Desk-hunting
A few months ago, we moved into our new home. We used to live in an apartment, but three puppies, a baby boy, and two earthquakes later, it occurred to us that some extra room would benefit everyone. We were fortunate enough to find a suitable house within months since my son David was born.
This new home came with a surprise: A whole room for me.
Tiled wood floors, a tall ceiling and four beautiful white walls... As I stood there for the first time, I pretty much felt like Pride and Prejudice's Charlotte... Remember her?
Two words echoed in my head: Writing Sanctuary. In that moment, I came up with a practical layout for the room: a wooden bookcase, a couple of art deco lamps, a comfortable grey velvet Chesterfield love seat, an eye-catching Oriental-ish rug... But in my decorating list, a key element was missing: The desk.
A desk is just a table, right? Four legs and a surface, maybe a few drawers... Anything would do... At least that's what I thought at first.
Minimalistic, Scandinavian, contemporary... My search went on for months. And then I realized why I was having such a difficult time making my choice: I had no idea what kind of author I was.
Was I a chic, minimalistic kind of author? Or perhaps an innovative contemporary one? There were beautiful desks in those categories, but they didn't define my personality and definitely not my writing style. I needed something practical, inspiring, and on a budget.
Uh... yeah. Maybe, Mr. S. But I was in no hurry, and I refused to settle for a quick desk solution.
Narrowing my style was easier than I had once thought. I write historical romance with paranormal elements. I write dark fantasy as well, but the sense of tradition and family history figure prominently in my writing. I had my aha-moment right then: I am a classic desk type of author, and I needed one that had history. A vintage desk was exactly what I needed.
With that in mind, my search became easier and quicker. Within a few weeks, I stumbled upon a Maple-wood twenty-year-old desk in great condition... It was love at first sight. I knew it right then. We were meant to be together.
Gee... I hope not, Jane.
So without further a do, I give to you my Maple sweetheart. This is what it looked like in its old home:
And here it is, in its new home.
There's still a lot of work left until I finish decorating my writing sanctuary, but I'm loving how it looks so far!
How do you envision your reading/writing sanctuary? Drop me a line and let me know!
Until then,
x, Silvana.