Share Your Space: Inside Kelly McCarren's converted garage with a podcasting space and pink walls.

Mamamia's Share Your Space series asks everyday women to share all the juicy, specific details about their homes. How much do you pay in rent? Who do you live with? Where did you get your furniture? It's pulling back the curtain on real estate in Australia, and allowing us to really see how the people around us live.

In this episode of Share Your Space, Mamamia joins Kelly McCarren to show us inside her home. 

Age: 34

Job: Digital Creator & You Beauty podcast co-host. 

I live with: My husband, our baby boy Lenny and Percy (our cat). 

Location: Sydney. 

So, take us inside:

Let’s begin by acknowledging that my "office" is actually our garage. 

You see, about 18 months ago, we bought my Nanny’s place after sadly having to move her into an aged care facility. 

We never planned on living in it, but given the rental market went silly last year, lo and behold we ended up moving out of our ginormous apartment and into our teeny tiny little house. But it was our own house, which is amazing and obviously a massive privilege.

Because I work for myself, having a dedicated office space is kind of non-negotiable, but given space issues, that ended up being the garage and we just left our cars on the street as it’s a quiet cul-de-sac. 

I always imagined having an inspiring place to work every day, and I definitely started out strong by organising all my products into categories and coming up with a good system for product trialling (one of my jobs is hosting Mamamia’s daily beauty podcast You Beauty, it’s glorious and you should listen if you’re not already).

Image: Supplied. 

But it’s been almost a year and I’ve mostly avoided my office in all of its grim glory. It wasn’t a fun place to be in and nothing inspired a conducive work environment. It was just a garage that became a place everything got dumped in with the intention of one day clearing it out.

Image: Supplied. 

That was all until about 6 weeks ago, and I somehow ended up on a TikTok and Pinterest algorithm where homes were… fun? 

There was colour and texture and joyfulness that I just hadn't seen amongst the endlessly "chic" spaces made up of boringly beige tones that are about as memorable and exciting as someone detailing everything they ate that weekend. 

There’s no JOY in homewares and interiors anymore and I decided my office was a great place to inject some. I started by deciding to paint the main wall a shockingly bold pink. 

I chose the paint colour Contemporary Pink by Dulux UltraAir range, because it's a matte finish, with ultra low chemical emissions and an ultra low odour. So I didn’t have to worry about little feet running around or living in a smelly environment for weeks on end. 

There was NO STRONG PAINT SMELL, it was like magic?! 

Before we painted, we (my sister and I) cleared stuff out, moving baby things down to a very appreciative Vinnies (hot tip, they’re short on baby stock so please donate if you have things you can no longer use) and getting rid of rubbish. I ordered a rug that is almost offensive in how bold and colourful it is, but beyond joyful; and then a desk that fitted in with the space. 

Because the wall had been painted less than a year ago, we didn’t need to bother with the prep you would usually faff around with pre-painting, which was fab because I have the patience of a cranky toddler. 

My dad decided he would "supervise" and "help" (he did most of it) the paint project, so made sure we had drop sheets down, and cut in correctly. 

However, he quickly confiscated my sister’s paint brush after she did this…

Image: Supplied. 

Wonderful "cutting in". 🙄

Image: Supplied. 

I spent the entire time loudly exclaiming how much I loved it, it’s so happy and fun! The paint was dry in an hour each coat (I did two) and I was moving everything back into the garage within 3 hours of the last coat because like I mentioned above, it was completely fine odour-wise. 

Image: Supplied. 

The giant lady art is called Rosa. I ordered her when I had been enjoying some wines one night and I assumed she was an average sized lass. Imagine the shock when she turned up. 

I reconfigured the room, so my desk now sits in front of the garage door; this means I can have it open and work in the fresh air and sun. It's so nice! 

I’m unsure why I chose a desk with little cubbies for "merchandising" some of my favourite things. Lenny (my baby) absolutely will not allow merchandising unless as a place to store cars/dummies. 

Image: Supplied. 

I just love my office now. 🥺🥰

I know it sounds super cheesy but it honestly just made a world of difference to the space. You wouldn’t think one lone wall could inspire me to clean up and redo an entire room, but it golly well has and I’m so happy with how it’s looking! It’s bright and fun and is a space that sparks joy. 

I LOVE heading in there every morning now and have been way more productive than lurking at the dinner table like a little kitchen troll. The kids in my life now adore the "pink room" and always want to come in and play.

So hopefully I’ve inspired you to make a grim space in your own home more joyful!

Image: Supplied. 

Shop Dulux UltraAir, the ultra low odour paint with ultra low chemical emissions. 

Feature Image: Supplied/Mamamia.