-formats in rows.

While we don’t want to over-burden Amazon delivery drivers, this is the time to rethink your kitchen situation. You’ll be seeing a lot of those plates, that coffee cup and all your cutlery in the coming weeks, so upgrade and invest in proper sets. Plenty of manufacturers are still in business, and your support is needed. David Mellor makes wonderful, made-in-Sheffield cutlery. Turn to Devon-based Feldspar for fine-bone china crockery. If you’re lucky enough to have outside space, Chichester-based Japeto does a mean line in versatile Japanese hori-hori trowel knives that will help you sort out your plant pots and garden beds.

The “maximalism” trend we’ve seen in recent years might not be to all tastes – and you don't have to go the full Versace Disneyland on it – but pattern can go a long way to improving one’s mood. A floral turn will obviously bring the outside world in. Svenskt Tenn in Sweden is the place for psychedelic patterns by Mr Josef Frank (Aralia is a personal favourite). Mr William Morris’ embroidered fabrics, such as Wightwick or Brophy, have a great texture to them and are not in the least bit chintzy. For a more geometric bent, think about an interesting stripe courtesy of Mr Robert Kime, or scour for antique fabrics online, such as aso-oke cloths from Nigeria or frazadas from Peru, to use as wall hangings.

Managing to add a sense of structure to the day is a big challenge, especially if your sitting room is now doubling up as a study, playroom and cinema, and “office hours” are indivisible from downtime. Invest in those nifty new bulbs that change colour – keep things cool during the day and turn on warmer, lower tones for the evening. Splash out on small side lamps for either side of the sofa to enhance your room with different atmospheres. The evenings are lighter, of course, but the act of turning on the lamps is a symbolic one, and important to mark the change between work and relaxation. (In the same vein, we recommend you also put away your laptop and notebook in a cupboard every night.)

A cliché, but an enormously valid one – using your hands to create something of no real purpose other than to adorn your surrounds brings a huge sense of satisfaction and a feeling of achievement, which we’re probably all lacking at present as the days blend into one another. Set aside an hour or two each day to practise your new craft. Get hold of clay  that doesn’t need a kiln to fire; invest in an embroidery kit (perfect for personalising face masks); YouTube the Japanese art of ikebana (flower arranging) instead of shoving your daffs in a jar. One day, we’ll hopefully look at our craftwork and reminisce about the weird situation that necessitated its creation – and smile...