Rearranged…

Yesterday, in a fit of the old me, I rearranged the furniture in my office. Candidly, rearranging furniture was something I used to do – a LOT. It was a way to spice up my décor and get a fresh perspective on whatever particular room I was rearranging. Somewhere along the way, I lost that urge. When we did our TV room, I bought a custom-made sectional that literally fits in the room one way and when I added artwork to the walls, it was to visually fill in the space that remained. From time to time, I move the end tables around but that hardly counts. When we finished the fireplace room, I placed the furniture as I had always wanted it… and never moved it again, except to clean or put the Christmas tree up.

But my office? Well, it’s been through a number of iterations. While the furniture hasn’t really changed in years, the configurations certainly have. Through it all, it’s always been about what I needed that room to be at the time. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, this is my own personal Room of Requirement.

About a year ago, when we finished the floor in there, I was insistent that the office needed to be turned back into a bedroom which just happened to have a desk in it. I had many justifiable reasons. First, it is our only spare bedroom upstairs (my husband uses the other spare bedroom for his office) and I tend to be a snoring, restless sleeper. If by chance I either couldn’t sleep or was keeping my husband up, the idea was that the bed in my office – which is just across from the guest bathroom – was at the ready for a quick, midnight escape. (Spoiler alert: with a king-sized bed in the downstairs bedroom, no one ever really used this bed. I used it once when we adopted Biscuits to spend the first night with him.) The other reasons it needed to be a bedroom? It felt like the room wasn’t that functional and I just wanted to shed the “office” appearance as I was planning on working less when I went out on my own.

Lately, I wanted more of the office back. No, not because I plan on working more – no worries there – but because as an office, it was pretty comfortable but as a bedroom, it just wasn’t. Every once in a while, you just have to admit when an idea failed. This one did.  

First, the furniture was all wrong for a bedroom. My office/guest room is home to a number of things: a very well-made, hardwood futon that is an arts and crafts style with an actual full-size mattress (no futon mattress). My husband purchased it 20-25 years ago from a local craftsman and it’s actually a pretty cool piece of furniture. The office also hosts my desk and chair, a kitty feeder for Biscuits, a litter box, filing cabinet and some Pottery Barn office storage. It is, in all senses of the phrase, a multi-purpose room. As a bedroom, it felt awkward. Finally, with the bed made, there was no comfy place to sit with my laptop on my lap. As an office? The bed converted back to a couch is super comfy and with one of those fabric poofs in front, I can put my feet up and type away. (Deep in my soul, I also know that the cats love the futon as a couch and since the switch less than 24 hours ago, I’ve had more happy visitors. 😊)

But here’s the really big deal here: I love it this way. I have a lot more floor space and while this isn’t a small room (it used to hold a California king bed, two night stands and a dresser), open space always feels good. Plus, it feels laid back. It’s a bit of a hodgepodge of furniture, mostly office based, but it’s got a cool vibe.  It’s a mix of attic finds with personal favorites. Nothing in this room says curated or fussy. Instead, it just says welcoming and laid back. Yet, that works. In fact, it works very well. It’s got, well, a “me” vibe. The walls are adorned with art and pictures that mean something to me. The desk, one of the very few new purchases in the room, is completely my style as a simple white painted desk with clean lines and two small drawers. The futon, now covered with an oatmeal covered quilt, beckons for lazy work; the desk and chair for zoom calls. Everything is casual, durable and, well, cool.

Though its early days yet, having my office back fulfills another part of me that just needed my own space. Honestly, I love that. There’s plenty of room for me to do a project in here, just chill and write if I want to and spend time with my kitties.

And that’s the thing about home offices, right? They are supposed to be a blend of home and a blend of office. The big difference between a home office and an office-based office is that you can’t make a real office all that personal or comfortable. There is a certain office-based decorum that says it’s a workplace and while you can have a small table or a small couch, they must be somewhat uncomfortable and look mass produced. But a home office? Key here is that it’s still your home so you get to put into your home office whatever it is that will make you happy.

On the flipside, a home office is also a dedicated space at home for work and that creates a little “all mine” space in the house. In a home that you typically share with at least one other person, this is a space that you can essentially declare off limits to everyone else. In the grownup world where you now share everything – a bathroom, bedroom and all “public” living spaces, the home office is essentially your personal do-what-you-will room.

Genuinely, I think that’s why I like it so much. The office is, again, me. I’m a bit of a hodge-podge myself. Just as my husband has decorated his office to be his, my office now feels like it’s mine again. Now, I suppose however, I’m going to need to do a little work.