Sadly, not everyone has the luxury of isolating in a 10-bed, 6-bath, $10M mansion like the Kardashians. In fact, there are plenty of us who have been forced to quarantine inside shoebox apartments and share houses. With so much time spent indoors, how do we DIY and hack our surroundings to make working from home as comfortable possible, without having to stage a mini series of The Block?
To answer that question, we spoke to Jessica Holsman, the best-selling author behind YouTube channel Study With Jess, on the most recent episode of It’s Been A Big Day For… LISTEN BELOW:
Not only has Jess appeared on recent eps of Bunnings’ new IG live stream DIY Live, but she’s a bit of an expert when it comes to giving your interiors a bit of love, without a helping hand.
When it comes to making the most of small spaces, Jess spoke about the importance of ‘dead space,’ which is, for example, “the space between clothing hanging off a pole, then there’s nothing in between.”
“In all your cupboards, in the kitchen as well, there’s a lot of that ‘dead space,'” she explained. “There are ways we can utilise that space…there are drawer organisers and storage solutions that I picked up at Bunnings.”
As for working from home, Jess emphasised the importance of good lighting – and that doesn’t mean you need to go out and buy a bunch of expensive new lamps and light fittings. According to Jess, it’s all in the bulbs.
“My environment plays a big role in my motivation and my sense of calm,” Jess explains. “You need good lighting. We bought boxes of cold, white light globes and changed all the globes in the apartment – it was literally night day.”
“Even just having a good desk lamp available is so important.”
Who would’ve thought something as simple as changing your light bulbs could shake up your makeshift office so much?
According to research conducted by Bunnings, 65% of Australians have at least one unfinished DIY job to do. While that might seem daunting, research has also found that 1 in 5 Australians will undertake a DIY project at home this Easter long weekend, with general gardening, decluttering, painting and landscaping topping the list of activities planned.
Before you start planning a mass renovation in your head, beware of biting off more than you can chew. “Start small – start with a little project and see how you go with your confidence,” Jess says. “Don’t expect perfection.”
With so much time on our hands and all of it spent inside, there’s every reason to turn lemons into lemonade and flex some DIY skills to make your working and living environment as comfortable as it can be.
Always be in the loop with our snackable podcast breaking the biggest story of the day. Subscribe to It’s Been A Big Day For… on your favourite podcast app.