I have never had an office. I had a desk for awhile, but my children used it as an art table. I’ve written all of my books in very glamorous places like the corner of the couch, my unmade bed, the kitchen table, and my bathroom floor.
When we moved to the farmhouse, there was this extremely nasty outbuilding off the patio. We used it for a kitchen and Holding Cell For Garbage And Vermin during the renovation (I’m playing fast and loose with the term “kitchen” here). But now that we have a real kitchen inside, I started eyeballing this crappy little room for an office. Apologies to the ants and mice. It looked something like this:
Myquillyn’s approach to design is what we’ve all been waiting for. I’m serious. She moved 13 times in 18 years of marriage, 10 of them rent homes including the one she lives in now, at the writing of her book. So go ahead and strike the idea that she makes a home beautiful because she crafted every last architectural detail to her liking. Myquillyn wrote:“Now on my thirteenth home, I’ve realized that home is wherever we are. I’m not going to waste time waiting for the next house we buy to create a beautiful place to live. I can’t afford to wait until we have our life all perfectly organized and presentable to start enjoying it.”
Her style combines thrift and quirk and opposing textures and inexpensive ideas that pack a lot of punch. And The Nesting Place gives you such permission to just try something, for heaven’s sake. Just put it up, just paint it, just layer those two rugs, just use that weird signature piece. She somehow takes the fear and hesitation out of it all and makes you want to throw forty unrelated pieces on your feature wall and hang hats on a set of antlers. Why not? We’re not curing cancer; we’re just making pretty rooms that we love.
So I set to work with her book in hand. And I mean that literally; I actually took her book into the stores and thrift shops. I felt like I needed pictorial guidance. So once the office started taking shape, looking less like a hovel and more like a room, it was time to steal copy take inspiration from Myquillyn’s house. From The Nesting Place: This is the feature wall in her living room. Pay attention, because I lifted exact ideas right off this page.
Repurposing is one of Myquillyn’s big themes. Sometimes a coat of paint changes an old piece from grody to fabulous. Or you can reimagine its purpose altogether. We aren’t locked in to buying a matchy-matchy set of furniture from a box store. With that perspective in hand, I set out to find a desk and ended up with this old drafting table I found from a janky welding warehouse. It is irregularly worn and interesting and beautiful and I love it with my whole heart. I’m using an industrial rolling cart for my printer and office supplies, and I also found a bedroom dresser to use as storage under the TV. I have a TV in my office because sometimes writers need to take a break from their excruciating work and watch their shows. OUR LIVES ARE HARD.
Thank you, Myquillyn, for your relaxed, warm approach to decorating. I felt like you were holding my hand throughout this whole project! For anyone who feels stuck in your style, unable to make decisions, or just enjoys having a lovely home where people feel welcome, grab a copy of The Nesting Place stat. You’ll find every solution to your weird spaces, great ideas for any budget, and you’ll walk away with not just decorating ideas but life ideas, because truly, in every way, it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.
Do you have any home projects you’re working on this summer? Have you found any great ideas or deals you’d like to share?