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Business Insider
14 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- Business Insider
3 mistakes you're making in your open-concept home, according to interior designers
It's no secret that open-concept homes are becoming less popular. There are many reasons people are closing up their open-concept spaces — one of the biggest being that people don't know how to make these floor plans work for them. Business Insider spoke to two interior designers about the common mistakes people make with their open-concept homes. Think about your life before you embrace an open concept Charlotte Eustace, a UK-based interior designer who founded Eustace Studio, said she thinks one of the biggest issues people face with open-concept homes is that they don't think of how they will work in their lives. "Because it has been such a trend, people go for it without really thinking about how they're using the space," Eustace said. For instance, Eustace said that open floor plans aren't ideal for people working from home in a dining area, especially those with kids or a partner sharing the space. Likewise, working or relaxing in the same area where you cook can be distracting if you have made something with a strong odor. Juliana Ghani, an interior designer from Minneapolis, agreed, saying that seeing your kitchen constantly can also make a home feel less welcoming. "I think the open-concept kitchen is drawn out at this point," Ghani said. "I have one in my condo right now, and I'm not a fan." "When you're hosting, your guests see everything that's going on, which some may like, but they can see your dirty dishes. They can see the pots and pans that you use to cook," Ghani said, which isn't relaxing and doesn't create a party vibe. She said the same can be true of seeing your dishes or just the look of a kitchen when you're having downtime at home. Ghani told BI that many of her clients are turning toward a "cozy Nancy Meyers aesthetic" over an open concept. Still, Eustace said you can make your open floor plan work for you by not decorating it solely based on trends. "It's just about tailoring things that you see that you're inspired by and using them to fit your personal needs and lifestyle," she said. For example, Eustace doesn't have open shelving in her kitchen because she has trouble keeping them organized, while Ghani said she loves her open shelves and that they help her keep her glassware minimalist. Don't forget about zoning Eustace told BI that improper zoning is a "huge issue" in open-concept homes. "I think what people tend to do because it's open concept is think of the whole space as one huge room when the best design thinks about each space as an individual area," Eustace said, aka zoning. Likewise, some people think zoning means putting up a bookcase or other divider between areas, but Eustace said it's better to just decorate each space individually. "You should think about a lighting plan for each specific area rather than just a lighting plan for the whole kitchen," she said. Eustace advised using specific lighting over different areas, like a chandelier over your dining table. She also said it's important to get creative with your kitchen lighting if possible, as recessed lighting doesn't do much to make it feel like its own area. In addition, Eustace said she likes to use rugs for zoning, placing them under the dining and living areas to separate the spaces. Your home needs to feel cohesive Ghani said she often sees people decorating their kitchens in a style that doesn't match the other spaces visible in their open-concept homes, making them look out of place or "sterile." That isn't ideal for a well-functioning open-concept home. "Let's say you have a very cozy, layered living room," she said. "You should be able to carry that into your kitchen, maybe mix some materials and tones and have an interesting backsplash or have an interesting, unexpected countertop with a deep color." "I think the thing with open-concept kitchens is they've just gotten so the same, so sterile, there's not really a lot of depth in the finishes that people are choosing," she added. Ghani advised being intentional in the decor in your kitchen, in particular, as it will make the whole space feel welcoming.
Business Insider
15 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
As the Fed waits on the impact of tariffs, some are already feeling it
Happy Juneteenth! Since the BI Today team is off for the holiday, we're running an abbreviated version of the newsletter. But we've still got time for a scoop! Meta's deal with Scale AI has left its Big Tech clients eager to distance themselves from the company. In today's big story, the Fed is holding firm on interest rates as Fed Chair Jerome Powell waits to see the impact of Trump's tariffs. However, some people are already feeling them. The big story Holding pattern Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI Stop me if you've heard this before: The Fed didn't cut interest rates as it waits to see the impact of tariffs. For the fourth-straight time this year, the central bank chose not to adjust interest rates. And as was the case before, the impact of President Donald Trump's trade war was a key part of the decision, writes BI's Allie Kelly. It's tricky to navigate for multiple reasons. First, the ultimate severity of the tariffs is unclear as negotiations are ongoing. Second, the financial data hasn't yet indicated notable price changes due to the trade war. Still, Powell said he ultimately expects the cost of tariffs will fall to the consumer. "We expect a meaningful amount of inflation to arrive in the coming months," Powell said Wednesday, adding, "Someone has to pay for the tariffs." In some cases, it's already happening. (Much to the surprise of the customer.) BI's Emily Stewart has a story on the sticker shock customers are getting when steep import bills arrive on their doorsteps. Some people even questioned the legitimacy of the bills. A customer who purchased an $850 bag from Spain thought the text she got from UPS billing her $250 for the delivery was a scam, she told Emily. It's led to a lot of finger-pointing about who is to blame. Retailers often say their websites explain — albeit oftentimes in the fine print — that import duties are the customers' responsibility. Carriers like UPS and FedEx say they are just passing the bill they had to pay to the US government on to the buyers. Meanwhile, buyers are left frustrated with additional fees they often weren't aware of ahead of time. What's worse: Even if they return the item, they're still on the hook for the tariff bill. In other news AI runs on dirty power — and the public pays the price. CEOs are trying to warn you: Use AI or else Apple, Siri, and the booted blogger: A Conversation with John Gruber. F1's CEO says the job comes with 'no holiday.' He explains how he stays calm under pressure. Sneaker loafers, a hot new shoe trend, toe the line between fashionable and geriatric. Looking for a sign to put off buying an engagement ring? This just might be it. A Chinese herbal-medicine stock with no revenue has surged 60,000% this year. 5 things to know about the company's mysterious spike. Microsoft turned me down twice. Here's what I did differently the third time to get the job. CEOs haven't felt this gloomy about the economy since the pandemic.
Business Insider
19 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Gen Z is bringing the gig economy to corporate America
Gen Z wants to make their office jobs more like driving for Uber. Business Insider has previously reported that younger professionals are increasingly prioritizing their work-life balance, and unlike their elders, eschewing management roles to better preserve their mental and physical well-being. Research shows they also lean toward gig work more than other generations, with more than half of all Gen Z professionals taking up freelance positions in 2023 rather than traditional 9-to-5 jobs, according to a survey from the jobs platform Upwork. When they do take a corporate gig, workplace culture experts told BI that Gen Z workers prefer roles that are dynamic and flexible, allowing them to develop specialized skills and offering them more control over their career trajectory — and the business leaders who hope to recruit and retain younger talent should get used to it. "Early career professionals want variety," Kathryn Landis, an executive coach and New York University professor of marketing and public relations, told BI. "They want to see different parts of the business. It's kind of that trend of the gig economy coming to corporate America." Shorter, more specialized, stints Landis said Gen Z professionals are increasingly pursuing certifications over advanced degrees, or showing an interest in going to trade school rather than sitting in class. She added that workplace loyalty also appears to be a thing of the past — one of Landis' Master's students recently told her that she was looking for a "good job" where she could spend six months building skills to put on her résumé before finding her next role. "When I was growing up, five years at a job was the minimum before you'd consider jumping ship — I feel like you don't even know where the bathroom is after six months," Landis said. "But that was a reasonable threshold for her to put it on a résumé, get some experience there, and then move on to the next role. Two years might be more average these days, but the mentality is just very different." Ryan Leak, an executive coach and the author of "How to Work With Complicated People: Strategies for Effective Collaboration with (Nearly) Anyone," told BI the gig economy mindset being perpetuated by Gen Z may stem from watching their friends without degrees be successful on social media. "So you go see a really great school, perhaps go and get your Master's — if you're super ambitious, you go and get your Ph.D., and yet, your high school dropout buddy is a multimillionaire, while you've got half a million dollars in student loans," Leak said. In a recent study Leak conducted, Gen Z was the most likely generation to say they want to be stretched at work. Nearly 40% of Gen Z respondents said they seek assignments that help them grow quickly, even if those assignments fall outside their job description. "I think that speaks to a mindset that really values experience over stability," Leak said. "They view themselves more as free agents building a portfolio of skills. They look at it as if they're designing a career. So what older generations may have seen as job-hopping, I think Gen Z sees as career design. They aren't chasing titles. They're chasing impact. They want their job to really matter." Gen Z's preference for workplace flexibility also appears to extend to their benefits. Leak said the companies he works for that have the best retention rates often offer benefits packages that include optional perks like gym memberships, childcare, and even dry cleaning services, often at the request of younger workers. Payday all day Tate Hackert, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of ZayZoon, a software company that provides employees with access to their earned wages before payday, told BI that 55% of the company's customers are 34 years of age or younger. While the trend may be in part caused by younger workers needing more flexible cash flow, Hackert said he believes it's driven partially by younger workers' desire for better control of their finances — a preference they picked up from gig work. "If you're an Uber driver, you can actually get paid out five times a day, so you can do a drive and immediately get paid for doing it, and many of these other side gigs provide instant gratification of pay," Hackert said. "So if you're an employer, your competition isn't just the brick and mortar employer across the street, but it's actually the gig economy. And so I think instant access to pay through benefits is more and more important." While many businesses still require traditional markers of success and professionalism, like a Bachelor's degree, to get hired, Landis said some of the companies she works with are approaching early career professionals with their preference for flexibility in mind. "Once they have Gen Z in the door, the way that they work with them is different," Landis said. "They might be more prone to hiring them as contractors, and letting them work three days a week. Or, if they hire them full time, they're putting them on these 'Tiger Teams,' where it's a lot of rotation." Landis said the Tiger Team approach allows younger workers to rotate through different projects more quickly than they would in a traditional role. It offers both variety and mentorship opportunities, which a Deloitte survey found 86% of Gen Z workers crave. Ultimately, as Gen Z makes up a growing portion of the labor market, businesses are being forced to adapt to their work preferences, or risk being stuck with higher turnover and a short leadership bench to build upon. "The organizations that can move quickly, and are agile enough to say, 'Hey, we can't solve every problem. We can't meet every request,' but are identifying the things they could actually change and then actually doing something about it," Leak said. "I think the more companies and leaders who think in that way are going to find themselves creating the kind of cultures people want to stay in."
Business Times
19 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
Indonesia central bank makes market intervention after rupiah depreciation
[JAKARTA] Indonesia's central bank intervened in the foreign exchange market in a measured way on Thursday (Jun 19), an official said, after the rupiah had fallen to a one-month low against the US dollar. The rupiah was down by about 0.6 per cent on the day at 16,400 per dollar as of 0807 GMT, LSEG data showed. The depreciation was due to the US Federal Reserve's decision to hold its key interest rate on Wednesday as well as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, said Erwin Gunawan Hutapea, head of the monetary department at Bank Indonesia's (BI). 'Going forward, BI will continue to pay close attention to global and domestic dynamics and maintain exchange rate stability as part of its commitment to support economic recovery and maintain inflation within the target range,' he told Reuters. BI decided to pause its easing cycle on Wednesday after cutting interest rates three times since September. REUTERS
Business Insider
21 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
I'm a VC founder. Here's a day in my life, from coffee and emails at 4 a.m. to taking a Waymo to dance class at noon
Kate McAndrew cofounded the San Francisco-based VC firm Baukunst in 2022. She told BI she builds out her schedule every quarter to accommodate her son and 12 p.m. dance classes. Her "deep work" begins around 4 a.m., and she's asleep by about 8:30 p.m. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kate McAndrew, a San Francisco-based 38-year-old cofounder and general partner at VC firm Baukunst. This story has been edited for length and clarity. I got my first opportunity in venture capital in 2012, and as soon as I found venture, it was like two puzzle pieces fitting together. In 2022, I founded Baukunst, a VC fund that I'm a general partner at with three other partners. We invest in brand-new technology startups in the pre-seed phase on the frontiers of technology and design. We raised a $100 million debut fund, and now we're off to the races. No two days in a week are alike for me, but most of my weeks look the same. Mondays look like Mondays, or Tuesdays look like Tuesdays, but all of the days are different. A big part of that is because I have 50/50 custody of my son, so my whole schedule gets built out around him. My assistant and I do a quarterly planning of my schedule. I really lean into my natural rhythms and create structure based on what worked previously. I make my choices, and I own my choices, and that's not a privilege everybody has. But I think in the ways that you can control your time, you should. My day starts at 4 a.m. with coffee I wake up at 4 a.m. every day, and I am one of those people who wakes up awake. I make coffee with my automated pour-over, and I drink as much of it as I want. Once I get my coffee, I open my laptop right away. I'm probably already on my phone on the way down to make the coffee, which I drink with a little bit of half and half. My deep work takes place between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. That's when I'm cranking through emails and when I'm most creative. I drink a smoothie filled with functional mushrooms every day I do a green smoothie every morning that has all my functional mushrooms in it, which are said to produce functional benefits, such as brain elasticity. I love them. I either make my smoothie to drink in bed while I work or when I make breakfast for my son. My son and I read for 45 minutes every morning If I have my son, we have a wild morning routine where I'll make him breakfast in bed and we read for about 45 minutes. Then we'll get dressed and go to school. I walk with a weighted vest If I'm not dancing later that day, I go for a walk in the morning with a weighted vest. I walk about a mile — it's more about moving and seeing the sunrise than exercise. I walk to my office around 8:30 a.m. I can walk to my office, so I walk to my office. Out of four cofounders, two of us are in San Francisco and we both live in the same neighborhood. A place was available halfway between our houses, and we were like, "We run this company. We can make this work for us." Having everything feel totally integrated geographically has made me feel completely integrated with this community in a lot of different capacities. It is also so practical. I don't deal with parking. I dance every Tuesday at noon during my lunch break The non-negotiable for me is that I need to dance at least three days a week. So I plan all of my dance classes a quarter in advance. Dance hits so many things for me — it's like this totally transcendent, ultra-efficient self-care. It's a physical workout, it's an emotional release, and it's a community. My dance classes are one hour long and depend on the week, but most commonly, I dance every Tuesday at noon. It's a great class, and I never miss it. I've killed the unproductive commute I Waymo and work in the car on the way to dance. There's a community space at the dance studio and I will often take calls from the dance studio right before and after. It was my assistant who figured this out. She was just like, "Why'd you miss dance class?" I was like, "I couldn't find a parking spot." She was like, "Why are you driving?" I was like, "It's expensive." She was like, "You can afford it." I eat grocery store sushi for lunch There's a store by our office, and I just get either a cup of soup or grocery store sushi for lunch. It's less than $10, reasonably healthy, and super fast. I do not snack during the day. Half of the workday is usually back-to-back calls, and the other half is reserved for focused work or longer networking coffees Usually once or twice a week, either the morning or afternoon is taken up by a big board meeting or a strategy session with a founder. I try to reserve half the day for focused work or a networking coffee that's going to be an hour and a half, and then the other half is typically transactional 30-minute Zooms. I head over to a wine bar around 4 p.m. and finish my workday there If I'm picking up my son from school, I finish off the day while I'm having a glass of wine. That allows me to decelerate from the workday and then transition into mom mode. For a while, I was like, "Is it weird to be going to get a glass of wine at four?" And then I was like, "No, it's fine." I pick up my son around 5 p.m. and we're asleep by 8:30 p.m. If I have my son, there's no phone. I don't want him to see me with the device. I'll pick him up, we'll go to the park and play together, and then I'll cook dinner. We eat around 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. and then his bath is at 7 p.m. We're both in bed by 7:45 and asleep by 8:30 p.m. I typically go to one work event a week If I don't have my son, I usually make it to one work event per week. If I'm not at a work event, I'm either dancing in the evening or having dinner with my boyfriend. I am in constant iteration cycles based on what works for me, my family, and my company In startups, 9-to-5 is a total fiction; you really have to think about seven days a week. This is what's working for me now, but in six months, I'll probably have three things that stopped working for me — and I'll iterate.
