Enforced isolation measures have given people a lot more time at home these past few weeks. While for some, it has meant catching up on reading, baking or spending more time on their streaming service of choice, others are taking the opportunity to tackle that list of jobs they had always been meaning to get to, but just couldn’t find the time.

And it appears that painting is the number one job, people have been putting off, going by a recent surge in local paint sales.

Brendan Kent, of Kent’s H Hardware, said they were expecting business to quieten down due to the pandemic lockdown and even began some large renovation jobs on their Dalton Street store.

But, in fact, the opposite has happened. Both trade and home DIY sales have boomed over the past few weeks, particularly driven by people buying paint.

“I think it is the first job everyone looks at. They’re home all week and thinking I’ve been meaning to paint that wall for a couple of years, so now is the time I suppose,” said Brendan.

“Our paint sales have been going up quite a bit in the last 12 months, but since this whole virus thing has come about I'd say there has been an increase of 40 to 50 per cent, so that's quite a bit!”

And it is not just his own store, but it appears that all over Australia people are picking up brushes and rollers and giving their homes a fresh new look.

“All the suppliers have said it is country-wide, that they've had to increase manufacturing and a lot of them are running out of stock,” said Brendan

“Talking to those suppliers, the construction industry in general and hardware stores are all having huge increases— so I guess it is one positive out of all the madness.”

“I don't know how long it is going to go for, but we are still experiencing above average sales, mostly paint but then our DIY sales have increased as well, stuff for garden structures and things like that, so it has been good.”

Brendan said they have also noticed an increase in customers asking for Australian made, or Australian owned products.

“People are wanting to support local or Australian which is a good thing, so we obviously are trying to buy from as many local suppliers as we can.”