The healthy (home) life: Inside wellness blogger Jessica Sepel's Vaucluse home

Author: Georgia Madden on Houzz

Nutritionist Jessica Sepel is one of Australia’s most popular wellness bloggers and the bestselling author of The Healthy Life and Living the Healthy Life. Her bright and cheery Vaucluse home doubles as headquarters for her business JSHealth – she creates and tests recipes in the sunny kitchen, and writes from an office at the front of the house. Jessica invites us in for a chat about how she loves to live.

Blogger’s Houzz at a glance
Who lives here: Jessica Sepel, 28, and her husband Dean Steingold
Where: Vaucluse, NSW

Why did you choose to live here?
We love this area and both of our families are up the road – our parents are less than 10 minutes’ walk away. We go walking along the cliffs nearby every night. After a year living in LA I feel like I’m back where I belong.

What made you start the blog?
Five years ago, I was studying nutrition and learning so many things – the blog was a place for me to share what I was learning, and the food that I was creating along the way.

Did you have any inkling the blog would be so successful?
I would never have guessed – it all happened very organically. I think people really believe in the JSHealth message. There’s so much information out there about what to eat or what not to eat – people are confused and overwhelmed. We take it back to basics – it’s about balance, a healthy body image and relationship with food, removing stress from the joy of eating. I think this really resonates with people.

What’s your cooking philosophy?
I’m all about creating quick, clean, easy recipes.

How do you and your husband cook?
My husband is very health-conscious too. He prefers simple food, nothing too fussy. When I’m not testing recipes on my family, he’s happy for me to test them on him.  

We’ll eat my own recipes for dinner during the week, whether it’s a delicious broccoli, rice, kale and leek stir-fry, a Thai-style cauliflower rice or Japanese salmon.

What about when you have no time to cook?
I love veggie sticks cut up with tahini or hummus or one or two of my sugar-free protein balls. If I need dinner in a flash, I’ll make my  kale and mushroom cauliflower rice with an egg or two.

Where did you get your passion for healthy eating?
I grew up in South Africa and moved to Australia when I was 13. My mum taught me how to cook – I grew up in the kitchen alongside her. To this day, she is the best easy, healthy, wholefood cook I know. She was doing wholefood cooking long before it was a “thing”. My two younger sisters are both very health-conscious too, and in fact one is a yoga teacher, as is my mum.

What’s your guilty pleasure?
I believe mindful indulgence is so important in the healthy life and that no guilt should be attached to food choices. That being said, I love a good-quality hazelnut gelato or a glass of organic red wine.

Which kitchen appliances can’t you live without?
My food processor, which I use to pulse broccoli and my blender for soups and smoothies.

How do you find working from home?
I love it. I worked from home in my previous house too, but there was no separation between my work and living zones. Here I’m lucky enough to have a separate office at the front of the house where I work alongside three team members.

Saying that, by the time Thursday comes around and I’ve spent the day at home filming, I’m ready to get out. That’s the one night a week Dean and I always eat out. 

Where do you love spending time at home?
In my bedroom – it’s my sanctuary and I love coming here at the end of a long day. It’s a really calming space and I practise yoga and meditation here too. I switch off completely when I’m here – phones and computers are strictly banned.

When did you move into this house?
One year ago. Dean and I lived and worked in LA before that.

Can you tell me a bit about the layout?
It’s on two levels, with a kitchen, living room, dining room, my office, a store room and deck downstairs. Upstairs there are two bedrooms, Dean’s office, a walk-in closet and a bathroom.

What’s your decorating philosophy?
I’m not really interested in fancy furnishings. What matters to me is the energy and light in a space. A home should feel safe, comfortable and nurturing.

I love washed wood and lots of white and natural light. Dark spaces really affect my mood.

How did you know this house was the one?
I walked into this house and could immediately feel its great energy. It had cork floors and filthy walls, but I could see its potential. It was out of our budget, but I just turned to Dean and said “This is our house”.

Where do you spend and save?
Dean and I really don’t spend a lot on furniture.  We’d rather spend it on travel and good food.

There are lots of pieces from Ikea, and I’m also lucky that my family has two design businesses (Emac & Lawton and Florabelle) where I can get pieces at wholesale prices.

What’s your next home project?
I’d like to get an ottoman for the living room to make it more comfortable. I’d also love to put a long table into our tiny garden so we can eat outside.