Home Maintenance Guru Kyshawn Lane Reveals Which Room in His New Jersey Home Ticks All the Boxes

Home maintenance guru Kyshawn Lane has invited millions of homeowners to view his New Jersey home as he demonstrates how to complete essential house chores in videos he posts to his popular social media account, “Weekly Home Check.” Now, Lane, 35, is rolling out the welcome mat to the room where he retreats for reflection when not recording.

Lane was a first-time homebuyer when he bought his Newark, NJ, dwelling in 2020. The flight attendant and former Broadway tour performer had been looking for a permanent place to land that was “old” and had “charm,” and the 1913-built abode fit the bill. He moved into the three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 1,400-square-foot space with his pet Yorkie, Buddy, and his partner, Matt Peterson, 38, soon followed.

But while Lane is known for his vital list of home tasks to complete each week, he had no idea what it took to care for a home when he first took ownership. Going through renovations, doing ongoing upkeep, and completing regular checkups of house systems over the first few years in his first home gave Lane the know-how to be the viral online expert he is today.

Because most of Lane’s “Weekly Home Check” videos are filmed throughout his home, his personal space is regularly exposed online. Yet, in the latest installment of our Celebrity Sanctuary series, Lane reveals the private and intimate side of his chosen sacred space—his living room—and explains how the ocean-inspired oasis helps him easily flow between content creation and offline relaxation.

When I was buying my home, there were certain things that I was looking for. What was important to me was wood floors—I just love the look of wood floors, no carpet, a backyard for my dog to run in, and that Colonial style. I wasn’t too big of a fan of the ranch-style homes, I wanted [an] upstairs-downstairs, and, like, the open concept. I’d probably browsed about five to 10 homes before finding this one and as soon as I walked in, probably within the first two minutes, I was like, “Let’s put the offer on it now.”

It is a pretty older home so I just gave it, like, a facelift. I made it a little bit more modern with some recessed lights. I added in some color. I didn’t want to take too much of the charm away from it being an older home, so [I] mixed new and old and they blend very well together. I refreshed it with some modern fixtures and some modern appliances and just really put my spin on it.

I paved my backyard. The backyard actually sits on a much bigger [piece of] land than my actual house does, so I wanted to make that super special and super inviting because that’s where my entertaining space would be. I worked so hard to make it zen, if you will. It’s been years of the process of just, like, figuring out how to tackle the outdoors, but also bring color and plants and watch the pollinators come and do their thing. That brings me so much joy.

It’s been a long time in the making. I had wanted to become a homeowner for so long. I would pick out furniture before I even went into the homebuying process, so when I came to my home, I knew exactly the things that I wanted to do and put in it—things from watching HGTV, going through the Macy’s catalog or Crate & Barrel, walking through the home store to walking through people’s homes and just taking little pieces of this and little pieces of that. I go to open houses pretty much every weekend and that gives me inspiration to see what’s new and what’s out there and how another homeowner may see their space.

I actually took a quiz about [my interior design style]. According to the quiz I am bohemian chic. That is very, like, earth tones, but also pops of color to accent. I like to play with earth tones because they relax me and they feel good. I don’t like much clutter. A lot of the times my parents will come in, they’re like, “This feels like a hotel.” And I’m like, “No, it feels like home.” 

My living room colors are blue and gold. And so it’s like ocean meets the kingdom of oceans. I am a fan of water. Anytime I go on a vacation, I love to be on an island with some pristine water and so I tried to bring that to my living room. I painted this blue accent wall [with] pops of gold here and there and it’s just super relaxing to me. 

In my living room, right above my TV, right in the center of my console, I have my first pair of baby sneakers. It’s sentimental because it’s the walks of life. This is where I started and now this is where I am. I’ve held on to these sneakers and they’ve gone with me everywhere through each journey, each point in my life. And so it’s just, like, me looking back at me and just taking that moment of gratitude to be thankful for all that I’ve been through and all the lessons that I’ve learned and, you know, hoping we can continue to walk in these shoes even further down the line. That is probably the most sentimental piece in my entire home next to a photo of my parents. I lost my dad some years ago and I’ve got that family photo of my pre-K graduation sitting down there in the original frame that they framed it in. [Those are] some small things that just remind me of where I came from, how we grow up, and the walks of life that we take. 

The best part about work and content creation is it’s creative. I grew up creating and so it never really feels like work because I’m constantly learning, not only about myself as a homeowner, but also tips and tricks to maintain the home. My mind’s on my brand. I film pretty much all my content at home. I’m constantly thinking about these things so it doesn’t necessarily feel like work and, surprisingly, that is kind of relaxing to me. Just having the ability to create and to be artistic and tell a story through home maintenance and homeownership, that fills me up so much I can’t even explain it.

Sometimes I’ll just sit in my living room and just go through my thoughts, think about my content, think about what’s next on the to-do list because as a homeowner that list does not stop. It’s literally me on the corner of my couch, with either my legs and feet up on the edge of my coffee table, or relaxing on a Lovesac, which is the couch I have. I have [an] L-couch. It’s super comfy. I don’t watch too much TV. A lot of times I’ll just sit there in the dark, blinds are closed, I’ll light a candle, and I’ll just sit and breathe. It brings me so much relaxation. 

Even my dog, I feel like that’s almost his sanctuary as well. He’s got a bed underneath the coffee table. He’s got plenty of beds throughout the house but a lot of the times if I’m out and about, I’ll come back and find him in the bed that’s underneath the coffee table so I feel like we share that sentiment of it being a relaxing space. 

His name is Buddy and I’ve had him for 15 years. We’ve been a few places before settling into a home-home. Especially [during] my younger years, I did a lot of performing and we did a lot of traveling together. Great times but we were happy to settle down.

When I bought the home, it was really just for me, so now that [my partner and I] both are living in here and growing together as a family, we’re thinking that it may be time for a bigger space. We’re all so excited of that next chapter and the next journey of our home process and [to] buy something together that will be ours.