A Room of My Own

I was inspired by Debbie Ridpath Ohi, who recently blogged about her office cave, to share my own workspace with the world (or at least the writing community). I've never considered myself a tidy person, but I was amused to see how messy Debbie's office was. I think there are two factors that keep me from becoming even more of a clutterbug than I already am: 1) my fiance is extremely tidy, and would probably leave me if I didn't clean off my desk occasionally (not to mention the dining table, where I spend my afternoons), and 2) my cats have a bad habit of knocking things off my desk when they want to look out the window.

In other words, the top of my desk is visible through the piles of crap. It's a little cleaner than usual in these pictures, as I did my semi-annual cleaning job about two weeks ago. I also am pretty good at keeping my drawers organized, particularly my filing drawer, which also minimizes the stuff that lands on top of my desk.

For those of you who don't already know, we have a little two-bedroom bungalow that was built in 1920. It's the traditional bungalow layout, which is divided into quarters: the front door opens into the living room, with the kitchen/dining room behind it, and the bedrooms one behind the other on the north side of the house. (Our common rooms both have south-facing windows, as I've heard is the norm in bungalows, because they get more sunlight - and thus more heat - in the winter.)

Anyway, my office is the front bedroom. Our house is extraordinarily well-lit, and the window behind my desk is one of the large front-facing ones. (All the windows have the original glass - it's so cool! I should have taken a picture of that, too!) My fiance has a desk on the other side of the room, but the office is mostly my space. I'm not ashaed to say that I believe I have the best spot in the entire house.



The rocker that sits on the other side of my desk is also older. It might look like your grandmother's rocker, but I'm telling you, it is so comfy. I do most of my work in that rocker, with my laptop and a lapdesk on my lap. For Christmas Michael got me one of those deluxe lapdesks that you find at Barnes & Noble, and it's wide enough to have my mini mouse and a mousepad alongside my itty-bitty laptop.



Like I mentioned, I spend my afternoons in the kitchen. It's better lit on that side of the house, and I like to open up the blinds on the south-facing windows and let the sunlight in. Especially recently, as warm as the weather has been, I'll also open the windows sometimes to let the air circulate.

In the evenings, though, I work in the office. The cats usually join me - one in Michael's office chair, and one in the rocker if I'm not already in it. Emma (our dog) will often sleep on the rug, too. Sometimes late at night, I'll have all three of them in here with me!



I have to agree with what Debbie says - my office is as good as anything I ever could have dreamed up. I love all of my antique furniture, and the way it makes my office feel so cozy. It's just a pretty room, and it makes working in it so much nicer. :o)