Saturday, September 26, 2009

This is My Space

Not MySpace. My space.

Remember my closet office last summer?

It looked like this.

At least, I think it did. I never really went in there, except to pry open the door, huck something inside, and slam it shut.





Then, I decided to "fix it up" and it looked like this:
Oh, I was so excited then. But eventually, everybody including me went back to using it as a dumping ground and every time I went in there I was assaulted by the mess and the visual reminders of the to do list and aak! Get me out of here!

But writing was like pulling teeth and I was getting to hate my coffee shop. Plus, it's not like the rest of the house wasn't a constant reminder of anything else I could or should be doing. I started dreaming of hotel retreats. I made plans to move into my friend Sharon's tree house. I Googled the (exorbitant) cost of sheds and wondered how to heat them in winter.

Instead, I went mad. I took everything out of my office that didn't have to do with writing. I put it all in the living room. I recycled and trashed a bunch of crap. Then I blew half my latest royalty check on The Chair I Have Been Coveting. And now, ladies and gentlemen, behold. My space.

This is the same view through the door as those other pictures. The desk is around the corner, like this:














I am in love.

Not coincidentally, I wrote many, many words this week.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! Your space is lovely! It's amazing how much the space around us matters. I expect you to produce a NYT bestseller now! LOL!

I am in the dining room for the foreseeable future. My husband works from home and has his own snazzy office. We have a guest room, but it's too small to add a desk. *Sigh*

J.A. Palermo said...

Oh! Congratulations. It looks great. I redid my office last year, but paper grows like fungus. I've got to schedule a trash and file soon!

Deb Cushman said...

You've given me inspiration! I've been meaning to clean out my space for a long time. Looking at your pictures gave me the push I needed.

(I have that same chair at my "other" job. It is a dream chair!)
Deb Cushman

Boni Ashburn said...

Hey Jacqui, can I come over to write??? Ha!

It's gorgeous! Enjoy!

Anna Staniszewski said...

It looks amazing! I'm not surprised you've been getting a lot of writing done in such a lovely space. And you've inspired me to (possibly, maybe, finally) do something about the disaster area that I call an office.

Debbie Diesen said...

Beautiful!

debbie said...

Congratulations!

Kelly Polark said...

Wow! That's an amazing transformation! Enjoy your new writing space!!

cath c said...

congratulations. wish i had a WHOLE ROOM with a DOOR in which to write. 'sok, i can still dream....thanks for the visual. and i love that chair!

Jacqui said...

Thanks, all! Of course, then the weekend came and now it will be Tuesday before I can escape to my chair again. Aargh.

Amber Lough said...

You have inspired me. I am going to take pictures of our office/spare bedroom and then fix it up, too. No painting or fancy chairs, but at least I can tidy it up.

It looks like a dream office, by the way. I can't wait to read what comes out of it.

Anonymous said...

Is it bad that I am now coveting that lovely red chair? ;)

Your space is magnificent!

peace,
Donna

Jacqui said...

Thanks, Debbie, debbie, Kelly and cath!

J.A., I love "paper grows like fungus." Ain't it the truth?

Deb, Anna, and Amber, go for it! And send pics.

Tara, I'll get right on that :)

Boni, any time!

WordWrangler, no. It is a most covetable chair. Ikea, by the way.

Marina said...

Wow, I have office envy. Though, to be honest, I'd probably have office envy even if it still looked like the "before" pictures, since my writing space is a computer perched on a card table in the corner of the family room.

You have a room! With a door!

It looks gorgeous. And now I am seized with a hitherto unsuspected yearning for a red armchair ...

Christina Farley said...

Let me just say WOW! I'm impressed. You've motivated me to getting my space whipped into shape. Nicely done!

Jacqui said...

Marina, I've been there, but it was a corner of the green sofa. Blech.

Christina, good luck and send pix!