Are You DIY Safety Savvy?: We’re Re-decorating The Office [part 1]

It’s almost been a year since I decided to quit my job and go freelance. I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone, and how much I’ve achieved over the past 8 months. Receiving The Drum 50 Under 30 award recently (you can go see a snippet of the interview here, full feature available in February’s magazine), has really put into perspective how far I’ve come.

Being my own boss means I need a lot of motivation and discipline. During the winter months, it’s all too easy to pull the laptop into the bedroom and curl up in bed and do emails. I’m not ready to rent myself office space (after all, that defeats the reason I quit my 9-5 in the first place, flexibility!), however, I do want to keep home and work separately to some degree; that’s why having an office space I love is super important.

It’s about time my office had some TLC, and this is what I’m thinking of! We’ve already begun moving the furniture, re-plastering where we took down a monitor and ordered some new storage and paint.

So many people undertake DIY (apparently the nation’s spending hit £5.8 billion on DIY last year!!) but I’ve never really thought about how dangerous it can be until I had a sander in my hand! Slater & Gordon recently conducted a survey all about healthy home improvements and it seems I’m not the only one… 48% of people are unconcerned about the risks to their health that DIY projects can pose.

Whether you’re drilling a hole in the wall, hammering in a nail or up-cycling some old furniture (the current “in thing”) it’s so important to stay safe. It’s not just the larger projects that can come with risks (we’ve all heard the awful asbestos-related stories) so don’t think you’re immune just because your project is on the smaller side.

Do your research, take the necessary precautions and if you’re unsure then call in a professional. After all, no aesthetically pleasing wall hanging is more important than your safety.

That being said, it’s always nice to give your home a spruce up; especially with Spring just around the corner. Do you have any upcoming DIY projects that you’re excited about? I’d love to hear about them…they might give me some inspiration!