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Martha Stewart Revealed She Uses a WFH Hack That Is So Relatable
The Duchess of DIY has done it again. Martha Stewart packed a one-two punch recently with an Instagram post showing off a common work-from-home hack, and it’s sending out all kinds of relatability vibes. The lifestyle expert posed while promoting a segment on CNBC for her latest consumer shopping experience, Martha.com. But Stewart’s post also reminded followers that she can do no wrong when it comes to making life at home a little easier.
Clad in an icy blue quilted puffer jacket, the makeover maven poses in a casual country-style room, possibly a dining room or an extension of the kitchen, which transforms into her workspace. In front of her, a rose-gold laptop is propped up on a makeshift tabletop she made out of a stack of thick, hardcover books. It’s the perfect solution to what can be a common work-from-home problem: slouching uncomfortably over a dinner table for hours while churning out assignments.
The extra height these books helps keep Stewart at eye level with the screen and likely does wonders for straightening out one’s posture during an eight hour workday. Convenience meets functionality. It’s a simple yet effective concept that Stewart executes well, proving that just about anyone can make do with what they have.
Got an old stack of magazines? Use them. Empty boxes that won’t fit in your closet? Stack them. And adding a personal touch of color makes this minimally muted scene a welcoming space to actually get things done. Even the experts say it’s okay to make your WFH space work for you, whether that means decorating your “office” or changing up your scenery.
Plenty of laptop stand options exist for your work-from-home situation, ranging from the dynamic multi-dimensional stands to those sleek and modern in design. Or, if you prefer a more budget-friendly option, any stackable items that provide stability, height, and comfort while you’re clocking in those hours can do the trick.
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This Is a Genius (and Potentially Cheap!) Way to Conceal Your TV
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So you want a Samsung The Frame TV, but you don’t like the price tag. Join the club! I perpetually have it on my home wishlist, but the good news is you can still transform your flatscreen into a work of art… and for a fraction of the cost. Take a page out of designer Hollie Velten-Lattrell’s playbook, and use a textile to hide your high-tech television. All it takes some scissors, paint, fabric, and mounting hardware to do so.
For this particular solution, Velten-Lattrell, who owns the design and creative firm Spaces by Hollie Velten, commissioned a textile cover for client Margeaux Gertmenian’s television when she remodeled her 1920s Tudor home in New Jersey. Gertmenian wanted her house to reflect the airiness of the ocean and woods, but a slick flat screen TV would throw off the “tree house” vibe they were going for in the main living space. That’s when Gertmenian came up with the idea of a textile TV cover to conceal the family’s electronics when not in use.
Velten-Lattrell commissioned artist Janelle Pietrzak from All Roads Design to create the textile, which is fairly simple and resembles a sun, echoing the circular Etsy pulls on the IKEA console below it. The hanging hardware here is custom, but the tapestry essentially is mounted like a curtain. You can commission a TV cover from any artist you admire, but if you’re working with a tight budget, you can also try to DIY a TV tapestry yourself.
To make your own textile TV cover, source a thick fabric to act as your tapestry. Use either a sewing machine or hemming tape to create a pocket at the top of the fabric for the dowel that will hold your piece in place. Once you’ve created that pocket, paint or embellish the front of the fabric in a design that will best match your living room’s look. If you’re not crafty, try to find a small flat weave rug, or use a piece of thick, patterned fabric that you can convert into a tapestry. Canvas or linen blends work well for this project, and know that dimensions will vary depending on the size of your television. It’s also best to leave a little buffer space around the edges of your tapestry so it completely covers the TV and then some, but more on that below.
For mounting, install two sturdy hooks in a finish of your choosing approximately three inches above your television. Cut your dowel so it’s approximately 10 inches longer than the television screen (5 inches on the right and 5 inches on the left), and slip it into the fabric’s pocket. Then place the tapestry onto the hooks by the dowel. When you want to watch TV, simply roll up the fabric or take down the tapestry entirely. There you have it! You have transformed your wall mounted TV into a work of art, and if you know how to find fabric on the cheap, this project won’t set you back anywhere close to what The Frame costs.
This $15 Gadget Helped Me Dupe My Dream Lamp for Less Than a Third of the Price
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When I moved into my new house, there were plenty of things I loved, but the dim overhead lighting was not one of them. And at the time, the only floor lamp I had was the ubiquitous dorm room torchiere lamp with a plastic shade that I had been lugging around for a decade.
It was an orb of perfection, diffusing just the right light and gave me major Parisian brasserie vibes — just the thing I needed to class up my boho style. I envisioned adding an amber bulb for a cozy glow.
After setting sights on my dream lamp, I started noticing the round globe style everywhere: in chic restaurants, while watching re-runs of “Mad Men,” “Emily in Paris,” even in the home remodels in “Queer Eye.”
Unfortunately, my freelance writer budget couldn’t afford the $249 West Elm price tag. I spent weeks stalking their website waiting for a sale, but the only promo I could find was 10 percent off — still out of my price range.
But! While browsing the site, I saw that they sold just the round milk glass shade by itself as a replacement shade for their lamps for an extremely reasonable $19. That’s when a lightbulb went off — literally. I set off on a journey to hack the floor lamp of my Instagram dreams. It took a lot of trial and error but here’s how I did it:
After scouring the web, I found a gold lamp base on Amazon with a similar style to my dream lamp. I chose a 70-inch-tall brass model for $36.
Unfortunately but not surprisingly, West Elm’s shades aren’t a perfect fit for just any lamp base. The opening on the shade was too small for a round Edison bulb, and then too heavy to rest on the smaller lightbulb that did fit into the opening. I thought my dreams were dashed.
But one super cheap — like, less than $15 cheap — product turned it around. I bought a lightbulb extender from Amazon that fits into any standard lightbulb socket and helps add some extra height to any bulb you’re using. All you need to do is screw the extender in just like you would a lightbulb, and then screw a lightbulb directly into the extender. There are lots of sizes and shapes, but after much trial and error and Amazon returns later, I found that this extender fit perfectly through the small hole in the top of the West Elm shade for a flush fit against the lamp arm. Unlike the small bulb I’d used previously, it was also strong enough to hold the shade in place.
The extender even added extra perk to my new lamp: an included on/off remote control, so I can turn the lamp on and off from across the room.
It’s been a month since I completed this hack, and it’s by far my favorite decor item in my house. The $249 lamp of my dreams cost just under $70 all together — a much more manageable splurge (and even less money if you already have a floor lamp you can use).
I’m already thinking about adding the milk glass shade to a desk lamp and adding a row of them to the bathroom vanity for glam look without the glam price. And if you’ve been eyeing your own dream lamp that’s so far been out of reach, this little under-$15 gadget might be just the fix to be able to hack together some luxury.