Note the sour apple green ceilingOn a scale similar to that of the transformation reveal on The Biggest Loser, today's blog proudly brings you (pause for heralding trumpets and distant "hurrah's")... the unveiling of Dena's new writer's room!
As you may recall, our poor woe-begotten writer was feeling less than creative in her beautiful upstairs office, necessitating a change of view and entire room re-do. What used to be the downstairs guest bedroom is now Dena's new writing room. Note the word choice: WRITING room. Not office. Not a place dominated by invoices and paperwork and conference calls (although, as you'll see, those all have their place). Instead, a room meant to provoke thought, inspiration, creativity, and--God willing--a completed novel by year's end.
First on our tour is color. Working off the map, we chose a classic turquoise for the walls and a yellow/sour apple green for the ceiling. [Props to Blair for scraping the popcorn sh** off the ceiling--what were people in the 70's thinking?]
We picked out neutral carpet and brought down the green and purple plaid chair from upstairs with the intention to slip-cover it, but I'm kind of diggin' the contrast so for now, it stays.
My intent is to fill the room only with things I love that inspire me. A whimsical lamp made by a friend
, blown up artwork of my book covers, a cat mat we found almost a year ago that's been sitting in our closet, 
the pillow my sister gave to me for Christmas one year when she about 8 and I was 14, chimes that used to hang in my grandparents home. If it 
doesn't make me smile, it doesn't get in the room.
One thing making me smile wide is the desk Blair built for me. There are a number of abandoned thick wooden doors in our attic. Blair took one, sawed it down to size, added legs, stained it, and put a glass top on it. Voila! Instant writer's desk. I'm mad for it.
And of course my very favorite thing--Lucy cat snoozing in the corner.
Now, back to that office business. The fact is, it doesn't make sense for me to keep a writing room and an office--too much stuff spread over too many areas. My solution is to divide this room into quadrants. The desk Blair made me faces the front window and is the writing desk. NO OFFICE WORK done at this desk. Only pen, paper, laptop, warm light, and coffee mug. Anything else is a distraction.
Behind me, in the corner by the fireplace and side window, will be the office space. I'll set-up a second desk with file cabinets, printer, stapler, three-hole punch... the works. We're still desk shopping at this point, trying to figure out how to best utilize that corner space. An L-shaped desk would be ideal, but there isn't much room between the fireplace and the wall.
There are plans for the room. Blair is going to build me bookshelves next to the writing desk. I'll need to get curtains at some point, although I'm loath to close off any part of the sun and a little nervous that adding them may overhwhelm an already overwhelming room. But I'm in no rush. Part of what "blocked" me from writing upstairs, I think, was that it was so perfect. Everything in place... an ideal little set-up that I wrote not a creative word in. I had to leave the house and go to Panera for that. When I set up a card table in the front bedroom, surrounded by boxes and beds and unhung pictures... bingo. Words flowed. So I'm being cautious about insisting that everything be in place.
Meanwhile, I am loving the new space.
Photo courtesy of WikipediaTomorrow is my Lasik Eye Surgery. I went in today for a pre-surgery check-up, where they sat me in the big chair and pressed the optical refractor (see photo) against my face and proceeded to flip lenses in front of each eye, asking each time, "Which looks clearer? Number one? [FLIP] Or number 2?" "Number 1? [FLIP] Number 2?"
