Shop Talk: Home Work Vol. 4 - Kevin Lee Yi

I’m an interior designer at Rockwell Group, and currently working on three projects—the same three I was working on before all of this happened. All of my projects happen to be in the construction phase, so luckily for me, that means nothing has been put on pause because we’re already in the thick of things. But of course, having to now work remotely, there are a lot of challenges in coordinating with the whole team and all the trades, since closures have been phased differently for a lot of us. Every week on our coordination calls, we address the different delays and issues that have come up, or may come up, as things continue to evolve with the crisis.

My home office was a work in progress for a while—I feel like I’ve finally figured out the working groove, but the immediate need was for new furniture. I needed more storage, because all the architectural materials just started piling up around me. At first, I was using a cardboard box as a filing cabinet. That worked for about a week, before it became quickly overwhelmed and inefficient, so I bought a big shelving unit to display all of the material samples, which helps me keep track of everything and stay organized.

So many materials are still in the office, and I just wasn’t able to bring it all home. That’s been a big challenge. A lot of sourcing and decision making has been based on memory or photos, in terms of how materials and fabrics will work with each other, but the vendors have been very supportive as well, saying, “We’re still here for you, just let us know.” Everything is just taking a little bit longer. Vendors have been sending supplementary samples and range sets that we’d normally just have on hand in the office as a shared resource, but now, a lot of them are out of stock because I think there are a ton of designers out there requesting to have them at home as well. No one could have imagined it would become this difficult to get grout samples.

I might not be doing a very good job at that part. [Laughs] Honestly, I feel like time and space is just kind of a blur at the moment. I still look forward to Friday, but then, I end up working on the weekend because I’m still on three projects that are going, going, going, and I’m still working really long hours. I don’t have a commute anymore—other than, you know, the commute from my bed to my desk—which is nice, but I actually think I’m just working more now. I’ve been able to manage stress and relax in small ways through doing yoga, cooking, and being outdoors and gardening. I live in my own little apartment, and luckily have a private backyard area, so every time I need a little break, I’ll just step outside for some air.

It’s been nice to have more time at home, but I also just miss other people. The other day, I was thinking about what I’d want to do once this is all through, and the first thing that came to mind was to have a party—and hug people.