I am super excited for today’s instalment of the ‘Working from Home - The Journals’ because I am welcoming Becca, the founder of House of Three, to the blog. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Becca over the years so know first hand just how lovely she is! An Interior Designer & Wedding Planner with the cutest pup you’ll ever see, Becca is one of the smiliest faces on IG stories and it’s always such a joy seeing what goes on behind the scenes at HO3. So, let’s get stuck in…

1 So, let’s talk about life in lockdown. What time do you get up? What’s your morning routine? Has this changed since working from home / being in lockdown?

My morning routine has definitely changed now working from home and being in lockdown, with me getting up later than I used to. I get up at about 7.45am, jump in the shower and then make my breakfast and coffee to take up to my desk. However two days a week I have a more leisurely breakfast, followed by a live workout class that starts from 8.30-9.30am. And then begin working between 10.30-11am. I’ve found that these two workout mornings a week are so important for my mental health, but it did take a little while to get over the thought that I was ‘meant to already be working’. No matter what though, I always get dressed.

2 How do you remain motivated while working from home?

I still sometimes find this hard. But I am very lucky to have a designated room for working, and I only go into this room when it’s time to work. I find this really helps with staying motivated, as I can shut the door on a work day when I’m ready to. I’ve also found that working for shorter bursts and having a break in a different room, really helps for staying motivated throughout the day.

3 Do you listen to any podcasts while working from home?

No! This is something that I always used to do when I worked from my office. I had some sort of podcast/music/radio on all day. Now at home I work in complete silence with zero explanation as to why!

4 Lockdown has impacted businesses all over the world. How can people support you? E.g. #ShopSmallBusiness, sharing a post on FB, commenting on an Instagram post etc.

I have new low cost digital design services, that’s all done online, via email and the design is sent digitally. Having people booking them has really helped to keep my business going throughout lockdown. But even a new Instagram follow, or a lovely comment on one of my photographs has helped to keep my morale high.

“A new Instagram follow, or a lovely comment on one of my photographs has helped to keep my morale high.”

5 Tell me one local business that you’ve decided to support during lockdown. It could be your local coffee shop, someone who hand-makes masks etc.

I’ve supported lots of local businesses, making sure that I buy as much from small businesses as I can do. When wrapping my Christmas presents, I bought everything needed from local wedding suppliers as I know they’ve been struggling – tags from a wedding stationer, wax seals from a wax seal maker, flowers and ribbon from a wedding florist etc.

Chobham Flowers is my local florist that also happen to be a wedding florist too. I’ve bought many gifts for people from her, and who doesn’t love to receive a bunch of flowers in the post?!

6 Tell me your favourite isolation cocktail / snack / treat?

I never used to allow myself any snacks – and to some people this might not seem like much of a treat. But now almost every afternoon I treat myself to a Digestive biscuit with my afternoon coffee!

My very favourite isolation cocktail though has been recreating the Eastern Standard, a Soho House cocktail that I used to treat myself to whenever we visited. In fact we had them at our wedding too, and we’ve now mastered the recipe at home. Even though we’re still not sure it’s how they make them at Soho House, it certainly tastes just like it!

7 What’s your go-to ‘pick me up’ during lockdown life / working from home?

Calling my mum on FaceTime. She always answers the phone with a smile and I don’t know how she does it, but I feel better after just minutes of talking to her.

8 How are you keeping in touch with friends and family?

I speak to my mum and dad everyday, and did before lockdown too. We text A LOT! And call/FaceTime almost everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. My mum, dad and sister (Nottingham), sister and partner (Sydney) and us here in Surrey all have the same Board Game, called ‘Ticket to Ride’. We play it over Zoom by just making sure we play everyone’s pieces on our own board, and it’s been really great! Then we still make an effort to try and plan in wine calls with friends.

9 Name one lockdown pet peeve

Arriving at the supermarket and finding you don’t have a mask. You’d think I’d get used to it, but with swapping and changing coats and bags all the time, I’ve still not mastered it and had to go back home several times to get one!

10 Name one lockdown love

Without fail, everyday we go for a walk – although I’m not sure if this is lockdown or the fact that we got Josh a dog for his 30th – so I suppose we would have been out everyday anyway! But before the dog came, we were walking more, and I really enjoyed it as it’s something I would have always said I didn’t have time for before.

11 What do you have in store for your business? What’s got you feeling inspired?

I’ve got so many business goals – but recently I’ve invested a little more in social media, to really elevate my Instagram and show what I can offer. Although I set up my digital services packages during the first lockdown, they’ve done so well that I’m going to continue to offer them. Which is really exciting, as I love helping people to realise their creative dreams. I’m planning to launch a new weddings service over the coming months that focuses on styling for smaller weddings, so that’s really exciting.

12 What’s one thing you want to do after lockdown restrictions are lifted?

I really want to go out to a restaurant…even if it’s just the local pub, I want to go out for dinner!

13 What has been your favourite Netflix series to binge on during lockdown?

I absolutely loved watching Studio Mcgee’s Dream Home Makeover – I’d love my company to become everything theirs is one day, so it was so great to see inside their design world a little more. Although I have to say, after a client recommendation, I also absolutely loved watching Emily in Paris too!

14 Are there any books on your shelf you’d recommend reading during lockdown?

I’m just not a reader – and only ever read when we’re on holiday. So I can’t help with that answer really!

15 What will you take from lockdown? Is there anything you’re grateful for or that you’ll do differently going forward?

Yes definitely! That I don’t need to occupy myself by going out/meeting friends every single night of the week. My social life before lockdown was ridiculously busy, where it would be very rare to have an evening at home with no plans. But lockdown has made me realise how important those chilled evenings at home actually are – so I’ll definitely be introducing more of those into life going forwards.

16 Describe lockdown for you in three words. (E.g. life-changing, emotional, challenging).

Emotional, Lonely, Refreshing – what a contradiction of words! But I think that sums up lockdown in general doesn’t it…an emotional rollercoaster!

I can wholeheartedly recommend following Becca on IG - her stories are lovely and you’ll find plenty of helpful tutorials on her grid. Imagery by Stories by Chloe.