"Did you have a good day at the office, dear?" by Cathy Ace

Laptop, desktop, Underwood or pencil. Do you budget based on book sales, or do you just go for it? What’s your dream office look like?


I’m so lucky to be able to say I already have my dream office.

1      1) I work at home = 1 minute commute, being within cuddling distance of my dog and husband (yes, that’s the right order), snacks, and being able to get jobs like the laundry done.

2     2)  I can choose which “office” I use – either the dining table upstairs, or my actual office downstairs. Better view upstairs (so, more distractions), more privacy downstairs (better concentration).

The view from my upstairs writing spot

3     3) I graduated from a desktop to a laptop three computers ago, and won’t revert. Longhand is out of the question. I have never used a typewriter in my life, and I still can’t type properly (I’m a fast, three-fingered hacker). I bought my most recent laptop when it was on sale in the summer – that’s what credit cards are for, right? 

My office is set up to be the library/study/workspace I have always wanted. It has a black carpet (everyone said I was mad – and they had a point, because it’s really a challenge to keep it looking clean, given we have a chocolate Labrador); the aqua walls are a shade it took me a while to find, because I wanted the EXACT colour in my mind’s eye; all the other furnishings are black. I love it. I built the fireplace in the corner because I wanted to be able to see the flicker of (albeit fake) flames in the winter. 

My downstairs writing spot

The pictures on the walls have been collected over decades, as have the books on the shelves. The decorative objects are there because they mean something special to me, not because they are just decorative. All this means that whilst I choose an essentially art deco aesthetic, there’s a non-designer collection of items in the room – the only thing they have in common is that I like them all. 


It’s my nest. The room in the house that’s most essentially “me”. 

If you'd like to read some books that are also "me", try the ones I've written by CLICKING HERE.