The star of ‘Changing Rooms’ says she’s also discovered the art of tidying — and it has changed her life!
For mum of two, pop singer, actress and all round entertainment whiz Nat Bassingthwaighte, interior design and architecture have always been a part of her life. In fact, when the new host of Changing Rooms was just 12 years old she wanted to be in the building business.
“Interestingly enough I wanted to be an architect when I was about 12,” she told 10 daily. “I used to buy architecture magazines and I would draw floor plans of my ultimate home. Isn’t that funny?!”
These days she still loves to play with her home space but — just like the Queen of tidying, Marie Kondo herself — she can’t bear to fill it with “stuff”.
“I’m not a hoarder at all,” she laughed. “I feel like every home gets full of stuff quite regularly, but I’m an amazing spring cleaner. My husband is best at keeping the house clean on a daily basis but I’ll come in — and this is before Marie Kondo actually, just saying — and I’m an awesome full-on spring cleaner!”
For Nat and husband Cam, the lessons they’ve learned from decluttering have been immense.
READ MORE: What Do You Do If You’ve “Marie Kondo-verdosed” And Thrown Out Too Much?
“I love the idea of not having clutter and stuff — it’s so ‘heavy’, you know — and that’s what Marie Kondo says as well. Your space should create joy and if you know where everything is and there’s not chaos in your mind because everything has a place, it feels amazing.”
“We had a storage unit for eight years, full of furniture — we were like, ‘When we get a holiday house we’ll use that’. But of course, we’re not going to use that, we’ll hate it by then anyway!” she said. “We eventually got rid of it all, and now it feels amazing! The house isn’t totally done yet but everything has a place, it’s getting there, and it’s so great to have a space where you’ve cleaned out every single drawer! I really want to live more minimally.”
“And the same with my wardrobe,” she told 10 daily. “I wear the same things all the time, I wear like five things! I have a big wardrobe and dressing room, but now I’m like well I’m going to get rid of all these things and have all these empty racks!”
Being a mum, of course, means that clutter can creep in at any time — especially with two young kids and their toys. But that doesn’t phase Nat, who is pretty laid back when it comes to their stuff.
“The kids have lots more stuff than everyone else, but I do think they’re kids for a short amount of time, so don’t be too fussy. I do like it to be neat but I’m not going to to go crazy if there are toys in the loungeroom.
“I try and teach the kids if you play with something and then want to play with something else — which they do a lot — then we pack up that one and play the next one. So hopefully that’s a good habit — I don’t know that it’s really working but … it’s a good concept!”
READ MORE: ‘Changing Rooms’ Experts Tell How To Update Your Room For Under $100
But of course, even the best Marie Kondo convert can fall off the decluttering wagon every now and then. And for Nat, the trigger seems to be in soft furnishings.
“I buy quilts!” she told 10 daily. “I change my whole bedroom decor a lot. Cam’s like ‘Oh my gosh we’ve got so many quilts’! Actually, we don’t any more, we now only have two covers for each bed — that’s what Marie Kondo tells you. I had a zillion quilt covers for all occasions that haven’t been used for ages, so now we have two for each … and a spare quilt for a guest and that has two covers as well.”
“It is still probably pillows though,” she laughed. “I have always primarily had monochromatic furniture and I’d change the colour scheme with pillows and a rug. Oh my goodness, the amount of pillows I have! I think I have 12 pillows on our bed!.”
Seems there is still a little way to go before she’s fully Kondo-ed !
Feature image: Changing Rooms.
Changing Rooms airs 7:30, Wednesdays & Thursdays on 10 and 10 play
